K2 marksman?

[WTF is dat]

I blew out my edge today on my Volkls and absolutely destroyed my ski. I am in a rush to get new skis because I have a trip coming up next week. Does anyone have experience with the K2 marksman ?


Local shop has them for $479 which seems like a good deal and they are pretty much the exact underfoot I am looking for. Thoughts ?

[kc_7777]

Got some extra bindings in the garage.

Seeing the 2019 K2 Marksman in my local shop for $299US equivalent.

The 177cm K2 Marksman is the exact same length as my 180cm Rustler 11. Haha

Similar ski to the Line Sir Francis Bacon? Which I liked. Plus I do like to pressure on my outside ski.

Anyone? Bueller?

[El Kanone]

I absolutely love them
Playful yet they will carve too
One of my favorite skis
Surprised how much I like them
Generally kick ass


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[kc_7777]

Thx,

Kind of think I’ll like em too.

I seem to ski more playful/slarvy than charging/carvy these days. Just fun to rip fast all over the mtn.

Mount at -5 I figure.

[El Kanone]

I mounted on the line
I’m more carve than slarve
They flex soft but that is just the turned up tail they are stiff under foot

[EWG]

My 18yo son's got em and absolutely loves them. He mounted them about halfway between the back line and true center. I think that's about minus 2.5 or 3 cm from true center.

They are not as soft in the tips and tails as a sir francis bacon, and they have more of a spine all around, but he butters all over the place, slips, tail carves, and spends lots of time in the air. However, they can still carve, but to really rip them you really need to be over the boot. They have just enough stiffness in the tail to catch you on large airs.

You pay for that in weight - they weigh more than a bacon (though a little less than a Kartel), but they can hold you.

Edit: yes I said "tail carve." I know that's not a thing, but I don't have another way to describe this move he has where he puts the outside ski up in the air, gets on the tail of the inside ski, and rips a carved turn off the tail end of the inside ski. It's bizarre.

[kc_7777]

I mounted on the line
I’m more carve than slarve
They flex soft but that is just the turned up tail they are stiff under foot

Which line?.....there’s the back traditional at around -7.5 and then many options more forward?

I’m thinking +2.5 from trad, so -5cm from center.

Will report back when I ski em.

[El Kanone]

Funny story about them.
When I was a kid, the absolutely coolest skis to me were the Comp 710FO. I wanted them so bad, but never got a pair.
Fast forward about 34 years and I see a pair of retro graphic Marksman and I have to have them.

I ordered them without ever having seen of flexed them or anything. Just on the graphics. I figured if I didn’t like them they would be fine to use when I ski with my wife or daughters.

Turns out I fucking love them. I actually want to get another pair.

I liked them so much I got the Catamarans this year. They are sweet in pow, but don’t quite carve as well as I would like.

[Conundrum]

Funny story about them.
When I was a kid, the absolutely coolest skis to me were the Comp 710FO. I wanted them so bad, but never got a pair.
Fast forward about 34 years and I see a pair of retro graphic Marksman and I have to have them.

I ordered them without ever having seen of flexed them or anything. Just on the graphics. I figured if I didn’t like them they would be fine to use when I ski with my wife or daughters.

Turns out I fucking love them. I actually want to get another pair.

I liked them so much I got the Catamarans this year. They are sweet in pow, but don’t quite carve as well as I would like.

No turn table heels on the new fellers. Blasphemy.

[kc_7777]

Here is a 179cm Mindbender against a 177cm Marksman.....tape along the base of the Marksman is 180.5cm

[kc_7777]

This is what $399cdn buys you.....$399cdn /1.33 = $300us

The shop threw in a free mount and K2 strap....looks purdy with white Pivots:

[kc_7777]

Quick K2 Marksman review:

Finally got my first day on the 2019 177cm (~180cm?) K2 Marksmans. Conditions were cold, clear and chalky and packed pow at Whistler. Place was dead due to the Corona virus?

My first thoughts about these skis.....

The Marksman skis are simply awesome. Honestly one of the most fun skis I’ve been on. I mounted at +2.5cm from the back freeride arrow, so I’m at -5cm from true center (my fav mount). I love how K2 provides a range of mount arrows. Other companies should learn from this.

First off, when skiing they feel short...ie. much shorter than my similar length 180cm Rustler 11s (at -7) and 183cm Faction Candide 5.0s (at -5).

But...they rip. The short feel is probably due to the pretty early tip/tail rise (it comes pretty far back from tip and tail) and 3-4mm camber, but this makes them so maneuverable! But then.....when you need grip while maching a groomer you can just pressure that long-edged outside ski and they hold. Had so much fun on groomers, some packed pow and bumps. They are so poppy they make you want to pop off every little hit. They love to air. And for a ski that isn’t supposed to be super stable, I recorded the highest speed I’ve done this year on my Garmin watch during the ski out to Creekside on these Marksmans. They always made me want to ski faster as they were so easy to ski and fun in all conditions. Can’t wait to ski them again.