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K2. The ARC Collection. Made in the USA

fatbob

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Maybe my initial reaction was a bit OTT (but hey what's the point of being a resident reactionary/contrarian) but I still don't quite get it - K2 aren't a $1800 ski brand, at best they are Mustangs not Cavalino Rampante. I truly though halo for them would be a blockbuster ski in the high performance or freeride segment not an "artisan" story.

Plus there are great made in USA skis out there - ON3P, Moment, Icelantic, DPS plus lots of smaller brands like Renoun. Surely they've grabbed a lot of the patriots?
 

Andy Mink

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Maybe my initial reaction was a bit OTT (but hey what's the point of being a resident reactionary/contrarian) but I still don't quite get it - K2 aren't a $1800 ski brand, at best they are Mustangs not Cavalino Rampante. I truly though halo for them would be a blockbuster ski in the high performance or freeride segment not an "artisan" story.

Plus there are great made in USA skis out there - ON3P, Moment, Icelantic, DPS plus lots of smaller brands like Renoun. Surely they've grabbed a lot of the patriots?
Renoun are designed in the US, made in Canada. Picking nits, I know.ogsmile
 

Tricia

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I'm kind of excited about this.
 

James

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Yeah lot of American skis made in Quebec.
DPS carbon made in Salt Lake.
 

Ecimmortal

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I'm not sure why people are giving K2 any props for building what looks like 150 skis in total in the US then overpricing the hell out of them.

The cost is ridiculous especially since just because they made them here that does not effect their cost scale on raw material. This is actually quite pathetic.
 

Erik Timmerman

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Maybe my initial reaction was a bit OTT (but hey what's the point of being a resident reactionary/contrarian) but I still don't quite get it - K2 aren't a $1800 ski brand, at best they are Mustangs not Cavalino Rampante.

Nothing wrong with going Shelby 500.

I like it. I don't get the top sheets though. Why not a red, white and blue at least on the race ski.
 

NZRob

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I toured the factory on Vashon Island in 1990 with some mates after a season at Homewood, Tahoe. I remember being awed by the triaxial brading machine. I also managed to bend two pairs of TNC Comps I'd got on pro deals that season, and ended up going back to the KVC's....so I would love to see a high end homage to the KVC and TNC Comps please K2.
 

Erik Timmerman

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Speaking of Mustangs, maybe this is the right paint for those skis.
2020-ford-shelby-mustang-gt500-2.jpg
 

Truberski

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I like what they are trying to do here but the price premium is a little steep for me given that “made in usa” is only real difference. I’d be more tempted if they offered a unique topsheet like what they do for the 244 bump ski.
 

Big J

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Made in China or not the K2's of the past decade at least (even some of the Mindbenders) looked subpar in build quality / finishing. I think they have addressed some of that recently from what I have seen and these new Made in The USA skis will help capture some of their long lost cred here in the US and Canada. K2 has lacked focus over the years. They seem to have been working very hard recently to design new and exciting products. It is cool to see. Back in the day (late 80's, early 90's) K2 skis had a great rep and were even in Podiums worldwide. I used some of their skis during those years.
I have had four different pairs of recent K2 made in China skis and have had no QC issues. Hopefully I was not just lucky. When I was Pro Patrol in 1979 the K2 710 Comp was a ski many Patrollers skied. I really like the fact they are making them again in the USA as it will provide some jobs. Perhaps they will shift all production back here which would be nice.
 

Big J

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I like what they are trying to do here but the price premium is a little steep for me given that “made in usa” is only real difference. I’d be more tempted if they offered a unique topsheet like what they do for the 244 bump ski.
Pricing is all relative. If they want to compete with other skis they will have to adjust pricing to be able to do so.
 

Wendy

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The use of the term “Alchemist” for one of their snowboards is confusing, since DPS has the Alchemist carbon line of skis. I don’t see how someone didn’t think this was problematic.
D42DCCFC-1ABC-4548-A773-41A4553C740E.jpeg
 

Johnny V.

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Always glad to see manufacturing return to the USA! But:

The big question is-how do they ski? Better than or at least comparable to other premium brands? With such limited production I don't see much of a buzz developing around them. A halo product designed to create interest in the brand is only good if it people (other than Skitalk fanatics) know it is exists.
 

Truberski

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Pricing is all relative. If they want to compete with other skis they will have to adjust pricing to be able to do so.
And consumer preferences and purchase behaviors also differ. My point was “made in USA” by itself isn’t worth this much price premium (for me). There are plenty of examples where USA manufacturing is inferior and pumping out higher quantities of the same ski in China could actually translate to better quality. My opinion would change if the construction was different or there was something else “special” about it vs. the China made ones. Not a lot of details here so maybe the construction is different (think Volvo V-Werks or DPS Alchemist) or something else to change perceived value for me.
 

James

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Heh, I mis read the price of the plated one. Somehow I saw $1,200 and assumed they were all that, so with plate and bonding it would be an $800 ski. But, it’s a $1,400 ski.
Not seeing it.
 

D. Trenker

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I have K2 speed chargers from 2018, they’re the best skis I’ve ever owned.

The green skis look fantastic as an advertising promotion and there are plenty of people with enough money to buy them if they personally appealed to them.

As far as things being made in China there is no reason the quality should be limited compared to anywhere else, but it is disturbing to see the effect on the economy for ordinary people in North America. What will happen when they start selling cars? I don’t understand why this has happened but it seems if real labour unions were able to take hold in China conditions would improve there while at the same time other countries could become competitive again, but I don’t know enough about it to say if that would ever become possible.
 

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