- Price: $490
- Category: Freeride/Powder
- Ability Level: Intermediate, Advanced
- Size: 138, 144, 150
- Flex: 7/10
- Shape: Directional
- Profile: Flat
- Base: Sintered
When you see the K2 Cool Bean’s credentials on paper you’d be forgiven for having a moment of confusion. A cruisy pow ripper coming in at 138cm might not be the most common thing on the market, but after strapping in, you’ll soon realise that the Cool Bean is anything but ordinary. A stalwart of K2’s Enjoyers Collection, the Cool Bean is a pint size party wagon set to shift the paradigm of what’s possible on a snowboard.
While the Cool Bean can feel at home all over the hill, it makes a name for itself in the powder. If you made a checklist for every feature your dream pow board would have, the Cool Bean would tick every box. Twice. K2 have done everything possible to make sure riding deep snow is effortless with the Cool Bean, from the 2cm taper to the setback inserts they’ve made sure that the board is practically unsinkable.
“The Cool Bean is a pint size party wagon set to shift the paradigm of what’s possible on a snowboard”
While most snowboards can float in powder, many of them rely on you leaning back and burning out your back leg desperately trying to keep the nose up. The sheer volume in the Cool Bean’s big, wide nose keeps it plaining over the top of the snowpack with little to no effort. The cut out swallow tail reduces surface area towards the back of the board, driving the tail down into the snow, further accentuating the nose lift.
The construction of the Cool Bean is such that you want to ride it at least 5cm shorter than your regular board. K2 have employed their Volume Shift to allow you to dramatically size down your stick. Surface area is surface area, regardless of where it’s found on the board, so K2 have drastically increased the width rather than the length. They’ve created a board with the float capabilities of one far longer but one that’s insanely manoeuvrable. Tree runs, tight turns and fat slashes are yours for the taking with this pocket rocket.
“Tree runs, tight turns and fat slashes are yours for the taking with this pocket rocket”
Not just for the deep days, the Cool Bean’s tight sidecut, mid-stiff flex and wide waist lend themselves to digging trenches on the hardpack. Thanks to the short, fat shape you can ride much flatter angles without worrying about toe drag, allowing you to get right up onto your edges for laid out carves.
While this probably isn’t the board you’d want to pick up for honing your switch riding, it is the mack daddy of deep snow and deeper carves. To shake things up for 2021 K2 have removed the rocker section from the tail of the board, lengthening the effective edge slightly to increase its appeal on the groomers. Pretty cool, huh?
