| Summary: The K2 Baker Superlight is the same dimensions as the popular Mt. Baker, but has a full pound shaved off per ski. It's designed for the skier who demands a lightweight ski, but often finds themselves in soft snow conditions and requires a wider platform. At 88mm underfoot, this ski will float you even in Canadian powder, and at 3.3 lbs per ski, long tours or one more lap is no problem. This ski includes all of K2's features for this season's Alpine Touring skis; a powder tip that is less reactive and hooky, tip and tail holes to quickly make a rescue sled, colorful graphics to see your ski in flat light or debris, skin clip notches, and straight tails. A strong choice for the backcountry skier who enjoys long tours, multi-day hut trips, and powder skiing. Oh wait, that's all of us. |
Lighter than most skis that are much narrower, the Superlight was developed for the ski mountaineer who demands soft snow performance, but also places a premium on weight for longer, more committing tours, or faster, easier ascending. We chose the same shallow, progressive sidecut and longer tip that give the new Baker superior predictability. Then we challenged our engineers to shave weight everywhere possible. The resulting ski is lighter than anything we've seen with similar dimensions.
Conditions:
30% hard snow/70% soft snow
Sidecut:
120-88-108/13.0
Weight:6.6 lbs/pair Construction: Carbon and
Kevlar Torsion Box
All of 07/08 K2's AT skis feature a powder tip (less hooky),
tip and tail holes for quick construction of a rescue sled, colorful
graphics, progressive sidecut, skin clip arc, and straight tails.
K2 AT skis do not have inserts. |
Skiing magazine: "A
pound on the foot is worth five on the back. Which is why K2
stripped the metal-laminate component from the Mt. Baker, making
the Superlight two pounds lighter per pair. You'll appreciate
that when breaking trail. Testers also found it surprisingly
stable at speed for such a light ski. Gripes: Has
less torsional strength than the Mt. Baker. Props: Predictable
and stable in all turns."
Backcountry magazine: "With the same footprint and soft, splaying tip as the Mt. Baker, the Baker Superlight loses the metal layup for a savings of 950g (174cm). Not surprisingly, the weight savings came at the cost of hard snow control, especially at speed. 'Soft tail and chattery on firm snow when I got aggressive,' said a Western tester. 'Easy to overpower compared to the regular Mt. Baker. I would gladly heft the extra weight for the noticeably better performance.' According to another Westerner: 'Little more squirrelly than the Mt. Baker. Deflective.' A third had a different take on the Baker: 'slightly more forgiving, but still takes on varied conditions with relative ease.' Added an Easterner: 'Its lightness is obvious. And while it's quick, its need for quick attention on hard an rough stuff is also apparent.'" |
