The Marksman is a strange bird. It’s not too often that such a different and innovative design makes it into production. For that to happen, the product has to have something going for it. With the K2 Marksman, the asymmetric shape is the thing. For freeride skiers with a penchant for park skiing, the Marksman is going to be a ski to check out. This ski has “playful” written all over it. Well, not really, but you know what we mean. With a twin tip shape and a true left-right ski, the Marksman is your snowy day plaything. At 106 mm underfoot, the skis are wide enough to handle a decent amount of snow, and the construction is not so soft as to require the avoidance of carving on groomed terrain. They’re actually pretty decent all-mountain skis, despite their shape and profile. With a 20 meter turn radius, they can arc pretty well. Featuring a wood core with carbon boost braiding to stiffen the ski in critical areas, the construction is advanced, and will appeal to a broad range of freeride skiers. The main issue that separates these skis from everything else on the market is the asymmetrical tips and tails. There’s exaggerated taper on the outside/uphill edge only, creating a playful, smeary feel while the inside/downhill edge remains effectively longer, leading to stability. Overall, it is a very interesting design, one that works well at what it is built for. Our testers picked up right away on the fact that this was intended to be a playful ski with a high performance ceiling.
Bob St.Pierre found the 177 cm length to be a bit short, and with the innovative design of the skis, that’s not entirely surprising. Accordingly, Bob gave them high scores for quickness, maneuverability, and forgiveness. His highest score should not come as a shock, as the skis garnered a 5 out of 5 for playfulness. His take on the quality: “These skis are very playful—highest marks for sure. They’re a bit softer than the Nordica Enforcer 110, but they kept up pretty well in the soft chopped up snow.” In regards to who these skis would be best suited for, Bob still had questions. “I’m not sure about the target market or audience of the skis. They have an interesting blend of park, powder, and backcountry style. I guess they can do it all.” This amount of incredulousness is expected with a ski that crosses so many lines of what a ski should be. In the end, we should probably just let the performance and playful nature of the K2 Marksman speak for itself; it’ll find its own audience.
Mike Aidala also scored the Marksman 5 out of 5 for playfulness. He skied the 177 and found it true to size. Other than a score of 3 for stability, the rest of his scores were all 4’s. Mike obviously found this to be a versatile and interesting product. “The Marksman is a super-fun, playful ski in the freeride category. If you are coming from a park or freestyle background, the Marksman is the ski that allows you to play on any terrain.” As an avid K2 skier, it is nice to hear from Mike regarding this unique ski. He obviously appreciates the versatile and playful nature of the ski, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him skiing on one next year.
These skis work on so many different levels. Thanks to the distinctive and stimulating construction and design of the Marksman, there’s a ton of potential for a new style of skiing to emerge. Sometimes the ski industry needs a kick in the pants to change things up, and K2 might be on to something with the shaping and changing of the footprint of the skis.
