K2 Mindbender Skis

[SirVicSmasher]

Any updates from MB 108 Ti owners? Looking at adding a 186. Like the feel of a heavier ski with 20-m+ radius and soft snow manner for the PNW.

Do it they live up to the hype... They have a lot of energy, fun, playful and stable. I bought a back up pair.

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[ffmedic84]

I'm low tiding/daily driving the MB99Ti in Whistler Blackcomb atm, and yes, these things rip. Haven't found their top end. Can handle icy groomers and moguls, but also destroy soft chop. I find them a pretty dialed balance of traditional ski with a bit of playfulness. They should sell a metric fuckton of these skis.

This. I really didn’t think I’d like them but their an awesome low tide ski. I generally don’t like very directional skis but get along well with these. No speed limit so far but can shut them down easily. Surprisingly I like them better than the 108.


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[Bandit Man]

Do it they live up to the hype... They have a lot of energy, fun, playful and stable. I bought a back up pair.

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I bought a pair from Corbett’s and will be skiing them next weekend. Will share impressions once skied.


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[SirVicSmasher]

Nice! ^^^

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[CaliBrit]

I bought a pair from Corbett’s and will be skiing them next weekend. Will share impressions once skied.


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Solidly interested. Particularly with your enforcer experience as I’m looking for something a touch different to my 110’s.

[123ski]

I’m skiing the 99ti - taking it out more of the time than I thought I would.

I’ll sum up my other day on them as follows:

1. Hiked baldy at Snowbird. Skied little chute to dog leg. Firm snow in little chute, softer in dog leg. untracked 4” under dog leg. It skied extremely well throughout.

2. Skied a couple of groomer laps at Alta before skiing westward ho, which was also untracked 4”.

3. Skied a wind buffed silver fox fairly fast.

4 . Took 4 laps on regulator. Thought I was skiing 65ish mph, ended up carving a turn at the bottom at 81mph - felt like they were glued to the snow. Tons of rebound. They WANT you to drive them hard and they’ll reward you for it, but won’t punish you if you don’t.

5 finished my day with a run down jaws, hit the air into it and took a few less turns down the CHOPPY face than I normally do on a much fatter ski.



It is NOT my ski of choice when I know all I’ll be doing is crud busting all day. I prefer something a little looser and a little fatter, and a little more rockered. Not that this ski won’t blast through crud, but it will take more effort.

It is NOT my ski of choice when I know all I’ll be doing is powder/soft chop. Ski floats fine, but not as well as a fat ski (duh)

It IS my ski of choice when I’ll ski a variety of conditions from crud to chutes to pow to groomers all day


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[Jongle]

Interesting stuff here. Has anyone skied both the MB99 and Mantra 102?

[Nevada29er]

I got the 108s in 193. Came quicker from Outdoor XL in the Netherlands than a typical order from US. Hope to ski them tomorrow.

[gaijin]

Interesting stuff here. Has anyone skied both the MB99 and Mantra 102?

I only skied the MB99 for a few runs before switching to the MB108 and realizing it did everything the 99 could do (minus ice, which I don't ski.) But the M102 is better for me as a supplement to my pow ski.

K2 did make a product shift last year that is to be noted, that's for sure. I like the M102 better, though, as it's more damp and just as easy-going.

[CaliBrit]

I only skied the MB99 for a few runs before switching to the MB108 and realizing it did everything the 99 could do (minus ice, which I don't ski.) But the M102 is better for me as a supplement to my pow ski.

K2 did make a product shift last year that is to be noted, that's for sure. I like the M102 better, though, as it's more damp and just as easy-going.

Well the turn radius of the 99 vs 108 is significant. I’m guessing actual carved turn differ substantially. I’m about to buy the 99. If I like it I’ll be tempted by the 116.

[CaliBrit]

I got the 108s in 193. Came quicker from Outdoor XL in the Netherlands than a typical order from US. Hope to ski them tomorrow.

Ordering the 99 from there now!

[123ski]

I’ve been going to the resorts early in the morning before work solely to ski groomers for an hour BECAUSE of this ski


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[CaliBrit]

I’ve been going to the resorts early in the morning before week solely to ski groomers for an hour BECAUSE of this ski


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Really happy I ordered them now. I’ll still take the mantra 102 out for a demo as well. I’ll file a report after!

[DumbIdeasOnly]

I’ve tried both the Mantra 102 and MB99 Ti. For me, the MB99 felt relatively imprecise on groomers and a bit hooky. The hookiness could well have been a tune issue given other people’s beta. The Mantra 102 was stronger on edge and felt more comfortable going straight. In tighter terrain the Mantra 102 felt lighter to me and a bit easier to swing around, though the tail is a bit more locked in.

Think Blister’s view was that MB99 is generally better soft snow, Mantra 102 is generally better on hard snow. I mostly agree with that and ended up with the 102.

[stuntmanbo]

Which sizes did you try ?

[DumbIdeasOnly]

184 on both. I decided to order the Mantra 102 in a 191 which is either going to be awesome or produce a shame sale on gear swap because I bought too much ski.

[123ski]

Jonathan at Blister basically says if you want very precise skis with amazing edge hold then both skis will do great, mantra being a little more hard snow oriented is also
harder to pivot, but otherwise the difference between these skis is fairly negligible


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[123ski]

I’ve tried both the Mantra 102 and MB99 Ti. For me, the MB99 felt relatively imprecise on groomers and a bit hooky. The hookiness could well have been a tune issue given other people’s beta. The Mantra 102 was stronger on edge and felt more comfortable going straight. In tighter terrain the Mantra 102 felt lighter to me and a bit easier to swing around, though the tail is a bit more locked in.

Think Blister’s view was that MB99 is generally better soft snow, Mantra 102 is generally better on hard snow. I mostly agree with that and ended up with the 102.

Sounds like a tune issue. A few testers at the outdoor magazine ski test said the same thing of their test ski but not of one they used later in the season


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[Nevada29er]

Just one day on the 108 193, mounted on the line. Conditions were spring like, some soft, some firm snow, and corn. Overall, I think the Blister review is pretty spot on. The ski has a really big sweet spot. Good edge hold for size, pretty fun to carve, but not super energetic. Seems to like some forward pressure, but doesn't require you to be on point at all times. Stability is really good. I think it will float very well for its size. Did not hook up unexpectedly in funky wind affected snow. Reminded me a bit of a skinny Governor. The Govy actually feels looser and has more camber somehow, maybe new vs old edges and tune.

Check the tune on these skis. I skied them out of the wrapper, and they were pretty good, but think they could be a bit looser. The base bevel was off a bit on the tips and tails which is common for mass produced skis.

Durability will likely be less than the ON3Ps, Praxis, and Moments but that is to be expected. I think the bases are pretty soft.

Overall, I think this will be a super one ski quiver and travel ski. Looking forward to more time on them at Taos.

[Bandit Man]

These showed up today. Looking forward to putting them through the paces at Whistler tomorrow.

[phatty]

These showed up today. Looking forward to putting them through the paces at Whistler tomorrow.

What length did you go with? No demo bindings? How am I supposed to borrow them?

[Bandit Man]

What length did you go with? No demo bindings? How am I supposed to borrow them?

Just the 186. I realized my buddies don’t like K2 and my kid doesn’t weigh enough for these, so I went with normal clamps. Hoping for positive revelations. Haven’t liked a K2 in a very long time.

[rainy512day]

Hey Bandit Man, what’s the mount point on your 108ti? I was out on my 90ti yesterday and ran into someone in the lift line with 108ti’s. I think they were 179s. Comparing the 170 90ti and 179 108ti bindings to tip matched up, all of the difference in was in the tail. Didn’t expect that.

[Bandit Man]

Hey Bandit Man, what’s the mount point on your 108ti? I was out on my 90ti yesterday and ran into someone in the lift line with 108ti’s. I think they were 179s. Comparing the 170 90ti and 179 108ti bindings to tip matched up, all of the difference in was in the tail. Didn’t expect that.

Mine measure up to what Blister has posted. Actual length of about 185-cm and mount point close to -10-mm.

[Nevada29er]

A few observations from Taos. The tips on these are really soft (tails are too). In steeper terrain, driving the tips I found a lack of support. They like a more centered stance, but still need forward pressure to pull into a turn. They pivot and slide well when you have the room. In terrain off Kachina, (bumps, crud) I did not have confidence to open them up like a M108 (no surprise).

The 193s in the abundant steep weird bumps were a fair bit of work, especially trying to rail around the troughs. Airplane turns on top seemed to work best. Once the bumps opened up a bit, they were pretty fun despite the size. Carving, sliding and pivoting are easy.

In WB chutes like Oster, Stauf/Trib, with a bit of room, they were pretty fun. Light enough to throw around, load the tail and jump from turn to turn.

Bases are stupid thin, you can core shot just looking at rocks. This may be a problem depending on where you live, it would be at Taos.