The i.Rally is dying to demonstrate proper carving technique. Just tip it on edge and it immediately gets the hint, settling into an arc with the ease of cat curling up on a sofa. If you want a tighter arc, all you have to do is ask by adding a measure of edge angle to the otherwise effortless process. The ski seems to gain energy as it accelerates, so the faster you go, the quicker the i.Rally responds. As long as the terrain is groomed, the i.Rally drives with precision, energy and confidence-building stability at speed.
One way to encapsulate the i.Titan’s personality is as “combi carver,” a ski with the stability at speed of a GS race ski and the quick reflexes of a slalom. It would take an avalanche to knock it off edge yet it can make serpentine S’s in an unending spool. What we wrote about the i.Titan last season still pertains: “This is what a perfectly balanced ski is all about, absolute power with fingertip control. It’s exhilarating to let the i.Titan run, leaning into the belly of big, bodacious arcs, feeling as carefree as riding first class.”
There are plenty of choices in the market for skiers who want a shorter camber zone, something easier to swivel, maybe a little fatter so it will float better. The MX84 is the antidote to all that. Its absurdly high Finesse score isn’t because it’s easy for anyone to ski; it’s because the experts who tested it fell in love with its line-hugging power and imperturbable calm. This is why testers who rarely write comments start decorating their test cards with hearts.
Meet Ms. Mid, aka the K2 Luv Sick 80ti. Her waist width is in the middle of the Frontside bell curve. Her tapered tip and tail and all-terrain rocker gently disengage her extremities so she can concentrate her efforts on the middle. While her sidecut is capable of making a tight radius arc, she’d rather ride at a lower edge angle and peel off medium-radius turns to keep her speed – you guessed it – moderate.
If you take a close look at the scores for the Power Instinct Ti Pro for all ten criteria (available on our members’ site), you’ll see above average scores for every criterion and a brilliant result for stability at speed, a benchmark of excellence. There’s only one area where it gets beaten up, literally and figuratively: off-piste performance. Little wonder. The Power Instinct Ti Pro is totally dialed for on-trail heroics: a system ski, it comes with a fairly high plate, the binding bumps up the ramp angle and it has a well-scalloped sidecut. These features contribute to uncanny control on groomed runs – the Power Instinct can hold an edge at speed alongside the best in the genre – but it’s as manageable as a moody cat in knee-deep crud.
