Gear reviews | K2 Aspect

First impression

When I unpacked and put them on for the first time, one thing in particular caught my eye. The Velcro fasteners on the inner shoe. The inner boot is littered with Velcro fasteners and straps at the end of the shaft, so at first you're a little overwhelmed as to which strap belongs where and in which order they should be fastened. But once you've got that figured out, the liner adapts really well to the lower leg thanks to the multiple fastenings. For this season, K2 has given the Aspect an update here, which makes the boot even more comfortable.

Inner boot and outer boot - details and fit

As mentioned above, the inner boot not only scores with very good fixation in the shaft area, but can also be adapted to difficult foot shapes as an Intuition liner by baking it on. I didn't use this feature as the liner fitted me well as it was. The liner also has so-called J-Bars in the ankle area to further improve the fixation of the heel. Burton has produced these J-Bars as an add-on for parts of their liners. Other companies, such as K2, have now switched to supplying liners directly with J-Bars due to their good functionality.

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K2 Aspect in the 2019 colorway — K2 Aspect in the 2019 color variant

K2 Snowboarding

Interesting is the K2-CONDA system, a BOA lacing system for the inner boot that fulfills two functions. On the one hand, it ensures that the inner boot is compressed and adapts further to the foot - a form of inner boot lacing. On the other hand, this lacing is anchored to the outer shoe - firmly sewn into the heel area, in the tongue area a kind of plastic strap is attached to the tongue of the outer shoe with Velcro - and ensures that the foot is fixed in the outer shoe. Sounds complicated, but it's not and it works. As is so often the case - a picture is worth a thousand words.

Important for the multi-day tourers among you: The outer boot can be opened wide enough to get the inner boot in and out without too much fiddling. You can also get into the outer boot with the inner boot on. That's how it should be.

The outer shoe is made of leather and has a classic lacing system. I found the hooks a little unusual and fiddly at first - especially the last hooks below the power strap are problematic, but they hold the tension of the laces well. As a result, I rarely have to re-lace them. There is also a powerstrap to achieve maximum stiffness.

Overall, the many adjustment options provide a very good hold in the shoe.

After more than twenty days of use, the shoes still look very good. There are slight signs of wear in a few areas made of synthetic fibers, the leather parts look like new. As expected, the sole is also still in good condition.

Ascent and descent

The K2 really shows its stability on the ascent, especially on crossings. However, like almost all soft boots, it has the problem that the step length is more limited due to the stiff back of the boot. The grip of the Vibram sole is good and crampons (either baskets or semi-automatic) can be attached without any problems. Since a snowboard boot is usually a little wider than a classic alpine touring boot, you should be a little careful with the fit. However, the Aspect is not significantly wider or narrower than other snowboard boots. In this respect, all crampons that you have already used with snowboard boots should fit.

The Aspect is a rather stiff boot in terms of downhill performance, which provides a good board feel despite the thicker sole. The BOA lacing of the inner boot allows you to always add a shovelful of stiffness. This works so well that at some point the blood supply in the foot can become precarious.

Conclusion

The K2 Aspect is a very solid touring boot with a crampon-compatible Vibram sole. With the high-quality, bake-on Intuition liner and the combination of classic lacing on the outer boot (keep it simple) and BOA liner fixation, it is a successful synthesis of classic boot design and new technical details. In fact, the boot can also be skied properly without the BOA lacing. A defect would therefore not be a problem, as intended by K2. At 1250 grams per boot in size 42, it is not really light, but there are also significantly heavier competitors (ThirtyTwo Jones, for example).

Advantages / disadvantages

+ Good flex

+ Very good liner

+ Vibram sole and sole edge

+ Good heel fixation thanks to the BOA system

Details

Price: 449 euros

Size: US 7-13

Weight: 1250 grams per shoe (size 42, US 9)