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This article was first published by SkiMag.com. Show The Scores (out of 10)
The Specs
In a Nutshell
Buy Now Light and reliable, the Kästle TX93W is a solid choice for long backcountry missions and impressed us with its quickness in tight trees and chutes. The TX93 W heads into a new season without any major updates, a testament to the age-old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The women’s line features a 93mm and 87mm waist options (clearly designed for cruising uphill at a solid clip), and a 103mm is the fattest in the bunch on the unisex side of the TX line. Related: Eight ways to use ski straps in the backcountry. With a springy paulownia core wound with carbon and fiberglass that makes for a solid and stable ski with plenty of energy, the TX93W is equally at home in the steeps as it is slarving its way through creamy spring corn. It’s an ideal daily driver for weight-conscious backcountry skiers looking to explore the far reaches of a range but are still searching for real performance when precision counts on the descent. In anything but deep snow or PNW mank, testers agreed this was a tough one to beat for intermediate to advanced skiers looking to go far. “If you’re tackling long missions with lots of vert, you’ll forget you have a ski on,” said tester Jordan Garrett, who’s no stranger to long slogs in the Colorado backcountry. “When you need to throw in a jump turn in an icy chute, the perfect amount of camber underfoot will have you feeling confident. Definitely not your sometimes-flimsy touring ski that can’t pack a punch.” Kästle’s signature Hollowtech tip and a short 13.2 meter turning radius responds quickly while weaving through tight trees and narrow couloirs, with a low swing weight that’s forgiving and easy to maneuver even when your legs are trashed at the end of the day. “After skiing through 2,000 feet of trees and bumps, the legs were burning and I felt a little lazy,” said Garrett. “This ski didn’t punish me for relaxing a bit, which I appreciated.” The softer tips eliminate any sort of hooky feel that light and stiff skis often have, making it easy to push through turns without feeling locked in. Read more: Learn How the Kästle TX93W Stacked Up Against the Competition While the damp and stable feel won testers over for its trustworthy characteristics in challenging terrain, this may not be the ski for you if your style is on the more playful side. Despite its lightweight and softer tips, it’s still a Kästle ski, which means it’s stiff and directional. Another drawback to this backcountry ski is float; although the 129mm shovel and early rise tip does its best in soft snow (and suits the low-density storms you find in the Rockies just fine), it isn’t an ideal everyday ski for anywhere that sees significant snowfall. If you live in the PNW or Jackson Hole, keep this one on reserve until springtime. Lily Krass is a freelance ski journalist based in Jackson, Wyoming with work featured in SKI Magazine, Powder Magazine, Freeskier, Teton Gravity Research, and Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal. She spends winters backcountry skiing in Grand Teton National Park and riding lifts at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, with the occasional trip to the Alps (for the food, obviously). While she’s been in ski boots since she learned to walk, Lily has been professionally writing about skiing, gear, and all things outdoors for the past seven years. In addition to an all-consuming addiction to powder skiing mixed with heavy doses of Type II fun, Lily takes snacking seriously, and when she’s not writing or sliding on snow, she’s likely deep into a baking project in her tiny kitchen. She is the co-author of Beyond Skid: A Cookbook For Ski Bums, a collection of dirtbag-friendly recipes inspired by life in a mountain town. The Gear IconX 2018's have better battery life, but AirPods still last longer. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. The Gear IconX 2018's look less dorky than Apple's AirPods. Credit: raymond wong/mashable Even if you still have a phone with a headphone jack, chances are you’re interested in true wireless earbuds — they’re the ones without a cable connecting the two nubs that go into your ears — because who actually likes wires? There’s a ton of wireless earbuds flooding the market this holiday season. Most are aimed at Apple’s AirPods, like Samsung’s new Gear IconX 2018. At $199(opens in a new tab), they’re pricier than AirPods, too. So how do they stack up? The IconX 2018’s(opens in a new tab) are Samsung’s second stab at true wireless earbuds. The original ones took a fitness-first approach, cramming in a heart rate sensor inside. It was a neat idea that differentiated the IconX(opens in a new tab) from other non-smart wireless buds, but the sensor also meant less room for battery. And if there’s any one thing that wireless earbuds needs to nail, it’s long battery life. Much-improved battery life The IconX 2018 last five hours on a single charge. The case adds an extra charge. Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE Thankfully, Samsung actually seems to be paying attention these days, because on the IconX 2018’s(opens in a new tab) the heart rate sensor’s gone and battery life has jumped from about 1.5 hours to five hours for streaming music from your phone. And if you listen to music directly from the IconX’s(opens in a new tab) 4GB of internal storage (it holds about 1,000 songs), they should last up to seven hours compared to the 3.5 hours from the old model. The IconX 2018’s lasted almost exactly five hours.I put them to the test for a few days and they held up to Samsung’s battery claims. Streaming music from Spotify on a Galaxy S8, the IconX 2018’s(opens in a new tab) lasted almost exactly five hours. On a few occasions, they lasted just a few minutes more, which is on-par with what I’ve seen on AirPods. Some people may bemoan the loss of the heart rate sensor, but I’m happier without it. With AirPods lasting five hours on a single charge, Samsung had no choice but to match that or one-up them. As fantastic as five hours of battery life is, the IconX’s(opens in a new tab) still can’t compare to the AirPods in two key ways: fast charging and charging case capacity. If you’re short on time, a 15-minute charge within the case gets you three hours of listening time on the AirPods. A 10-minute charge in the IconX 2018’s(opens in a new tab) only gets you a hour of listening time. That’s a huge gulf there. Each earbud has a touchpad for controls. Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE Worse, the IconX’s(opens in a new tab) charging case only holds about one extra charge good for another five hours. In comparison, the AirPods case is good for up to an additional 19 hours of battery life, which works out to just a little under four extra charges. It’s already bad enough that I have to charge up my phone and smartwatch every night, so it would be nice to not have to charge up my wireless earbuds with them. With AirPods, I can go a few days without needing to juice them back up if I’m running them down all day long (they last a week or longer if I’m only using them during my commutes). But with Samsung’s wireless earbuds(opens in a new tab), charging them up nearly every night is virtually a must if you want to be sure they’ll last. Consumer sound qualityIf you made it this far, you’re probably wondering why sound-quality isn’t at the top of my critique list. And there’s a good answer for that: they sound average, just like the AirPods. Okay, they sound a little better than AirPods with slightly deeper bass and mids and highs that are just barely clearer. But this is mainly because of the better sealing from the in-ear tips than dramatically better drivers. The Gear IconX fit seal in sound really nicely because of the in-ear design. Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE That’s just the reality of true wireless earbuds that cost $200 or less. Most of them sound average, barely better than the cheap pack-in wired buds that come with some phones. The IconX(opens in a new tab) sound good for what they cost, so long as you don't expect any audio fidelity that'll blow you away. On the plus side, there's still an ambient sound mode (activated by pressing and holding on either earbud's touchpad until you cycle through its menu), which lets you listen to music and still hear what's happening around you. It's really useful for when you're walking down the street and still want to hear oncoming traffic. It's a little weird at first because when you speak it sounds like you're in a small echo chamber, but I quickly got used to it. AirPods are still kingAs dorky as AirPods look (and they do look cheesy with the long stems), they're more suitable for most people if only because they last so much longer with the included case. Though they cost an extra $40, Samsung's IconX 2018's(opens in a new tab) aren't too shabby. They've got decent sound, fair battery life, and fit snug in the ears (they never fell out once). I feel AirPods connect with iPhones better and faster, but once you have the IconX 2018's(opens in a new tab) paired up to a Samsung phone, connecting is as simple as opening the Samsung Gear app. Left: Gear IconX 2018 Credit: raymon wong/mashable Right: Apple AirPods Credit: RAYMON WONG/MASHABLE There are a few things I prefer on the IconX 2018's(opens in a new tab) over the AirPods. I like that there are touchpad controls on both earbuds, and you can swipe up and down to control volume and tap to play and pause. Double-tapping and triple-tapping with two fingers to skip to the next and previous tracks, respectively, felt less intuitive. Why can't I just swipe forwards or backwards? And while the heart rate sensor's been cut, there's a new virtual trainer that'll motivate you to pick up the pace when you're running. I guess it's a nice feature, but I would have preferred longer battery life instead. There's also another thing that annoys me: the case. It's kind of big. The AirPods case is the size of a pack of dental floss. Samsung's IconX 2018(opens in a new tab) case is more compact than the original's and nowhere near as large as the case that comes with the Bose SoundSport Frees, but it's large. If it's going to be this big, it had better come with lots of charges, and unfortunately, it doesn't. The case (middle) is too large and doesn't hold as many charges as the AirPods. At least it's not as huge as the Bose SoundSport Free case (right). Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE If you're deep within Samsung's device ecosystem, then these might be perfect. After all, they're designed to play better with Samsung phones and smartwatches. They're also fine for hitting the gym or for a quick run. But if you're doing longer fitness rounds, I'd look into Beats' PowerBeats 3 or BeatsX, which last up to 12 hours and 8 hours, respectively. These aren't true wireless earuds (they've got a wire), but they're more suitable for sweating all over. Plus, there's absolutely no way they'll fall out of your ears on a run. Samsung Gear IconX 2018The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line The Gear IconX 2018's are better than the original, but not the longest-lasting true wireless earbuds. By signing up to the Mashable newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from Mashable that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. |
