First impression
At first glance, the ski is unusually heavy. At second glance, this is only logical, as it is a proper sandwich construction with a Titanal layer. All in all, it's a construction similar to that of a World Cup giant slalom ski, but with the dimensions and length of an all-mountain ski. This also adds a bit of weight, which sets the ski apart from the trend towards ever lighter skis designed for touring in the wide category.
As is typical for K2, the ski is relatively long in relation to the specified length and is impeccably finished.
I would also like to point out that the all-round Mindbender series also includes narrower skis with an identical construction, which are designed more for the piste and less for powder.
Testers and test conditions
I am 183cm tall and weigh about 75kg. I ski a lot, but I mostly go ski touring. In the ski resort, I'm mainly out and about in bad weather or in the early season. I like easy-to-ski skis, preferably with a taper and rocker at the tip and tail, and I'm not the most active skier. In recent years, I've mostly used the Downskis CountDown 104 on ski tours and a giant slalom racing ski on the piste.
I tested the Mindbender 99 TI in a length of 184cm with Rossignol FKS 12 bindings. I've been using the ski since the end of October, first on glacier pistes, then on artificial snow and finally off-piste in various types of natural snow.