K2 completely changed every core model in its 19/20 line, without straying one centimeter from its core values. True, the Mindbenders are built differently than the Pinnacles of yesteryear, using all wood cores in their Ti incarnations (say ta-ta to Nano-tech), and more Titanal in the tail section to increase rear support compared to the passé Pinnacles.

Even though the Mindbender Ti series, of which the 90Ti is the narrowest, aims for a better class of skier (if you’ll pardon the expression), they’re not so stout they can’t be controlled by adventurous intermediates. The Mindbenders’ Ti Y-Beam construction puts Titanal over the edge in the forebody but moves it away from edge in the tail. This adjusts the skis’ torsional rigidity requirements to create more bite in the forebody and easier release of the tail, without affecting their even, balanced flex longitudinally.

Light and responsive to a gentle hand on the reins, the Mindbender 90Ti may at first blush feel a tad too loose in the tip to trust at warp speed, but it proves trustworthy if given a chance to run at high rpms. An elevated platform connected to the core by its robust sidewall gives the Mindbender 90 Ti turbo power when rolled on edge. “It turns the way you ask it to and holds with confidence on hardpack,” attests Ward Pyles from Peter Glenn. “Great all-mountain,” confirms the concise Karl Jacobson from Jan’s.

There’s a small army of K2 adherents who still cling to their old Rictor and Annex models as if they were revered household pets they can’t bear to put down. If you’re still running around on a pair of Apaches, let them die with dignity. The Mindbender 90Ti will remind you why you fell in love with K2’s in the first place. Maybe you can’t go home again in a strictly literal sense, but you can recapture the sense of being there. The Mindbender 90Ti will take longtime K2 skiers back to where they once belonged.

For maintaining K2’s tradition of simplifying off-trail skiing, we award the Mindbender 90Ti a Sliver Skier Selection.