K2 approached us about helping it promote a model for next season. We discussed the iKonic 85Ti and the new, and very good, Pinnacle 88. These two skis are very important to sales; almost every shop that carries K2 will stock them because, quite frankly, they will sell a lot. Every review site is testing them. Skiers will get on iKonics and Pinnacles and be happy and have fun and have a large dose of the K2 warm and fuzzies. Like a comfortable pair of jeans ... and this is all good.
This new Super Charger, however, is going to make people uncomfortable. It is an image-busting ski for K2, and a very important one at that. K2 wants to show that it is still in the game and should be taken seriously. This is the ski I wanted us to focus on, the ski that I think skiers -- the hard-core technical skiers who are the demographics of this site -- need to know K2 is building. It is not always about sales; sales will come. This is about image, and respect. This is about an aspen/paulownia wood core, metal laminate, full tip-to-tail sidewall, and K2's ROX carbon cross-weave making a bad-ass ski. Think of a modern-day KVC.
When I am totally surprised or caught off guard by a ski -- either good or bad -- I make sure to get a second opinion (and a third). As soon as I got off the all-new Super Charger at Copper, I immediately sought out another one of our testers -- in this case, @FairToMiddlin -- and made sure he skied them. He had the same conclusion, better than expected. I made sure @Brian Finch tried them back east at Stratton, and, again, we had a winner.
This new Super Charger, however, is going to make people uncomfortable. It is an image-busting ski for K2, and a very important one at that. K2 wants to show that it is still in the game and should be taken seriously. This is the ski I wanted us to focus on, the ski that I think skiers -- the hard-core technical skiers who are the demographics of this site -- need to know K2 is building. It is not always about sales; sales will come. This is about image, and respect. This is about an aspen/paulownia wood core, metal laminate, full tip-to-tail sidewall, and K2's ROX carbon cross-weave making a bad-ass ski. Think of a modern-day KVC.
When I am totally surprised or caught off guard by a ski -- either good or bad -- I make sure to get a second opinion (and a third). As soon as I got off the all-new Super Charger at Copper, I immediately sought out another one of our testers -- in this case, @FairToMiddlin -- and made sure he skied them. He had the same conclusion, better than expected. I made sure @Brian Finch tried them back east at Stratton, and, again, we had a winner.
- Who is it for? Technical skiers, Level II and III instructors looking for a world-class instrument.
- Who is it not for? Eurosnobs, skiers who think the best hard-snow skis come only from Europe. This is the new Chevy Camaro kicking the BMW M4's ass in a recent Motor Trend comparison test.
- Insider tip: The Supercharger is the real deal.
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