Tag Archives: K2

Introducing the LINE Influence

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Influence 115:

The Influence 115 for 2012 is a modified version of last year’s Prophet 115. The new version comes with a slightly softer flex and a bit more pronounced rise in the tip rocker section. These are important changes as the Prophet was a little too stiff to really shine in light, deep snow and it was a little too wide for the preferences of many big mountain skiers for a daily driver ski. The changes have clearly benefitted the new Influence 115 and made it a much better powder than it was last year.

I tested an Influence 115 on two different occasions during March of 2011 when Tahoe was getting heavily pounded by big storms. Both times I noted that the 115 floated well and turned readily enough when in the deeper snow but it just wasn’t as nimble or maneuverable as softer double rise skis. On the other hand, when I skied out of the deep stuff and into shallower crud or back onto the groomers, the Influence was one of the most solid feeling skis in this width category. The Influence 115 illustrates the conundrum that ski makers have to face when building skis in this width range. The question is whether to build a little stiffer ski with less rocker so it excels in crud and heavy snow, or do they add more rocker and taper and make it softer and more nimble in the deep stuff. Of course the consumer expects both things but that isn’t reality. Everything is a compromise the Influence 115 is a blend of powder float and big mountain stability. If a skier wanted a ski inb this width range for everyday use, the Influence 115 is one of the best choices.

Influence 105:

The influence 105 is a new model for Line this year and this ski fills a position in the lineup that Line did not really have in the past. The “big mountain” ski as we define it is basically a large economy size all mountain ski. By that, we mean a ski that has a mix of all mountain ski characteristics but in a width (approx 102-108mm) that is close to powder ski territory. The Line Influence 105 fits right into that mold. The 105 is of course, 105mm wide at the waist and uses Lines Metal Matrix topsheet. This gives the ski a medium-firm flex that helps it to power crud and grip well on the groomers. The Influence 105 has a fairly low rise to its rockered tip so that it lifts a little better in softer snow without detracting much from the feel on harder snow.

I got the chance to test the Influence 105 at Sugar Bowl on a Wednesday in March 2011 at the Sugar Bowl ski resort. It had snowed Monday night and part of Tuesday but then had cleared up and the powder was pretty well skied out. It was very cold Tuesday night and the wind blew so the snow had blown around and filled in, but had also compacted some. By Wednesday, the conditions were vastly different on different aspects of the resort. This is the type of day when you sorta want your powder skis for the deep spots and you sorta want your all mountain skis for the crud, wind pack and groomers. That is the catalog description for the “big mountain” ski as it is the blend of both those two categories. There are a few truly great skis in this category and the Influence 105 is one of the best. Skiing into the main area from a fringe parking lot, you have a couple of lift rides and some groomers to deal with and the Influence 105 feels solid, stable and relatively grippy in GS turns. When I got to the top of the Disney lift I cut right through the trees to get to the east face bowl where the wind had filled in yesterdays tracks. The snow was about mid calf and had some substance to it because of the wind compaction. The Influence 105 sliced this stuff with ease and the early rise kept the tip from hooking when I hit a patch that was little heavier than the surrounding snow. Down lower, I dropped into a gully where the snow had collected but was not compacted much. This was pretty deep stuff and the influence skied through it with ease but certainly not with the float that you’d get if you had on a wider and softer ski.  Later in the day on the Lincoln lift, I got into a steep pitch that was heavily skied out. Here, the 105 made short radius turns quickly enough but the nimble feel of some narrower all mountain skis was lacking. This test day really explains the category of “big mountain” skis very well. While it lacks the flotation of the pure powder ski, and the nimbleness of the all mountain ski, the Influence 105 blends those two characteristics very well. It is certainly no accident that many big mountain competitors choose skis in this range as their competition ski and also as their daily driver.

Check out the Line Influence product pages and order on our website:

2012 K2 Pon2oon Review

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The Pon2oon is the second generation of the venerable Pontoon model; the brain child of the late Shane McConkey.  This is the first major redesign of the ski that arguably popularized the trend toward big, rockered skis for powder.  While there is no doubt that the Pontoon set the trend, the original design has become a bit dated.  Newer designs have brought some serious competition to the genre and the new Pon2oon addresses the market very well.  The Pon2oon has a much longer conventional section in the center of the ski along with lower rocker at both tip and tail.  The result is a ski that retains most of the near magical powder performance of the original, but with dramatically improved stability when the snow is not waist deep.

I first skied the original Pontoon some years back on a day when it had rained over an 18” storm, not your ideal powder day.  The Pontoon handled the thick heavy snow with ease and it really showed me what the concept was all about.  In the years since then, the Pontoon was right at the top of the heap of powder specialty skis but getting to and from the powder or skiing in just a few inches of snow was not a great experience for my tastes.  This year with the new upgrade I was eager to test the new design but it took much of the year for me to hit the right day when I had deep snow and a new Pon2oon available all at the same time.  Finally it happened and it was worth the wait.

The capabilities of this new ski in deep snow are not dramatically different than the old version, but its non-powder characteristics are remarkably better.  The new Pon2oon is notably more stable and predictable in shallow snow, crud and is even reasonable on hard packed snow.  This can be directly correlated with the fact that K2 has stiffened the Pon2oon throughout the entire ski.  Previously the Pontoon was a relatively soft ski, and although that made for a superior powder tool it made for a difficult ride on hard pack or broken snow.   The new Pon2oon is a great upgrade.  This upgrade has not only increased hard snow performance, but also deep snow performance.  The ability to stick landings and let the ski run out at higher speeds has dramatically increased.  The effortless floatation that the Pon2oon provides is as good as it gets, no questions asked.  For the tastes of most, this will remain to be a powder specialty ski, but for the majority this will be far more versatile than the original Pontoon.   The Pon2oon does not ski as short as the old one, but the 189 is still the best size for average to heavy male skiers.