The 2023 K2 Disruption MTi gets a graphics update, but remains the same structurally, and that’s fantastic news for skiers who love his front-side ripper. Built with a wood core consisting of maple and aspen, these skis are pretty stiff to start, but they add their Titanal I-Beam that does a lot of the heavy lifting in the power and stability departments. It spans full-width underfoot while tapering to the central chord in the tips and tails. In those ends of the skis, K2 also uses their Dark Matter Damping material to absorb and filter out any unwanted vibrations or chatter. The end result, as we’ve seen over the past few years, is a super-slick ski that carves crazy turns down the mountain. At 74 mm underfoot, it’s not race-narrow, rather it has a slightly wider platform for more balance and approachability. In the 175 cm length, we are seeing an 18.1-meter turn radius, and that’s great for mid to long arcs on any type of firm or groomed snow. There’s really not a lot of all-mountain capabilities with this ski—the MTi is laser-focused on the front side, and it has the data and experience to back it up. Minimal camber, Powerwall, and zero taper complete the build and shape, creating a haven for advanced and expert skiers who want something strong and fast for early-morning groomer laps.
ROCKER PROFILE
Camber
CORE MATERIALS
Dark Matter Damping
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Groomers
Fortunately, we were able to get our A-Team of carving testers on these skis. Michael Rooney skied the 175 and noted it was true to size. He gave the ski top marks of 5 out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. 4’s completed his card in forgiveness, playfulness, and flotation. We’re certainly not mistaking this for a powder ski, but it’s nice when a carver stays on top of any type of broken snow. Michael notes that “The Disruption disrupts the idea you cannot have a good club race ski that also is fun and good cruising and dealing with a mix of soft snow and ice in the same run.” We do not disagree in the least. Another Mike, Anglin, this time, found that the 175 skied true to size, although he’d likely size up to the 180 for himself. He had a lone 5 out of 5 for versatility on his card, with 4’s given for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. He gave it a 3 for flotation, which is almost on the gratuitous side. “K2's Disruption MTI is truly a disruption to the 74 waisted 18m radius players that want to compete with it. It's the full package when it comes to hard charging frontside skis that thrive in hard snow. I'm pretty sure if Seth Morrison were to ski at The Stowe Mountain Resort on a -10-degree firm fresh morning ..... you might find him on these. Just saying. The torsional stiffness and versatility are just the start of the many strengths of this ski. Couldn't find many weaknesses with it, other than the top sheet matching my 'kit' way beyond my comfort level. It was kind of weird. The advanced intermediate, to hard charging expert will lay trenches on all the morning corduroy they choose to excavate.”
Jamie O’Brien and his racing expertise found the 175 to be longer than expected, scoring the MTi 5’s out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. A 4 for stability and a 3 for flotation round out his scorecard, noting that “The ski that disrupts whatever the mtn throughs your way. Dry packed pow, hardpack, or deep slush, it’s a versatile multi-tool for the advanced weekend warrior. It's a ton of fun frontside ski that does it all willingly.” Another Stowe ripper, Greg Petrics, found the 175 a little short, and he’d take the 180 for himself as well. Greg realistically gave the ski a 1 out of 5 for flotation, with 3’s for stability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and versatility. Higher up, we see 4’s for overall impression, quickness, and maneuverability. Further up the scale still, we get 5’s for playfulness and forgiveness. “The K2 Disruption MTi has the personality of an on-piste carver that is a bit more forgiving than the usual World Cup race inspired ski. Its strengths are that it lets the skier really control their turn shape, and ski both pisted slopes as well as the occasional dip into the off-trail terrain and woods. The weakness of the ski is that it doesn't hold an edge quite as well as some of the other skis in the Disruption line such as the 78C. The ski is somewhat versatile, albeit you have to understand that it is designed with an on-piste-first mindset. I was surprised though that it had no trouble slarving through some firm snow in woods with a teensy bit of fresh on top. The ski is mostly at home on the groomed trails, and will appeal to a wide band of intermediate skiers, although probably will be too much ski for intermediates closer to the "just getting started" side of the spectrum. Advanced skiers might also find the ski a little too forgiving.”
Narrow, grippy, and a lot of fun, the K2 Disruption MTi has a lot to offer today’s front side enthusiast. With a relatively wide range of ability range, these skis use their quickness and agility to appeal to the intermediate/advanced members of the ski family while relying on the metallic dampness and power to strut its stuff in front of the experts and former racers of the world.
