2022 K2 Disruption 78 Ti

As befits the brand that made “rocker” an enduring entry in the ski design lexicon, K2 hasn’t paid much attention to the ski market below an 80mm waist width – where cambered baselines still dwell – since the brand lost interest in racing around the turn of the millennium. In 20/21, K2 error corrected with a vengeance by launching the 10-model Disruption series of carving skis. As is often the case in the world ski market, K2’s new carving collection straddles the Technical/Frontside divide, with the vector models landing on the skinny side, and the more versatile, less demanding models populating the slightly wider Frontside domain. In the Disruption series, the 78 Ti isn’t a watered-down carver, just a wider one, as it borrows the same construction and almost fully cambered baseline of the flagship Disruption MTi. Both the power and forgiveness inherent in the Disruption 78 Ti derive from the same source, a single band of Titanal the runs nearly the entire length of the ski in a uniform width that matches the waist dimension. This creates an edge that holds firmly yet softly, as if its aluminum alloy guts were wrapped in velvet. On soft groomers, it feels like the edge is cushioned yet never loses contact, thanks in large part to a baseline that has zero tail elevation and only a smidgeon of early rise at the tip.