10 Best K2 Skis of 2025 | For All Types of Skiing

New for the 2023/24 season, the Crescendo is here to replace the Pon2oon as K2’s widest powder ski. This one is similar to the Mindbender 116C but with more taper in the tail.

Due to material updates, the Crescendo is lighter than the Pon2oon, yet has superior high-speed performance. Built with advanced technology, these skis have a responsive wood core that offers stability and strength without adding weight, ensuring precise control and maneuverability. It utilizes K2’s new braided core design to twist together the aspen/ paulownia materials.

This 132mm ski has one goal: tackling deep powder. The innovative rocker-camber profile combines camber underfoot for stability and edge hold with rocker in the tip and tail for maneuverability and powder flotation.

The Crescendo is constructed with a durable sidewall, ensuring torsional rigidity and excellent edge grip, making it reliable on groomed runs, despite it being built for off-piste adventures. If you’re an intermediate skier looking to progress or an advanced skier seeking high-performance gear, the K2 Crescendo is an excellent tool for conquering the deep stuff.

The Mindbender 108Ti truly deserves its quiver-killing reputation, this is the only ski you will need. As far as all-rounders go, the Mindbender series as a whole is very competitive, none more so than the 108Ti.  

If you want a ski that can rip down the hill but still has some play and maneuverability, the Mindbender 108 Ti is a great place to start your search.

Though the 108 Ti is marketed as a hard-charging freeride ski, it can do so much more than just blast down variable pitches like they were groomers. It rails turns, floats on deep snow, and has a reliable set of landing gear to boot. You’d be missing out if you didn’t take a more exploratory approach to riding in these.

K2’s premium park offerings have taken their fair share of podiums, respectively. While they may be sporting some fancy new topsheets, these freestyle skis have withstood the test of time– with roots tracing back to classics like the Missconduct.

There are some slight discrepancies between the men’s Poacher and the women’s Midnight, but those can be chalked up to averaging out size differences. Both of these models slay features, and have the record to prove it.

Sitting at modest sizes underfoot, with a good amount of camber and a rockered twin-tip build- there’s nothing crazy about the design of these park skis. They’re more than capable of sliding rails and stomping landings consistently and predictably, and are no slouch when it comes to hooking your edges into groomers either.

For the 2023-2024 season, the Wayback 96, a beloved favorite, made way for the slightly wider Wayback 98. These skis are all about versatility, balancing weight, performance, and durability.

The Wayback 98 stands out with its lightweight design, weighing just over 6 pounds for the pair. This makes it an excellent choice for those who relish the ascent and descent. These skis provide an ideal introduction to touring, ensuring you won’t be bogged down on the uphill journey.

What distinguishes the Wayback 98 is its thoughtfully crafted rocker/camber profile, excelling in a variety of conditions, from icy slopes to deep powder. The strategic inclusion of titanal in their construction enhances their dampness and stability, a feature more commonly found in burlier downhill skis. This gives the Wayback 98 remarkable predictability, even in challenging terrains and rough snow conditions.

Keep in mind that the Wayback 98 leans toward the softer end of the spectrum, which may leave expert-level skiers craving more power.

The Mindbender 90 Ti may be less assuming than other skis in the series, but don’t discount it because of its modest waist. It’s a super versatile ski, and it allows savvy skiers to approach off-piste crushing from a totally different angle.

It’s not often you’ll see a comparatively narrow all-mountain ski that’s this much fun to ride. Whether you’re a beginner looking for an all-mountain option that doesn’t take a ton of finesse or an expert who favors the versatility of a narrow ski, the 90 Ti is worth spending a couple of seasons on.

Like all K2 skis with the Ti moniker, the Mindbender 90’s have a titanal fork that adds a little more oomph to specific parts of the ski. In the 90 TI case, the shovel has a bit more give to absorb chunks, clumps, and the occasional root.

In contrast, the tail has more of a single titanal beam to give you some serious driving power. To this end, it has a long rocker, but not a very pronounced one to try and maximize performance while still keeping choppy snow in play.

The K2 Mindbender 116 C is the fun, playful powder option of the Mindbender series. But don’t be fooled; the entire Mindbender line takes a freeride-oriented approach to their respective specialties, and the 116C is more than just a powder ski. 

It has a very standard all-mountain rocker/camber profile. The 116 waist is generous enough to give you some float but not so much that you can’t take these out when conditions are variable. You might have to do a bit of feathering on bulletproof mornings, but they’ll be fun to ride again by the time things soften up in the sun. 

The most fascinating thing about this ski is the “Spectral Braid.” Besides having an admittedly cool name, it’s a means of adding some intentional stiffness or play to the ski without throwing in the weight of a metal sheet. That means that the 116 Cs are uncommonly floaty and light for a powder ski with a comparatively modest waist width. 

In a season fixated on a more traditional, hard charging attitude, K2 has come forward with a lightweight, playful option that can still rip hard on groomers and variable snow alike. The K2 Reckoner 102 is the thinnest underfoot in a line of more powder-oriented skis. They’re still fully capable of blasting through drifts of fresh snow, but can get on edge a little bit faster than their fatter counterparts. The K2 Reckoner is an awesome all mountain alternative to the stiff skis dominating the market, and can provide predictable and fun performance across most any conditions

The bases are made of lightweight aspen and fir. It has a decent amount of rocker, though not as much as a true powder ski, and the tips are soft enough to swallow up bumps and crud without buckling your knees. Underfoot, the Reckoner 102 is stable enough to handle all the terrain on the mountain, and absorbs impact well enough for you to be confident taking them off the ground. K2 claims that they shine in the park, as well.

Expert skiers and those just catching their stride will find much to love in the Reckoner. It’s versatility is hard to match, and it somehow balances that with being an incredibly fun ski to ride. For all that, it’s still incredibly practical and a serious contender for a dedicated single ski quiver, and can keep up with most any level of skier (check out this list  of other top-tier K2 skis).

K2’s Wayback 106 is one of the lightest skis in its category. It’s probably one of the more practical backcountry options currently on the market. It’s a medium-width ski with an eye-catching low weight and reasonable performance when the snow isn’t too crazy. It’s easy and intuitive to ride and is catered more toward people who favor intermediate missions on consistent terrain.

Despite its low weight, it still has a fair amount of stiffness in the tail. You can tip it on edge and get a reliable result in pretty much any conditions. That being said, the Wayback doesn’t handle chopped up or blocky snow very well. If you find yourself in a debris field or switching rapidly from slab to drift, it can feel pretty sketchy. 

The Wayback is for someone who’s not exactly sure what they’re looking for in a backcountry setup. It’s lightweight and does just about everything well enough to justify taking it out for a spin, regardless of the weather. There are several other versions of the Wayback with a little less width for those who are more prone to skiing corn than powder.

K2’s Disruption series, the Disruption Ti in particular, garnered attention for delivering a race feel with a touch more versatility and considerably less punishment than something more staunchly constructed.

The 76X takes things a step further, and gives new skiers a chance to learn to ride like the pros.  This ski capitalizes on the same traditional shape as others in the series, but with a much more forgiving ride appropriate for beginners.

With all of the variety, buying skis is a daunting task. Opting for beginner skis like this saves you the trouble of sandbagging yourself while giving you the opportunity to learn proper ski form from the ground up.

Do you like to go fast? Are you not satisfied until all of your friends are mere specks on the hill behind you? Do you revel in comments like “Dude, maybe you should slow it down a little bit?” 

If you’re an advanced skier who refuses to let a ski control you, the Disruption MTI’s are your ticket to the bottom of the hill. They are absolute groomer nukers, sure to leave twin tracks of burning snow in perfect s-turns all the way down the mountain. 

At its heart, it’s a pretty standard carving ski. Still, the intricacies of the MTI’s construction is what sets it apart from the competition. K2 runs a single titanal beam along most of the ski’s length, which lends the MTI some serious umph. It’s further dampened by a ring of polymer sandwiched between two carbon layers, which circles the perimeter of the ski. 

The Disruption is a well-engineered carver that feels eager to roll from edge to edge. It’s not the right ski for everyone. But Given how well it performs within the confines of its design, it certainly holds appeal for a vast number of ex-racers and ski pros who favor big, charging turns.