Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

ice, crust, & crud review: my darksides are fabulous in all snow conditions, even horrible crud, crust, and ice. In alta this winter, one 9-day period began with dust-on-crust, then 5 powder days; then it hit 45degrees for 2days and froze solid. Perhaps out of curiosity, i went to snowbird and subjected myself to the cirque with top/bottom proper Vermont ice... and my skis were great. To my surprise, i also had no problem tracking (no-skid) giant-slalom turns on groomers with genuine hockey-rink ice. You need to really load the fronts to get the skis to engage like GS skis, but the stiff flat tails make them naturally finish all turns strongly.

My helmet-cam footage from that week also produced some surprises about the capabilities of my skis. I noticed that i drive the tips down in all snow conditions, yielding an extra degree of speed control and smoothness. Furthermore, i found that some sequences of turns on hard snow can transition into highly-angulated surfed turns in only about 6" of snow. There were also some carvey, racey, darting, and yet still surfy turns on my videos that i have literally never seen on film before. (but i'm sure will appear in ski movies soon) And they were great for other conditions that you don't typically see in skis movies, such as this series of turns: crust, crust, powder, powder, mogul, crust, mogul, powder, powder (which were common this year).

There are more awesome things about my skis that i cant properly articulate... but suffice to say, they're perfect. Please don't change them before i can afford to buy a backup pair. (they survived hitting countless rocks too). bravo guys, bravo. (though i recommend stiff boots for the ice)

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

This must be the most perfect ski made ever.
Couple of seasons ago I bought a pair of Pontoons and I was stoked. This year I was going for the new improved model, but it was sold out. Went for a pair og DS and I am speechless. In tight areas it operates just as agile as my old Pontoons and will flip on a dime. On the bigger sides with more varied conditions they allow me to charge as Ive never done before (my mates on proriders and kuros where left in a cloud of snowdust here the other day) the skis just gives you that ubersolid feel......
And if that is not enough, they are even ready for a on piste carving speedattack.
What a ski!!!

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

The greatest skis ever made. Bravo to the design team. Please don't change a thing or discontinue the model. Far superior to twin-tips for technical & big mountain skiing.

However, I can't find the matching skins anywhere. Suggestions?

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

Used these ALL season heliskiing- in the steep trees of the Monashees--
They are fast- float well even when it is a bit upside down, eat sun and wind effect, and let you turn on a dime - if you are confident enough to stand up on them-- I had a chance to ride them at the ski hill and had a blast on corduroy too-- Could not put these away -- a definite weapon of choice

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

Rockered tip makes it easy to initiate a turn. Camber and 128mm underfoot creates a great platform for high speeds and holds an edge well. Not very heavy. Sweet ride, super fun powder ski.

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

I ski at Crystal Mountain in WA, These skis are the best ski I have ever skied, ever. The first day I skied them in knee deep fluff and they were, snappy, quick and responsive in evey angled I skied. The fun Factor needle was pegged the whole day. I am 58 years old and have skied just about every trend in skiing and this is it. The tip floats and waist of the DS crabs and railes with the tails scrubbibg. My son and I both have Coombas and fear we have skied them for the last time. Great work K2 and I would like to buy you a beer for making a great ski. [...]

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

A bit of context first. I live in Alpine Meadows California, and ski Squaw on big storm days and backcountry when it's crowded in the resort. I'm in good shape from riding mountain bikes, and get in about 150 days/year.

I purchased these skis last spring as we were hammered by new snow, and my old powder skis broke ;-) (from too much use). We get a lot of heavy snow here in Tahoe, with the occasional light snow day here and there.

These are my go to skis for anything over 6" of new snow. They don't care if it's light/heavy, new or cut up. The tips float and help you save a lot of moves - including fast jumps. The platform for landing is wonderful. They are good at slow speeds and throttle fully opened - as in racing for the next chair to open @ squaw.

The only thing these skis don't like are small/firm moguls - buy hey, nor do I with any ski.

I'm surprised at how well these skis behave on the groomed, which is just the "get to the lift" for me, but these skis have made it fun.

Get them, you will be quite happy. I'm on the 188, and LOVE THEM!

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

Never had a Ski before that's such easy to turn no matter if you're the first in the gorge or if the powder has already been beaten up. The DarkSide will lift you up (ski wise and emotional as well).
It's so easy to handle that I've already thought that it may almost be unsportsmanlike easy to ski those planks :-)
Bottom line, best Back-Country-Ski I've ever had!!!

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

I got these in the middle of the season to add a super fat ski to my quiver. I took them out in early February 2010, when a Snowstorm that latest almost a week hit Tirol, Austria, which brought about 80 cm of fresh snow.

After skiing them three storm days, I took them our on a blue bird day and after a few hours, when the fresh stuff was skied out, they proved to be more than a powder ski. It took one lift to adjust to the edge angles they needed to carve a turn on the groomed and they are also fun in chopped up conditions and tighter terrain as long as the snow does not get too hard.

The flex pattern is a bit "rounder" than the Sidestashe's flex, as they do not have any metal laminate. The tip rocker is more noticable than in the other backside models, but still does not flap on hard snow. For anyone who needs a second or third ski in his quiver (or at least thinks he needs one), don't be afraid of the width. Super fun and managable "fatty" that can do more than just powder.

Comments about K2 Skis DarkSide:

The DarkSide is a full tilt powder ski with no compromise. The more days I spend on the DarkSides the better my season. Whether I'm heli-skiing in AK or dropping off the backside the DarkSide is my favorite ski in my quiver.