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.”
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.
Bob Gleason of Boot Doctors sensed the change in the new iKonic 84ti, calling it, “a new feel for K2, a true all mountain carver. The elongated sidecut connects immediately with substantial power. A top contender among all mountain carvers,” he concludes. By “elongated sidecut,” Gleason is referring to the fact that the widest point in the iKonic 84ti’s forebody is up in the shovel, so the edge behind it provides a continuous rail all the way into the tail. In other words, neither tip nor tail is tapered as they would be on a Big Mountain model.
All these alterations make the new iKonic 80ti a much more competent carver than the ski of the same name a year ago. It’s particularly adept at short-radius turns, but will make bigger turns if asked. All these performance improvements haven’t altered the quintessential K2 trait of forgiveness. Turns flow intuitively edge to edge with a reliable grip that inspires confidence. For providing a first-class carving experience in return for a tourist-class expenditure of effort, we award the iKonic 80ti a Silver Skier Selection.
