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Sean Fearon is a ski development engineer at LINE & K2, and he’s been busy — between the two sister brands’ 24/25 collections, Sean helped design over a dozen of the new skis.
So I sat down with Sean to get the details on LINE’s new Pandora, Vision, and Optic skis (and how they all relate to each other); the overhauled K2 Reckoner and Omen series; working with Karl Fostvedt to create his unique pro model, the Reckoner KF, and more. He also peels back the curtain on what it actually means to be a ski designer / engineer, why his job is often very similar to what we do at Blister, and how others might pursue a similar career.
RELATED LINKS:
Bag Balm: use code BLISTER to get 20% off
BLISTER+: Become a Member
Blister Summit 2025: register before July 1st to save $150
Reviews: Line Pandoras, K2 Reckoners, K2 Omens
TOPICS & TIMES:
Sean’s Background (3:55)
Being a Ski Engineer / Designer (7:25)
24/25 LINE Skis Overview (13:20)
LINE Pandora, Vision, & Optic Skis (17:02)
K2 Omen Skis (41:47)
K2 Reckoner Collection (51:05)
Karl Fostvedt & The Reckoner KF (53:38)
Advice For Future Ski Designers (1:09:43)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS (click each to learn more):
Sean, love the work going on at K2 and Line <3
Please, if you wouldn't mind, resurrect the Dispatch series! I love my pair of 101s and 120s and fear the day they bite the dust…
As a Blister Member and a Mechanical Design Engineer, I would like to request a more Techie interview with Sean to explore the technical side of ski design. It might be a limiting aspect for a general audience, but in my experience, everyone’s a mechanical engineer (or they think they are (sarcasm)). If you spend any time on the Ski Talk website, there are endless conversations on how metal, rubber, keyholes, any aspect of ski design/construction dictate/influence the performance of a ski. I would love to hear non-proprietary insights into what is really true and what is not about all the different aspects of ski design. Sean did mention one thing in that regard in this episode, that flex is mainly determined by ski core thickness. How about adding metal to a ski, how does it interact with a ski’s construction to influence performance. I could make a list if it would help. (a couple of random thoughts: do you run FEA on a new ski design to sort out flex, how is mount point determined? calculated by FEA, or testing? , debunk “factory tunes”, scaling skis for different lengths)
So, Luke, get a bottle of your favorite alcoholic beverage, actually 2, one for you and one for Sean. Pick a time late at night when you are both over tired, have some new fangled item design by K2 in front of you, and record another session. (there might be some sarcasm in this last paragraph).
I’m psyched on that idea, and I’m sure Sean could shed some light on a lot of the less- or misunderstood technical aspects of ski construction and design. Will work to do that at some point in the future.
Great request. There is so much marketing speak in ski design tech that some facts would be helpful. I am an advanced skier and instructor and always try to improve my understanding of how the physics effect my skiing.