2023 K2 Mindbender 90C W

We get a graphics recharge and a slight name change, but the 2023 K2 Mindbender 90C W remains the same agile and awesome ski that we’ve known and loved for a few years now. Built with an Aspen veneer wood core, the skis also get K2’s carbon boost and carbon spectral braid laminates. The boost consists of vertically-placed carbon stringers that stiffen the ski from fore to aft, making it energetic and snappy, especially in longer and straighter turn. The Spectral Braiding allows the engineers at K2 to fine-tune the flex of the ski, mostly in a torsional manner. With tighter braiding in the front and looser in the back, the directional nature of the ski really comes to life.

Abby Maurice skied the 163, noting that it was both true to size and the length that she’d choose for herself. She gave it top marks of 5 out of 5 for flotation, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, and forgiveness. We see 4’s for overall impression, versatility, and stability, and 3’s for torsional stiffness and edge hold. Abby calls it “Light, floaty and fun. The construction makes for quick maneuverability and floatability in softer, fluffier conditions. Its stability is not meant for higher speeds on hard packed terrain, however; give them a pop in the trees or after a nice dusting and they'd more forgiving. I would hand these to someone looking for a playful day in more powdery conditions and steer them away from an aggressive skier. As a faster skier, I needed to rework my weight distribution to hold an edge.” It does have a speed limit that we’ve found, but as Abby said, she skis pretty fast, so it’s not like everyone’s going to hit that top-end.

On the 163, Allison Kozar notes that the ski felt true to size and was a good length for her. She had lots of high scores for the Mindbender 90C W, including 5’s out of 5 for flotation, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, and forgiveness, with 4’s covering the rest of the card. This is a pretty darn impressive spread of scores there from Allison, showing that she’s a pretty good fan of these skis. Stating that these skis are “super-fun in all conditions and terrain, the Mindbender 90C W is a great choice for intermediate and advanced skiers. They really make any shape or style of turn that you want, and they’re incredibly easy to control. I had a total blast on these skis and would recommend them to a lot of different skiers.” The good energy and flexible nature of the ski are a good combination, allowing skiers to easily control and manipulate the turns, keeping fun as a big part of the equation.

If you’re looking for that ~90mm all-mountain ski that really does it all quite well, the K2 Mindbender 90C W is a fantastic choice. It gets the benefits from K2’s engineering and design departments in terms of the use of carbon, and has a very well-rounded personality and character that just makes a lot of skiers quite happy.