2023 K2 Dispatch 101

The movement towards lighter weight alpine skis that are intended to be used as 50/50 touring/resort setups is growing rapidly, and the Dispatch 101 is K2’s latest foray into the mix. These skis certainly have some interesting aspects that set them apart from the competition, including being one of the only backcountry skis that features metal in it. Starting with a paulownia wood core, these skis are light and energetic from the start. They then apply their Hex-Beam titanal laminate, which uses hexagonally shaped metal plates in the shovel, mid-body, and tail connected by a central metal spine. This gives the tips and tails more stability and dampness while keeping the edge grip underfoot fully intact. K2 also uses flax fibers that run tip to tail that stiffen the ski and increase responsiveness. Not stopping there, we also see Vibradet material used underfoot for damping purposes. All of this stuff in the ski adds up to a weight of 1695 grams per ski in the 182, which isn’t terribly light, but light enough for touring applications. The other outlier here is the turn radius. In that 182, we see a 26.3-meter arc, which is about as long as it gets in skis these days. Straighter cuts are better for skinning and taking more direct avenues down the fall line, so it’s interesting seeing K2 take this approach here.

Bob St.Pierre skied the 182, noting that it “felt a bit short because it is light, but the stiffness and the radius makes it ski longer.” He gave the ski 4’s out of 5 for flotation, stability, quickness, and maneuverability. On the lower end, we see 2’s for playfulness and forgiveness, and 3’s for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and versatility. Bob notes that he’s “Not quite sure what to make of this, but it's a very interesting ski that's pretty darn unique. Long turn radius, light weight, stiff flex, and amazingly the narrowest is a 101. You can't just tip it over or else you'll tip over, especially on groomed or non-powder, but when you get into softer snow, or up to speed on smooth terrain, this thing really comes to life. Meant to be more of a 50/50 touring/resort ski, it certainly has a versatile weight application, but the feel of it almost makes you want to just go fast on groomers. Very strange, but a whole lot of fun!”

Dave Hatoff skied the 175 and noted it skied true to size for him. His scores were a bit higher than Bob’s, with 4’s going for overall impression, versatility, quickness, maneuverability, stability, and flotation. 3’s dotted the rest of the card for torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, and playfulness. Dave notes that the Dispatch 101 has “nice edge hold for a touring ski. Very light and easy to ski. Solid all-around performance for 50/50 resort/touring ski.” Also on the 175, Mike Aidala notes that “The new Dispatch 101 skis are very stable and powerful. For a big mountain charger at 101mm underfoot, the ski performance is legit. The power and stability of K2's Dispatch 101 skis is very surprising for being so light in weight. The Dispatch skis are a great option for skiers looking to head uphill for big mountain backcountry descents and charge on the way down with confidence that their skis can handle it. The skis also provide an ideal lightweight and reliable performance for crushing resort terrain.”

We’re not yet sold on this ski being squarely in either the touring or resort side of the spectrum, rather it does land squarely in the middle. Sometimes we let the marketing of the ski take it in a different direction than what we’d like, and honestly, we haven’t quite figured out the Dispatch line just yet. They do, certainly, have an interesting build and shape to them, so at least K2 is thinking and building outside the box a bit.