2025 K2 Mindbender 116C

The 2025 K2 Mindbender 116 C is a wonderful example of a playful and surfy freeride ski that can handle a whole lot of snow. This ski gets a facelift for 2025 but otherwise returns unchanged from a structural perspective. This ski exemplifies directional freeride performance, especially when compared to the more playful Reckoner series of skis from K2. The Mindbender 116 has enough width, rocker, and taper to make it every effective in deep snow, tighter spaces, and adventurous terrain. Skiers enjoy the Mindbender’s ability to flex and smear while retaining responsiveness and confidence. K2 has made a living out of creating some of the most fun skis out there, and the 2025 Mindbender 116 C is a shining beacon in the world of wide directional skis.

Built with an aspen microblock core, the Mindbender 116 has a fantastic blend of light weight and energetic response. K2 has settled on aspen as a great wood for the majority of their skis and it shows in how much fun and pop they provide without feeling bogged down. In addition to the wood, K2 uses their carbon spectral braid technology which weaves carbon stringers along the top of the core. The cross-hatches get tighter in the shovel and then gradually get straighter as they get to the tail. This emphasizes the directional capacity of the ski by adding torsional stiffness to the initiation phase while keeping the tail longitudinally stiff at the exit. This allows for the ski to act like a rudder in deep snow and steer effectively. We also get strips of uni-directional flax that run tip to tail and boost the pep of the ski. Due to the overall surface area, these skis aren’t particularly light, but they do feel quite mobile as a result of the flex. Tester Pete Fox states that the ski is “Fun, floaty and nimble. Not something that’s going to plow through major crud, but a lot of fun on top of it.”

At 116 mm underfoot, these skis will stay on top, as Pete notes, but it’s not just about the width. These skis have gargantuan rocker and moderate taper that do the heavy lifting when providing rise in deep snow. This also makes them incredibly smooth and easy to turn. With a longer turn radius of 22.5-meters in the 187 cm length, these skis will easily modify to the skier’s whim and mandate. Bob St.Pierre got to ski these on day three of the ski test—a day in which the snow was more windblown than the days prior, but still very fresh and fun. “These skis did exactly what I told them to do. I kept it in the trees for the most part, and they were an absolute blast. Stayed right on top of the snow and provided perfect feedback through tighter quarters. As an added bonus, they were a lot of fun on the runouts—not a lot of skis this wide can hold a nice carve, but these ones can!” Even with that long arc, it’s fun to find different ways to utilize these soft-snow specialists.

While the ski is broad, it’s fair to say the audience is narrow. You need to know what you’re looking for to even land remotely close to this ski. If you are lucky enough to ski in an area in which this ski is an everyday option, then good for you, but for most of us, this will serve well as a wide ski as part of a larger quiver. There’s a lot to like here, especially in softer and deeper snow. This ski can handle a lot more than the width may indicate.