K2 Magical Fun

During my demo day the K2 rep and I had some fun with ski selections. I tested three skis and fell in love with one of them. Two of the skis I tested were new to K2 – the Potion line. It's a great new line with a wide variety of skis.

The first ski I tested was the K2 Potion 84. This is a new ski for the 2014/15 ski year which K2 has classified as an All Terrain Rocker ski that is meant for all mountain and free ride skiing. The Potion 84, as with all the Potion skis, get their Potion number from the width underfoot. You guessed it, this ski is 84 underfoot. It had a tip width of 128, and a tail width of 112. I rode the 160cm length, which had a 14m turn radius.

I liked the graphics of this ski. Dark, simple colours, but the swirling adds a nice depth to the visual appeal. I think they have done a good job in designing the visuals of this new line-up.

The Potion 84 is a responsive ski, fairly easy to turn when put on edge. There were times that I felt I had to work the ski a bit to get it to bite, this was mainly on the icier sections of the hill. But I liked the turns the ski made and felt that it was a good intermediate ski. The ski flexed well and the rocker allowed the ski to react like it was shorter ski.

I didn't get to take this ski into more choppy terrain, but from what I experienced I think that it would be fun in these conditions. The Potion 84 is light weight enough that it would make some good turns in choppy snow, but has the width underfoot to allow it to float.

The Goods:

All terrain

Responsive

Intermediate ski

Good graphics

The “Not-So-Goods”:

Hard to edge on some terrain – icier areas

Not overwhelmed by the ski – maybe a bit boring

The other ski I rode in the Potion line up was the Potion 90. The ski is again listed as an all mountain ski, but also comes touring ready – for those added parts you need to tour. I rode the 163cm ski, that has a turning radius of 15m. It had measurements of 132 tip, 90 underfoot (had you already guessed that one?), 115 tail.

The graphics of this ski are much brighter than the Potion 84 – which I really liked. They have a darker background, but lots of colour on top. Green, purple, and a few shades of blue all swirled together. In the end it creates an eye-catching look.

Now that I've laid out the details of this ski, I can let you know how much I loved the Potion 90! I ended my time on this ski grinning from ear to ear. It was a super fun to ski to ride. It was responsive and turned really well. I only had to slightly edge the ski for it to react with gusto. By no means did it over-turn, it just responded really well and quickly. I rode the Potion 90 fast and it gripped the snow really well, giving me total control.

I would love to get my hands on this ski again to take it into powder and loser snow. I imagine that it's light weight and ability to react will make it very fun and versatile in these snow conditions.

The Goods:

I loved this ski!

All terrain – it would be super fun in the choppier terrain

Responsive and agile

Intermediate/advanced ski that will have you smiling

Great graphics and colours

The “Not-So-Goods”:

huuummmmm, can't really think of one...

The final K2 ski I had the luck to ride on demo day was the K2 Remedy 102. This is a ski in the current K2 line-up that has received some tweaks for the 2014/15 ski year. One of note is the tapered tip that still allows for float, but also allows the ski to cut nicely through deeper snow and chop. They have also changed the graphics for this year. The ski is now mainly a green colour with some blue on a darker background. Not sure that I love the new colouring, but there are more important things to a ski than colour, right?

I skied a long ski (170cm), but it is available in a size that I would be better suited for (163cm). At the 163cm length the ski has a turning radius of 16m. The Remedy has the following dimensions: 131 tip, 102 underfoot, 125 tail.

I found the Remedy to be a large ski, good for big sweeping turns – remember that it has a 16m turn radius. While the Remedy was great for big turns, it took some work to do shorter radius turns. Not surprising when you consider the turn radius and the length of ski I was riding. I also found that when I tried to power the Remedy 102, I didn't get a great ride on the ski, physically draining and unresponsive. As soon as I relaxed and let the ski do the work I found it much more fun and it carved enjoyable turns.

I think that this would be an enjoyable ski to get into an open bowl, but sadly I only tested it on groomers. This ski is considered an all terrain ski, but I think that it's strength lies in deeper snow and chop.

The Goods:

All terrain

Tapered tip update

deep snow and chop

good for big sweeping turns

The “Not-So-Goods”:

Not in love with the new graphics

sluggish at quicker turns