Just picked up a 23 mindbender 89ti as a dedicated crud ski. Super excited. Thanks for the reviews and insight.

@urbanrunoff

8 ай бұрын

i'm thinking about doing the same thing, in the end crud is what i ski the most, even that windblown "powder" we get in Mammoth tends to be pretty hard.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Right on, let me know how you like them!

K2 vs the rest of the industry. As a boomer that grew up when K2 began and have watched them ever since, I now ski on K2’s and wear K2 120 mindbender boots. After skiing ALL the top brands for decades and now a K2 backer, I would not be using their gear if I didn’t work for me….well. I am an east coast frontside carving fanatic with a creative free ride background, as an aggressive skier at 155lbs and 5’8 my inventory of K2’s is great! Mindbender 89TI, 177cm, Disruptions STI, 170cm are my go to. The boots M/B 120’s, as much as I am happy with them, I did put my old Intutition liners in them to add stiffness,,,,now they are primo, next pair will be the dedicated frontside Reconer boot in 130. As to the overall K2 quality and market vibe…I definitely feel they don’t target us vintage ski bums, we are not young and even though we ski more than most younger skiers being retired and on the snow all midweek all season with money to burn, K2 is focused on the “kids”. I’m young at heart, I love my new K2 collection and they ski like a beast!

I love these skis, especially as an old guy who still wants to ski the whole mountain. Heavy crud-busters are perfect for western resorts here in Canada where we can have powder and then crud by the afternoon once the pow is all skied out.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Totally agree, I think Mt Hood where I had them was perfect as well!

Elliott, thanks for all of your reviews. I think we ski similarly, though your skills are surely more precise and refined. I prefer the edges of groomed trails (started skiing 64 years ago on the East coast) as I mostly spend my days skiing with my wife with intermediate skills on the blues. Not into trees or bumps and probably will not develop a desire for those skills as I am 70 years old and getting older every day. I live in CO and have finally been looking for that three ski quiver (with obvious overlap). I have recently picked up a soft snow carver and a powder ski. I am looking for that ski to take out after we have not had any snow in a while. Recently tried a Manta M6 and was delighted with the performance in the "harder" snow on the edges between the trees and the groom. You know, the crud that gets hard overnight and pebble-y. Most skis don't do well for me in that type.... the M6 dampened all that chatter and didn't get thrown around by it. These K2s do that?

@RicketySkiReviews

5 ай бұрын

Yeah pretty well they definitely kind of rail through the turns but I would test them out if you can

You should get a GoPro so you can ski and share your thoughts at the same time. Would love to see your ski style you've talked about so much :)

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Have been waiting for the Black Friday deals, but I think that's the next step for content for this channel! Great advice, thanks!

I have steered clear of K2 for sometime feeling they were simply a marketing company. I’m happy to hear they’re trying to engineer skis again. I do however support the previous comment about outsourced and slapping a top sheet on them. Nice review though and thank you!!!

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Great point

I picked the k2 mindbender 99ti for a freeride ski for trees, steep chutes, and overall I’m over the whole mountain in variable snow. Will that be good for my style of skiing? Can’t wait for these

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Yeah I think you might like them, they're definitely beefy, but once they get that turn locked in they feel good.

I just de-laminated my old K2 skis with a heat gun. They were not too bad. Marker bindings are what I do not like.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Trust issues with bindings are hard to get over, I still have bindings that make me nervous decades later.

@blurglide

8 ай бұрын

Why didn't you like the bindings?

Liked them back in the day when they were on Vashon Island, but I've hated every K2 ski I've tried over the last 20 years.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Yeah that's totally fair, I have been trying to do more research since they moved to make a video, but it's been very difficult to find.

One reason they're inexpensive is they moved their production to China. Some people don't care, but I'm not buying skis made there.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

I have heard that a lot too, and totally hear that critique, I would like to make some more content about this, do you have any links or insight on how I could find more info on this? My google searches keep bringing me to their original production in WA.

@irideaduck939

8 ай бұрын

My late friend worked for K2 for many years (I met him in 1998) as a ski designer and lab tester@@RicketySkiReviews , according to him K2 would ship all of the raw materials to China for the ski production, where they were saving is on the cost of labor. He spent weeks, if not months there each year supporting production. When K2 was purchased a lot of things changed. I have a pair of 100mm Annex, they have been a love hate relationship ... Super damped almost to the point of boring, plows through powder, but come spring skiing they are awesome.

@stonecoldsteez

8 ай бұрын

Reckoner 102 is the least durable ski I’ve ever owned. But I still love it haha

@irideaduck939

8 ай бұрын

@@stonecoldsteez my Atomic Bent 100's looked nearly new after 80 days, but my Armada Declivity's after almost 40 days look horrible. How are you defining durable?

@stonecoldsteez

8 ай бұрын

@@irideaduck939 edge cracks, tail tapped something and it dented the sidewall causing it to separate near the tail and slightly underfoot, fragile top sheet. These skis have less than 20 days on them.

I ski very agressively and beat on my skis. All other brands i have tried, i can get 80-100 solid days on them before they drastically lose performance. Any k2 skis i have tried, last about 20-30 days before they are packed out and almost useless.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

OoooOO, Good to know, I've not known anyone with these long term so nice to get your insight, thanks!

O come on... I know you bought the QSTs cuz they have the best base color;)

@darinsmith2458

8 ай бұрын

Are those the carbon or the TI? TI... I just saw that... I think they have a review on the carbon too.. Were you able to demo both?

@darinsmith2458

8 ай бұрын

Are they cheap? I think another way of saying the same thing is... Is everything else too $$$?

@darinsmith2458

8 ай бұрын

I have mixed thoughts and feelings about having longer or shorter effective edges.. It seams like the skis that I have that have shorter effective edges do like to turn and are catchy.. They also chatter at high speeds.. Early season when there are a ton of people on the hill (like tomorrow 11-21-2023) I will probably be on those skis.. My Stockli have a long effective edge and they do like to hold me in a turn.. I am more of a carver than a slarver and maybe if I could get those skis to slarve then they could work but I haven't learned how to do that with those skis.. There is shame in snowplowing Stockli..

@darinsmith2458

8 ай бұрын

The last couple days of the season I skied with a guy that was on the Mindbender 108 TI.. This guy skied those skies at a 120 metronome.. I mentioned that to him.. He would get on and off those edges so fast.. He had the same rhythm whether he skied the groomers, the moguls, the trees, the bowls.. I thought it was amazing.. My rhythm was more between 60-90.. One of the guys was more around the 60 side and there was another guy that was more around the 90 side.. So cool to see our fresh tracks in the bowl and to be able to compare.. One of the guys even made a video of me skiing down.. I would love to see it..

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

just the TI, and yes, I know the QST's have the top sheet colors of an office wall lol but they ski well. Same for the Mindbenders.

Chinese skis... covid orginated at the k2 factory...😂

K2 and other made in China skis are poor quality. If you see a broken ski on hill made in China is over represented. Skis made by people who ski are just better

Here is my take on these comments about China. If I start using everything that was made here, I will go bankrupt. There are skis made in US that I would love to buy if I can afford. I can't.

@ianholmquist8492

8 ай бұрын

Very few skis are made in the USA. And there are much more affordable and durable skis on the market than anything k2 has to offer. Also, it's a value for money thing. I could buy 1 pair of skis from almost any manufacturer and in the time it takes me to wear out 1 pair of those skis, i would wear out 2 or 3 pairs of k2's.

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Great point, I think they're a good value. TBF I also think you could find some other skis discounted this time of year that are equally affordable if you don't want k2 specifically.

@JayantW55

8 ай бұрын

​@ianholmquist8492 You are right about reputation K2 has since they have made some poor skis. But things have changed. Construction is much more solid now. Also I cracked my Salomon Stance last season during their first season.

I think K2 skis are priced wright...lo poblem is the rest of the ski makers industry with an INSANE MARK UP!!!!!!!

@RicketySkiReviews

8 ай бұрын

Good point,