If your wintertime reconnaissance missions routinely consist of an all-mountain poke-around to suss out the best conditions, be it leftover, blown-in pow, just-ripening corn or a.m. groomed corduroy, the K2 Recon Team should be on the required equipment list. Our test team did exactly that with this year's Recon Team--dragged it into every good and bad pocket we could find at Mt. Bachelor--and it executed well, they said, with a particularly convenient and comfortable style.
Across the board, over many different testers, one common Recon refrain was how instantly comfortable and balanced it felt straight out of the box. Testers loved the Powerfit Pro liner (one went so far as to say it should get stuffed into the new Dispatch) and they also praised its smooth and trouble-free entry and exit. Was it too comfortable? They said it was one of the most luxuriant of the narrow class and fit a little more mediumish in the toebox and calf--none of that was a bad thing for testers, but a crushing, race-like 98mm fit it was not.
The Recon Team's lateral transmission and edge work was also given thumbs up. Testers called it precise, reliable and strong from arc to arc when moving side to side. The Recon Team's fore-aft feel had a few testers wondering if the Pebax cuff construction contributed to a feel of rearward give, which they didn't like much--but perhaps they should get the hell outta the backseat, right?
The test team rendered something of a split decision on their opinion about tech fittings on the toe lug of a fixed cuff boot. Some liked the idea of a hikeable boot paired with a pin binding but without the linkage compromise that might come with a hike mode feature. Others thought it was a trendy doodad that wouldn't be utilized by most skiers. The Recon Pro (also called a 140 flex) is offered in a mirror build-out, sans tech fittings, and without any discount for lacking the buggers. The Recon 130 similarly goes without the tech toe and also swaps out the Pebax cuff for a polyurethane version and this along with a $100 discount at list price. All of those options come with the cam locking Booster power strap, which testers loved.
Kudos
Caveats