Two countries, three states, ten pairs of demo skis and I finally found “the ones.” The K2 MissDemeanors replaced my eight year old beaten and battered relics. If you don’t live in a mountain town, eight years doesn’t seem like a long time to keep a pair of alpine skis. But when you can see Park City Mountain Resort, the Canyons and Deer Valley from your living room, keeping skis for that long is unheard of. It’s kind of like dog years.
When I first moved to Park City, I bought a pair of Salomon Women’s Screams and fell in love. These were my first shaped alpine skis and I was in awe of their ability to carve corduroy, tackle moguls and float through powder. I became so attached that one day when I lost one of my treasured boards, my girlfriends searched with me for over half an hour professing, “But they’re your favorites.” Thanks to a young and earnest ski patroller, we found the missing ski and I happily cruised down the mountain.
Rocker vs. Camber
Fast forward a number of years. Rockered skis are all the rage, powder skis are so wide you could water ski with them and my alpine skis are severely outdated in terms of technology, shape and turning radius. So I embark on what becomes a two year journey to find the perfect replacements. I immediately eliminated fat powder skis because they didn’t give me the maneuverability that I needed when skiing trees or bumps, even in six inches of fresh. Full rocker – not a fan. I craved a mix of rocker and camber that balanced ease of turn initiation with edge hold and rebound.
MissBehaved vs. MissDemeanor
After trying and discarding a multitude of other models, I narrowed my search down to the K2 MissBehaved and the K2 MissDemeanor with all terrain rocker. Both were women’s specific skis with a forward shifted sidecut that took into account the fact that a female skier’s center of gravity was lower. And both pairs of K2’s delivered my preferred mix of 30% rocker/70% camber while featuring metal-free Bioflex Core technology for lighter swing weight and lighter load when hiking off piste.
Since I had gotten my “pilot’s license” revoked during an ill-fated jump a few years back, I tried the MissBehaved version first since the MissDemeanors were designed for 50% powder and 50% park. While they floated through powder and plowed through crud, and were the best ski I’d tried to date, the MissBehaveds didn’t have the grab that I yearned for on hardpack. So I popped on their siblings, the MissDemeanors, and immediately knew this was it.
Never mind that the MissDemeanors were twin tips that could handle park as well as groomers. Or that they had bi-directional taper for switch riding. I was transfixed by the narrower waist, that made these all mountain skis turn on a dime, around aspens, evergreens and even the occasional tree stump. And while they could handle powder and crud as well as the K2 MissBehaved skis, they had the stability and control that I wanted, not to mention significant carving ability.
Alpine Ski Demo Testing
The true test came when my ski partner of 20 years, told me that I looked fluid and effortless on my new favorite boards. And they just felt right. Was it worth testing a myriad of skis to find my perfect match? You bet. And you can too.
Click here to go the Jans Alpine Demo Center to check out our selection of performance demo skis, including my favorites. You wouldn’t buy a new car without taking it for a test drive. Right?
Liz Yokubison, Senior Editor of Jans.com
