Ski: 2023-2024 K2 Mindbender 108Ti, 186 cm
Test Location: Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO
Days Skied: ~12
Available Lengths: 172, 179, 184, 193 cm
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length (straight-tape pull): 185.7 cm
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2220 & 2237 grams
Stated Dimensions: 136-108-125 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 135.9-107.4-124.5 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius (186 cm): 22.8 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 64 mm / 19.5 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: 4 mm
Core Materials: aspen + titanal “Y-Beam” layer + fiberglass laminate
Base: sintered
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -9.55 cm from center; 83.3 cm from tail
Boots / Bindings: Tecnica Mach1 MV 130, Atomic Redster CS 130, Lange RS 130, Salomon S/Max 130 / Tyrolia Attack 13
[Note: Our review was conducted on the 22/23 Mindbender 108Ti, which returned unchanged for 23/24, apart from graphics.]
Intro
For the 22/23 season, K2 updated all their metal-laminate Mindbender “Ti” skis, from the Mindbender 89Ti to the Mindbender 99Ti and the widest ski in the series, the Mindbender 108Ti.
K2 is also updating their carbon-laminate Mindbender “C” skis for 2023-2024 (more to say about that soon), but the Mindbender Ti skis carry over for the 2023-2024 season, and now it’s time for us to go over the Mindbender 108Ti.
But first, a quick dive into its design:
What K2 says about the Mindbender 108Ti
“The K2 Mindbender 108Ti men’s freeride ski delivers at any speed in any conditions. A mid-fat waist width, long turn radius, All-Terrain Rocker profile, and Titanal Y-Beam construction work together to create a stable, unflinching freeride ski that wants to be pushed. Whether the snow is soft, firm, chunky, or all of the above, you’ll be ready to play through.”
Construction
You can get the whole story about the new Mindbender Ti skis from K2’s ski designer, Jed Yeiser, in our Blister Summit Brand Lineup video with him, below. But to summarize, arguably the biggest change is in the core, and particularly K2’s signature “Titanal Y-Beam” that debuted on the original Mindbenders. The shape and placement of the Y-Beam have been tweaked, with more mass being moved out away from the mount point of the ski to get better stability and composure at the ends of the ski. This was the result of some of the experimentation they did with their recently debuted Dispatch touring skis.
The overall goal of the Y-Beam layer is still similar to the previous generation, though. It’s a layer of titanal that runs edge to edge underfoot, but then splits into two “prongs” over the edges near the shovels and a single strip as it extends toward the tail. The idea is that you get a very torsionally rigid section underfoot for edge grip there, a fairly torsionally rigid area around the shovels for precise turn initiation, and a less torsionally rigid tail for easier release. This is in contrast to a more traditional layer of titanal, which often either extends edge to edge throughout the length of the ski or is a consistent, skinnier strip, both of which offer fewer fine-tuning options when it comes to torsional rigidity.
The revised Mindbender Ti skis also all now feature K2’s “Aspen Veneer” core, which consists of a lot of 2mm-thick aspen strips (thinner than many ski cores’ wood stringers) that K2 says let them get a more consistent overall core block.
Shape & Rocker Profile
The Mindbender 108Ti’s shape looks pretty much the same, when compared to the original 19/20–21/22 iteration. There’s a bit of early tapering at the tips and tails, and while it’s more noticeable than with the narrower Mindbenders, it’s still fairly subtle for the 108mm-wide category.
On the other hand, K2 has opted to tweak the Mindbender 108Ti’s rocker profile. The tip rocker line looks quite similar, but the tail rocker line is a bit deeper with the new ski, and its tail splay has also been lowered a bit. Overall, it’s still a ski with pretty deep tip and tail rocker liners, but they stay pretty subtle / low-slung until the ends of the ski.
Flex Pattern
Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Mindbender 108Ti:
Tips: 6
Shovels: 6-7.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 8-10
Underfoot: 10
Behind the Heel Piece: 10-9
Tails: 8.5-7.5
Compared to the original Mindbender 108Ti, the new Mindbender 108Ti’s flex pattern is quite similar overall, with the main difference being that the new ski feels just a bit stiffer through the back half of the ski. Overall, it’s still a fairly accessible flex pattern when compared to some other metal-laminate skis like the Volkl Katana 108, Blizzard Cochise 106, and Rossignol Sender 106 Ti+.
Sidecut Radius
No real change here — the latest Mindbender 108Ti has almost the same exact stated sidecut radius (22.8 m @ 186 cm), which is still right around the middle of the spectrum for a directional, metal-laminate ski around this width.
Mount Point
K2 kept things consistent here, too. The Mindbender 108Ti still has a pretty directional / rearward mount point of about -9.5 cm from true center.
Weight
The narrower Mindbender Ti skis got a bit lighter for 22/23, but the Mindbender 108Ti has seen less change on this front. In fact, our pair of the 22/23–23/24 186 cm Mindbender 108Ti is just a tad heavier than our 19/20–21/22 pair, with the new ski coming in around 2230 grams per ski. That’s fairly heavy by today’s standards, but pretty standard for a directional ski that’s supposed to be fairly damp and stable at high speeds.
For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples-to-apples.
1800 & 1804 Head Kore 105, 184 cm (21/22)
1820 & 1821 Majesty Havoc Carbon, 186 cm (20/21–22/23)
1833 & 1894 Head Kore 111, 184 cm (22/23)
1836 & 1838 Armada ARW 106 UL, 180 cm (21/22-22/23)
1863 & 1872 Atomic Bent 110, 188 cm (22/23)
1875 & 1881 Line Sir Francis Bacon, 184 cm (19/20–22/23)
1905 & 1919 J Skis Slacker, 188 cm (20/21–21/22)
1920 & 2006 RMU North Shore YLE 110, 186 cm (21/22–22/23)
1946 & 1962 Black Crows Atris, 184 cm (22/23)
1947 & 2011 4FRNT Devastator, 186 cm (20/21–22/23)
1951 & 1953 Elan Ripstick 106, 188 cm (20/21–22/23)
1951 & 1957 RMU Apostle 3.0 106, 184 cm (21/22–22/23)
1964 & 1972 Moment Deathwish, 184 cm (19/20–20/21)
1970 & 1993 Moment Deathwish 104, 184 cm (21/22–22/23)
1989 & 2000 Folsom Cash 106, 188 cm (22/23)
1997 & 2001 Zag Slap 104, 188 cm (21/22-22/23)
2008 & 2065 Wagner Summit 106, 186 cm (20/21–22/23)
2009 & 2010 Rossignol Sender 104 Ti, 186 cm (22/23)
2011 & 2028 Moment Wildcat 108, 184 cm (19/20–20/21)
2011 & 2046 Elan Ripstick 106 Black Edition, 188 cm (21/22–22/23)
2022 & 2046 DPS Foundation Koala 103, 184 cm (21/22–22/23)
2027 & 2052 K2 Reckoner 112, 184 cm (20/21–22/23)
2046 & 2120 Black Crows Corvus, 188 cm (18/19–22/23)
2057 & 2061 Fischer Ranger 102, 183 cm (22/23)
2060 & 2075 4FRNT Hoji, 184 cm (21/22–22/23)
2073 & 2074 Season Nexus, 183 cm (20/21–22/23)
2077 & 2097 Nordica Unleashed 108, 186 cm (22/23)
2110 & 2117 Fischer Ranger 108, 185 cm (22/23)
2110 & 2119 Moment Wildcat 108, 190 cm (19/20–20/21)
2112 & 2125 4FRNT MSP 107, 187 cm (18/19–22/23)
2068 & 2178 Salomon QST 106, 181 cm (22/23)
2120 & 2134 Blizzard Rustler 10, 188 cm (19/20–22/23)
2138 & 2172 Rossignol Sender 106 Ti+, 187 cm (22/23)
2145 & 2167 Sego Big Horn 106, 187 cm (20/21–21/22)
2165 & 2211 K2 Mindbender 108Ti, 186 cm (19/20–21/22)
2165 & 2219 Icelantic Nomad 105, 191 cm (19/20–20/21)
2170 & 2180 Dynastar M-Free 108, 182 cm (20/21–22/23)
2177 & 2178 Moment Commander 108, 182 cm (20/21–22/23)
2182 & 2218 Nordica Enforcer 110 Free, 185 cm (17/18–22/23)
2196 & 2211 Rossignol Sender Free 110, 184 cm (23/24)
2220 & 2237 K2 Mindbender 108Ti, 186 cm (22/23–23/24)
2228 & 2270 Sego Comp 110, 187 cm (20/21–21/22)
2232 & 2242 Blizzard Cochise 106, 185 cm (20/21–22/23)
2233 & 2255 Nordica Enforcer 104 Free, 186 cm (19/20–22/23)
2230 & 2290 Line Blade Optic 104, 185 cm (22/23)
2243 & 2287 Salomon QST Blank, 186 cm (21/22–22/23)
2258 & 2303 Wagner Summit 107, 186 cm (21/22–22/23)
2295 & 2344 J Skis Hotshot, 183 cm (20/21–22/23)
2302 & 2342 Dynastar M-Free 108, 192 cm (20/21–22/23)
2312 & 2386 Prior Husume, 188 cm (17/18–22/23)
2328 & 2370 Rossignol Sender Free 110, 191 cm (23/24)
2353 & 2360 Volkl Katana 108, 184 cm (20/21–22/23)
2412 & 2426 Rossignol Sender Squad, 194 cm (21/22–22/23)
2438 & 2492 Rossignol Blackops 118, 186 cm (17/18–23/24)
2449 & 2493 J Skis Hotshot, 189 cm (20/21–22/23)
Now, onto how all of this translates on snow:
FULL REVIEW
We had several reviewers spend time on the revised Mindbender 108Ti, starting last spring and continuing through numerous soft and firm days this season at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Here, we’ll all be chiming in.
Powder & Soft Chop
Luke Koppa (5’8”, 155 lbs / 173 cm, 70 kg): Similar to the previous version, I think the latest Mindbender 108Ti performs really well in fresh snow, relative to its similarly wide competition. Its deep tip rocker line, moderately soft shovels, and rearward mount point all add up to very good flotation for a 108mm-wide ski. Meanwhile, the Mindbender 108Ti’s deep tail rocker line and moderate tip and tail taper keep it feeling pretty easy to release and throw into a slash when needed. Like most directional skis in its class, the Mindbender 108Ti’s maneuverability depends on your stance; it feels less inclined to get loose if your weight is biased toward its tails, but is easy to slash around when you keep some pressure on its shovels.
As a pow ski, I think the Mindbender 108Ti could keep many directional skiers quite happy, even when the snow total is over a foot / 30 cm.
Once all that fresh snow gets chopped up, the Mindbender 108Ti continues to shine. I definitely wouldn’t put it at the very top of the category when it comes to stability in chop, but it still sits on the more stable end of the spectrum when looking at the whole class of ~108mm-wide skis currently on the market. It takes some fairly high speeds and some fairly dense chop to start to unsettle this ski, while its deep rocker lines keep it from feeling too locked into a given line. In light, low-density chop, I don’t feel much need to dial back my preferred speed on the Mindbender 108Ti; once things settle a bit and get denser, its tips can be a bit prone to getting bounced around, particularly if you get off balance and stop driving them. Compared to the previous iteration, I found the new Mindbender 108Ti to feel a bit more stable in chop and crud, which I think I’d mostly credit to its slightly stiffer-feeling flex pattern and maybe its new metal-layer layout.
Eric Freson (5’10”, 170 lbs / 178 cm, 77 kg): Other than personal preference or marginal gains in specific scenarios, the Mindbender 108Ti also stands out to me as a high performing and very accessible soft snow tool, relative to other skis in the category. Luke hits on what I agree are the main contributing factors for this, but I found the soft *ish shovel to stand out the most to me as why I enjoyed the Mindbender in soft snow conditions.
When the snow gets tracked up, the weight, suspension, compliant shovel, and flatter tail of the latest Mindbender 108Ti all make it feel like it has a larger sweet spot compared to the previous iteration. More fore/aft stability helped me to feel in control longer and raise the speed limit in chop comparatively between the two skis. The flatter tail was noticeable in how much more support I had to prevent folding the tails or wheeling out when I got too far over the back of the ski, and I’ll believe that K2 really was able to effectively move mass and damping out of the mount point and into the shovel and tails because I found myself able to open up and stretch out my body positioning and weight bias before overwhelming the ski compared to the previous version.
Jonathan Ellsworth (5’10”, ~178 lbs / 178 cm, 79 kg): Lots of agreement here with Luke and Eric, so I’m going to go ahead and drop a spoiler here: I have been happiest on the Mindbender 108Ti in untracked powder or soft chop, when the ski is sinking (even just a bit) into the snow. Some 108mm-wide skis shine in firmer chop, some are surprisingly good carvers, and some seem most at home in pow / soft chop. I’m personally putting the Mindbender 108Ti in this last camp.
Firm Chop & Crud
Luke: In more challenging conditions, the Mindbender 108Ti continues to stand out due to its combination of fairly good suspension and pretty maneuverable ride. That said, I think its fairly short contact length (i.e., deep rocker lines / shorter cambered section) makes it feel a bit more skittish in really firm, rough snow when compared to, say, the Blizzard Cochise 106 and Volkl Katana 108 (two of the most stable skis in this class). Once you get the Mindbender 108Ti up on edge, you’re engaging much more of the length of the ski and it correspondingly feels more stable. But it requires a bit more focus to keep on track than its more stable competitors when it comes time to do a more bases-flat straight-line through inconsistent snow.
The upside is that, for how stable it can be, the Mindbender 108Ti is pretty easy to slip and slide around at slower speeds when you don’t feel like pushing your limits in really nasty conditions. It doesn’t want you to ski it from the backseat, but like its predecessor, the latest Mindbender 108Ti is still a fairly accessible ski, relative to how hard it can potentially be skied.
Eric: I really resonate with K2’s marketing copy for the Mindbender 108Ti. “You’ll be ready to play through” is spot on when it comes to how I found the ski responded to firm chop and crud. The overall weight, maneuverability, and suspension of the ski give it versatility in these conditions — you won’t find it locked into a turn, rattling a filling loose, or skittering uncontrollably. But the short effective edge and minimal camber also meant that, until I was feeding the ski a lot of speed and energy (to be able to flex the ski enough to use all of the shovel), I didn’t feel especially inspired to go opening it up in these conditions. In firmer variable snow I was generally sliding the ski, steering it from my heels, and looking to get the Mindbender back into softer snow when I could find it. I found the Mindbender 108Ti ready to play through firmer chop and crud whenever I found it, but I didn’t find it to provide the stability or predictability to encourage me to stick around firm and variable conditions for very long.
Jonathan: Luke and Eric are very much on to something here. The way I’d put it is that, the firmer and less smooth the snow (e.g., firm moguls or firm chop), and the less I had the ski on edge, the more I find the shovels want to wander or get twitchy. This is the opposite, for example, of a ski like the Blizzard Cochise 106, which just always seems to track beautifully in pretty much any off-piste, variable conditions. In my experience, the Mindbender 108 “tracks beautifully” and is also extremely maneuverable when the length of the ski is a bit sunk into soft pow and chop.
Groomers
Luke: The Mindbender 108Ti is a pretty good carver for how wide it is, though it’s definitely not as exciting on piste as its narrower siblings, the Mindbender 99Ti and Mindbender 89Ti. The Mindbender 108Ti is most fun on groomers that are fairly steep and give you some room to run. The Mindbender 108Ti is more engaging on lower-angle slopes than, say, the Blizzard Cochise 106, but the Mindbender 108Ti still needs some speed and effort from the skier in order to really bend it and get it on edge. Once there, its edge hold is pretty good for a ski this wide, but it can also easily be released, finessed, and skidded out of turns when you need to make an adjustment.
Eric: I found the Mindbender 108Ti to be easy to roll over onto its edge and engage at low speeds when only relying on the most torsionally rigid part of the ski underfoot, or at higher speeds when you could build enough grip to flex the ski all the way through the tip and tail. At any speed, I found it easy to release the trails from a turn, pivot direction, and set up for the next. But the grip of the snow, pitch of the hill, and speed I was traveling wound up all being important factors in how much grip I could immediately find on tap.
At intermediate speeds, the Mindbender 108Ti could sometimes feel a bit vague, because this was when I had enough speed to be looking for more grip and control, but not quite enough effective edge to easily engage the deeper rocker line / taper of the shovel of the ski without very deliberate edge pressure or angle. In these instances, especially in firmer, more locked-up snow, it was just hard sometimes to get the skis to hook up with the bite I was looking for.
Jonathan: The Mindbender 89Ti and 99Ti are very good carvers in their (respective) categories of all-mountain skis. I’m not willing to say the same for the Mindbender 108Ti, for some of the (peculiar) performance characteristics that Luke and Eric have mentioned. So I wouldn’t want to use this as my everyday, wider all-mountain ski that I was out on all the time, but I’d be very happy to break it out on deeper days or even soft-condition days, which is to say, days when I’m not focused on carving up groomers.
Moguls, Trees, & Tight Terrain
Luke: In addition to any sort of soft snow, I think this is where the Mindbender 108Ti sets itself apart from a lot of similarly stable, directional, metal-laminate skis. The Mindbender 108Ti’s deep rocker lines and moderate flex pattern keep it feeling pretty loose and easy to pivot through tight spots, and I think its swing weight feels lighter than I’d expect, given its actual weight.
That said, Jonathan and I both came to prefer the Mindbender 108Ti in tight terrain that was on the steeper end of the spectrum. In lower-angle moguls at Mt. Crested Butte, the troughs tend to be deeper and the bumps taller, relative to the steeper bump lines, and as a result, I tend to ski those bigger bumps with more of a bases-flat, pivot-heavy approach. In these bigger, lower-angle bumps, the Mindbender 108Ti’s short contact length made it feel like I was skiing a shorter ski than I actually was, which was fine most of the time. But then sometimes its tail would hook up into a big bump and kick me into the backseat. I was able to adjust to this pretty quickly, but it’s worth noting for those who prefer a more precise ski that provides near-constant feedback from tip to tail.
In steeper tight lines, I mostly just got along really well with the Mindbender 108Ti. In that sort of terrain, it’s easier to engage the whole length of the ski and predictably slide from one turn to the next, with the Mindbender 108Ti providing both reliable edge hold and easy release.
Compared to the whole market, the Mindbender 108Ti is a somewhat demanding ski in terms of its swing weight and fairly strong tail, but compared to similarly stable options, it feels pretty loose and accessible.
Jonathan: The effective edge of this ski really is a major part of the story here. So yes, the steeper the terrain, the more the length of the ski is in contact with the snow, and the result is more consistent edge hold and less twitchiness. So while I’ve been talking up the Mindbender 108Ti’s performance in soft chop and pow, I also love the ski on steep chalk and / or steeper terrain in general.
Eric: I found this version of the Mindbender 108Ti to require a bit more energy from my inputs and to be a bit more demanding in moguls, trees, and tight terrain than the previous version. I would attribute this change to the alteration K2 has made with the tail of the ski. I found the previous version, with its more pronounced tail rocker, *incredibly* easy to release and pivot from a compact and centered stance in these types of terrain. It was one of the best examples of a ski feeling damp and loose I have come across. But this also came at the expense of high-speed stability and a smaller sweet spot in soft and chopped-up snow.
The current version of the Mindbender 108Ti, which has a flatter tail rocker line, is correspondingly a bit more work in these instances (the pivoting or smearing types of turns you tend to make in tight zones), BUT conversely has more support on tap for those “oh sh*t” instances when you need to shut things down or bring it all back under control in a hurry and look to the tail to bite in and scrub speed. With the deeper but lower-slung rocker line found on the new Mindbender 108Ti, the ski is by no means difficult to release, and overall I personally prefer this newer tail profile to the old one. But, if you are someone who really resonated with the effortless but damp character of the old ski in bumps, trees, and tighter terrain, it’s something to be aware of.
Mount Point
Luke: As I did with the original Mindbender 108Ti, I spent most of my time on the new version with it mounted on its recommended mount point (-9.5 cm from true center). But then I also tried it mounted about +1.5 cm forward of that line, equating to roughly -8 cm from true center. As someone who often skis with a somewhat centered / upright stance, I preferred the more forward mount point, since the ski felt just a touch more balanced and I found it a bit easier to engage its rockered shovels. However, I think most people who are right for this directional ski will be just fine on the recommended mount point.
Eric: Count me among those who enjoy the recommended mount point best! I thought the shovel of the Mindbender 108Ti offered an excellent feel and it is a blast to be able to drive it around through the tongue of your boots.
Jonathan: This isn’t going to be terribly helpful, but here, I’m more Team Luke than Team Eric. I am rarely pining to get more forward on a ski, but in the case of the Mindbender 108Ti (and quite unlike the Mindbender 89Ti or 99Ti), I kept wanting to move the bindings forward in an attempt to quiet down and better control its shovels. Again, this is a non-issue in powder or steep terrain, but in more common conditions and terrain, I kept wanting to ‘stand on’ the shovels in a way that the ski resisted. So if I was mounting a pair of these up for myself, I’d mount on the recommended line and break out the ski only on pow days or soft chop days. Or, if I was looking to use these skis in firmer conditions, I’d go forward of the line by about 1.5 cm.
Who’s It For?
Luke: The Mindbender 108Ti strikes me as a very good option for folks who want a fairly stable ski that can handle pretty deep resort powder days, but that doesn’t feel wildly out of place later in the afternoon when everything’s been skied out, or even several days following the most recent storm. More specifically, I think it’ll be ideal for those who fit that description and who prioritize maneuverability over maximum suspension and high-speed stability in firm crud.
The Mindbender 108Ti isn’t a super easygoing ski, nor is it the most precise or stable in its category, but for those who prefer a heavier, more stable platform, it stands out due to its maneuverability and soft-snow performance.
Eric: If you are (a) someone who doesn’t want to own a quiver of skis, or (b) who doesn’t know or have strong convictions / opinions about exactly how you want your ski to behave, or (c) is beginning to search for a wider, more stable, or more versatile mid fat ski, I think the Mindbender 108Ti would be an excellent place to begin looking. I found its adaptability to be incredibly endearing, and it would be an easy ski for me to own. I didn’t find the Mindbender 108Ti to be the *most* anything. But I found it to do a lot of things quite well.
If you sometimes think to yourself you want your next ski to be “more” ski, but you don’t exactly know what the roadmap to get to get to “more” looks like, chances are the Mindbender 108Ti is a step in that direction, but won’t leave you feeling like you took your skis character to an extreme in the search for “more.” Could I be any “more” didactic here?
Jonathan: To me, the safest way to recommend the Mindbender 108Ti is to say that, when used as a resort powder ski and / or truly-soft chop ski, I think a lot of people will get along extremely well with it, and it’s hard for me to imagine many skiers really disliking it. But I personally won’t be pushing this ski as a 1-ski quiver … which is interesting, since I do think that the Mindbender 89Ti and 99Ti are very good 1-ski quiver options at their respective width ranges.
Bottom Line
The K2 Mindbender 108Ti remains a good choice for directional skiers who want something pretty strong and stable in variable conditions, but that also shines in tight terrain and soft snow. There are plenty of lighter, more forgiving skis in this class, and also a handful that are more damp and stable in firm crud. But for those who are looking to optimize performance in both fresh snow and moguls, trees, and steeps — without being left with a chattery, imprecise ski on firm days — the Mindbender 108Ti is worth a look.
Deep Dive Comparisons
Become a Blister Member to check out our Deep Dive Comparisons of the Mindbender 108Ti to see how it compares to the previous Mindbender 108Ti, K2 Mindbender 99Ti, Blizzard Cochise 106, Volkl Katana 108, Folsom Primary 104, Salomon QST 106, Black Crows Corvus, Elan Ripstick 106, 4FRNT MSP 107, J Skis Hotshot, Black Crows Atris, Line Blade Optic 104, Shaggy’s Ahmeek 105, Salomon Stance 102, Dynastar M-Free 108, Faction Dancer 3, Rossignol Sender 106 Ti+, Blizzard Rustler 10, Icelantic Nomad 105, Nordica Enforcer 110, & Nordica Unleashed 108.
Did you guys do any binding movements on the mindbender 108 ti? I have the 193s. I’m 6’2” 240 and they feel a tad long. Awesome for speed and stability. Can mob down junk. On steeper tighter I have to work pretty hard to get them around. A friend mentioned people were mounting these 2.5 cm forward to loosen them up. Any advice or information. I have never moved any bindings from the recommended line before.
Thanks
“when used as a resort powder ski and / or truly-soft chop ski, I think a lot of people will get along extremely well with it”
+1, at least for my OG version at, wait for it, +1!
I picked up a pair of the 2021/2022 108TI’s (186cm) when a friend who owns a ski shop in Switzerland was offloading them from his inventory at less than pro-deal price in March 2023. So, i mounted a spare set of Pivot 16’s from one of the original 190cm Squad7’s – one of my top five all-time favorites (RIP after 7years as rock-star to rock-skis). Would not have considered them otherwise and really didn’t know what to expect, but just wanted to try something new in the mid-fat 107-112cm range to replace my Kastle BMX108’s which were also just retired. BMX108’s had a low swing weight, very quick edge to edge, and when mounted 2cm forward enabled a slightly more centered stance perfect for carving through spring pow and confidence in mixed terrain. I can confirm the analyses and conclusions about the Mindbender 108Ti’s by all of the testers, but Eric’s comments are especially spot-on. For deeper heavier days and very mixed crud, my go-to rides are the original black topsheet DPS Koala 119’s which i award a gold-medal for suspensioncr that fosters railing through pow, crud, “creme-brulee.” However, the Mindbender 108TI’s have been just FUN in European Alps (Italian, Swiss, French, Austrian) where “off-piste” means real “backcountry” and “side-country” that is easily accessible by randonnée and/or lift service; also in softersmooth pistes and even zipper lines (Not used to such soft shovels, but they work surprisingly well and smooth out the ride….except in conditions highlighted by Eric. Having experimented for my AT setup over the years with Fritschi Diamirs, Salomon Guardians (finally broke), Marker Duke’s and lately the Shift MNC13’s, i think that the 108Ti’s are going to be perfect with the Shift’s for randonee conditions in European Alps’ ‘backcountry’ terrain i.e variable terrain, technical approaches, heavily forested exits. Stay tuned for the follow up report after next weekend’s rando in La Thuile/La Rosiere, where we are getting about 80cm this week on top of 90cm base.
thanks for the review. any experience with the 193 length?