The brilliantly named Luv Boat brings K2’s new Channel Light Core into a ski with Big Mountain dimensions, where its ultralight weight is a more pronounced plus. But just because this Luv Boat has bypassed the buffet line doesn’t mean it’s now some cigarette boat.  The Luv Boat also has a more connected baseline than a lot of skis this wide, which is great when snow depth is skinny or you’re returning to base on a sketchy cat-track.

But it’s still essentially a powder board. “This is a boat,” agreed Galena Gleason of The Boot Doctors in Telluride. “It floats and plows through terrain like a barge.  It was not super agile.  Best for crud and powder specific conditions,” she advised.  Galena happens to be an exceptional technical skier with a lot of vertical on her ski odometer; it’s wise to pay her heed.