2023 K2 Mindbender 99Ti

The 2023 K2 Mindbender 99Ti gets a bit of an update for this year, making it smoother, more powerful, and even slightly more playful than in years past. Changes to the construction, including the titanal Y-beam make a lot of sense for this ski, allowing it to have a more sophisticated feel than the previous build. Still made with an aspen veneer wood core, K2 has done away with the powerwall sidewall and just made it a vertical sidewall from tip to tail. This gives the ski more consistency in flex, and makes it so skiers can drive the ski from end to end and get the same performance throughout. In addition, they have changed up the Y-Beam to be more in tune with the desired effect of the ski, putting slightly more metal in the tail for dampness and grip while keeping the main parts of the shovel end intact. The front part now acts more like wings rather than bars, so take that for what you will, we’ve found that we really liked it, so whatever they did, it worked well. The 184 cm length produces a 19.6-meter turn radius, so that gives this thing a longer-turn style—perfect for advanced and expert skiers who like to let them run. One of the other main changes is the extended rocker profile, so by tightening up the sidewall and metal in the tail, K2 offset that with more tail rocker, giving the ski more of a freeride feel but still in an all-mountain shape and build. It’s nice to see these changes from K2, and we’ve always liked this 99Ti as a strong member of a competitive group.

We normally put Greg Petrics on more front-side skis, but it’s great to see what his carving acumen can do on a wider ski like this as well. He skied the 184 and noted that it felt just right and he’d select it for himself. With all 4’s and 5’s on his card, he has some good feedback on this ski: “This was my first time on a Mindbender, and consider my mind bent. The ski's personality is that of a mid-fat all around ski, but seems to have struck a better balance than most between powder performance and on-piste performance. The strength of this ski is its versatility and playfulness. The playfulness especially stood out to me; I dove the tips into all manner of chopped crud, and the shape of the ski rose to the challenge giving me great turns and control that made skiing outright fun. The ski does a great job at holding an edge on firm snow as well, but at 99 mm underfoot, the edge hold is necessarily compromised a bit, and this would be the weakness. As far as recommended terrain: the whole mountain is yours on this ski, but you'll have the most fun finding piles of looser snow along the sides of the trail and letting the ski do the work. Intermediates on through advanced skiers will enjoy this ski. The rocker has been adjusted this year to give intermediates more control from the center stance, but the shape of the sidecut remains the same as the past, and gives advanced skiers the opportunity to find performance by pressing the front of the ski as well. Intermediates should consider sizing down one step.” It is a pretty burly ski, and there’s no need to size up for stability.

Also on the 184, Bob St.Pierre wouldn’t size up, but could, so that again speaks to the stable nature of the ski. “Lots of high scores for me on this one. Increased tail rocker makes this thing a lot more fun than it used to be, especially in softer snow. Still rock-solid in the stability department, the MB99Ti is a fantastic choice for all-mountain skiers looking for a wider and curvier option while still keeping things nimble and quick. This new version is way better in bumps and trees, too, so it's kind of leaning more into Enforcer 100 territory with the more freeride mentality.” Bob had all 4’s on his card with the exception of a 3 for forgiveness, showing the stiff nature of the Mindbender 99Ti. Matt McGinnis noted about his 178: “I absolutely loved these skis. After skiing on some pairs over the last couple of days that didn’t feel particularly responsive, the Mindbender 99Ti felt plenty lively, willing and even eager to bounce edge to edge. Surprisingly though, this energy wasn’t even the highlight for me. Instead, it was the incredible edge hold that had my jaw dropped. On edge, these skis were literally effortless. At times I literally tried to see how little I could do while maintaining a carve. Bad idea, I nearly fell asleep. Just kidding. But the point stands, these things are incredibly easy to use while being both highly responsive and powerful. I would recommend these to strong intermediate to expert level skiers.”

Skiers who know how to handle a burlier ski will really enjoy the upgrades to the K2 Mindbender 99Ti. These skis have always been smooth and strong, but now they take that to the next level. With the implementation of more tail rocker to the mix, they move ever so slightly away from being too demanding from soft snow to right in the sweet spot for all conditions. Like a lot of other skis in this range, there’s a lot of competition, so they really have to do it all quite well, and that’s where the Mindbender 99Ti finds itself these days.