Women-Specific Aspects of the Mindbender 99Ti Series
The women’s Mindbender 89Ti and 99Ti are built with the same shape, construction, and materials as the men’s Mindbender 89Ti and 99Ti, respectively. Aside from different length offerings and graphics, the skis are the same.
What K2 says about the Mindbender 99Ti W
“The K2 Mindbender 99Ti Women’s freeride ski is built for women who demand ultimate versatility from their skis. Our Titanal Y-Beam construction keeps things damp and stable when speeds are high and conditions are choppy, while the All-Terrain Rocker profile and moderate waist width maintain quickness and agility when you find yourself in tight spots or technical terrain. Titanal has long been used in high-end skis and is known for providing a damp, stable ride at high speeds and on variable terrain, but our Y-Beam technology takes things a step further with dramatically enhanced performance tuning. Refined for the 2022 collection, these Y-shaped prongs set over the edges in the shovel of the ski provide precise, powerful turn initiation, while the narrower metal shape in the tail of the ski provides the support you need for charging while still remaining maneuverable, forgiving, and easy to break free from turns.”
Shape / Rocker Profile
The new 22/23 Mindbender Ti series features deeper rocker lines than the previous versions, particularly in the tail. In general, the Mindbender 99Ti W has deeper rocker lines than many directional skiers in its class, though the Mindbender 99Ti’s rocker lines are quite low-slung; they stay pretty low for a while, so you can still engage much of the rockered portion on edge when you lean it over. The Mindbender 99Ti W has significantly deeper rocker lines than some other comparable skis in this category, such as the Volkl Secret 96 and Blizzard Black Pearl 97.
The shape of the Mindbender 96Ti series is very similar to previous iterations, with a bit of early tapering in the shovels and tails and a slightly more “squared” shape in the shovel and tail.
Flex Pattern
Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Mindbender 99Ti W:
Tips: 6-7
Shovels: 7-8
In Front of Toe Piece: 8-9.5
Underfoot: 9.5
Behind the Heel Piece: 9.5-9
Tails: 8.5-7
The flex pattern of the Mindbender 99Ti W feels pretty similar to the previous Mindbender 98Ti Alliance, though the new ski feels a bit stiffer overall. Its tips and shovels are fairly easy to bend, but it’s very strong around the middle, then finishes with a tail that’s a bit stronger, but not wildly stiffer than the tips.
Mount Point
The Mindbender 99 Ti W has a traditional mount point, at -10 from center, which is in line with many other directional skis in its class, like the Secret 96 and Black Pearl 97. This mount point felt intuitive and natural for how I wanted to ski the Mindbender 99Ti W, so I felt no need to change it.