Expert Review: 2023 K2 Mindbender 89Ti Skis [with Video]

Published on 09/09/2023 · 5 min readSki Expert Thomas Harari tested the 2023 K2 Mindbender 89Ti skis on carving, freestyle, and freeride at Powder Mountain in Utah.
Thomas Harari, Ski Expert
By Ski Expert Thomas Harari

Curated Ski Expert Thomas Harari tested the 2023 K2 Mindbender 89Ti this spring at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every skier is different. If you have any questions about the Mindbender 89Ti or need recommendations on which ski would be best for you, reach out to a Ski Expert here on Curated.

One final point before we dive in: It's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does K2 claim about this ski? K2 designed this ski for the all-mountain, mostly firm snow-oriented skier. It’s probably for primarily skiing groomers and more of an East Coast-specific ski. They also claim that it’s for someone who's skiing exclusively groomers in the West.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this ski? Overall, this is a really solid firm snow ski. It's relatively stiff. It's going to carve that firm snow and ice. It's not like a true carving ski, so it does have some versatility. It's going to be able to ski all sorts of snow but definitely is going to focus more on East Coast, Midwest, firm snow, ice, and people that want to dabble in a little bit of everything. It does well on the groomers.

The overall big take that I would say about this is this ski really wants to turn from the tip. It's not a ski that you pivot around your feet. You need to drive into the front of your boots, and then you're going to pivot from the tip of the ski, and those tails are going to slide versus a ski where it's going to feel like it pivots right under your boot.

How is the shape of the ski and the ski profile? And how does it impact the skiing experience? Since the ski is mostly cambered, it's got Titanal metal in it, and it's really stable at speed.

This is a ski you can definitely rip wide open. It's not the stiffest thing on the planet. It's not a race ski. It's not a 100 percent carving ski, but if you want to ski really fast on the groomers, this is going to 100 percent do it for you.

Carving

How does it turn? So this ski turns really well. It carves well. It's not specifically a carving ski, but it's a ski that's primarily for carving firm snow and groomers. It's going to do a little bit of everything else. It has the Y-beam technology, which means that there's wider Titanal metal in the tip and it gets narrower in the tail. So this is kind of what causes the ski to turn from the tip, also what is going to allow you to break your tails loose very easily. So you can carve big turns, you can also make much tighter turns very easily on this ski.

Freestyle

How playful is it? This is not a park ski. It's not a playful ski. This is meant to be a super locked-in firm snow and ice ski. You're not going to be bouncing around on this. It's not going to be fun to pop off of.

You could totally jump off of some things on it, but it's not going to be great in the park, and it's not going to be a buttery, playful ski.

Freeride

How would it be in powder? So this ski is 89 millimeters underfoot, meaning it's not a wide ski. It's not a powder ski. That being said, for its width, it's going to float pretty all right. It's not going to be fantastic. It's not going to be bad. On a few inches of new snow, it's going to do just great.

How is maneuverability in the trees? In the trees, it does really well with tight turns and quick turns.

How is it on uneven terrain? This ski is super solid. It's built for firm snow and ice. It's going to be able to handle any sort of crud, or crust, or ice just fine. With variable snow, crust, slush, some of that stuff, it's helpful to have a little more width. So we were actually just skiing some really rotten slush, end of the season kind of stuff, and I wish that I had a little bit more surface area on these to make sure that I could stay on top of that and push that around. So this ski is not perfect for deep slush.

What would be the best location for it? These skis are great for firm snow and ice, mostly groomers. It’s going to be good for anyone who's not skiing the deep days. So, it would be for someone in the Midwest or the East Coast who's primarily on the groomers. This will also work very well for someone who is skiing all-mountain in the East or not skiing a whole lot of new snow.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to? So this ski is great for the advanced skier on the East Coast or in the Midwest or someone in the West who's mainly just sticking to the groomers. It's not going to be great for powder. But someone who's looking to go carve it up, have a fun time, ski the whole mountain, or go somewhere with not a whole lot of new snow will like this.

Who should avoid this ski? This ski is definitely not a beginner ski. It's not going to be easy to ski. It's not going to be a great ski for someone's first ski out of rentals. It's also not going to be awesome for anyone who's looking to ski any sort of soft snow or ski in any sort of region where they get a lot of new snow.

Skis work differently for different types of people. If you want help finding the best skis for your needs, reach out to Thomas or any other Ski Expert here on Curated. They’ll help you find the right skis for you. Note that the 2024 version of the K2 Mindbender 89Ti is linked below - same tech, just different graphic:

Curated experts can help

Have a question about the article you just read or want personal recommendations? Connect with a Curated expert and get personalized recommendations for whatever you’re looking for!

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