- Price: $600
- Category: Freeride/Powder
- Ability Level: Advanced
- Size: 153, 156, 157w, 159, 160w, 162, 164w
- Flex: 7/10
- Shape: Directional Twin
- Profile: CamRock
- Base: Sintered
- New for 2020/21: Yes
- BUY DIRECT FROM SURFDOME
The K2 Manifest Team is what happens when you take one of your best-selling freeride snowboards, supercharge it and release it to the general public. This is the high spec, high tech beefy big brother to the award-winning team and fan favourite Manifest.
The Manifest was already a pretty gnarly snowboard, but with these upgrades the all-new Manifest Team packs a serious punch. At first glance the graphics are understated and timeless, but if you look closely at the topsheet you can see some of the high-tech magic that’s going on under the hood. The Manifest Team is kitted out with K2’s Bambooyah Pro Core, it’s brand new for this season and about as space age as you’ll get this side of Roswell.
“It’s brand new for this season and about as space age as you’ll get this side of Roswell”
With a name like that you won’t be surprised to find Bamboo in abundance, firstly it’s cross braced with Aspen underfoot to ensure lightning fast edge to edge response, then you’ve got two bamboo stringers running tip to tail to increase the snap and rebound. Paulownia is then used in the nose and tail to reduce unnecessary swing weight, which is backed up by the blunted shape.
The whole point of the Manifest Team was to take a classic favourite and make it faster, lighter and more responsive, so K2 have used this new core in collaboration with their top of the range ICG 20 Triax fibreglass. Twenty carbon fibre stringers run the length of the Manifest Team powering up the board without making it too stiff torsionally, allowing for smooth turn initiation. Then you’ve got K2’s classic Carbon Darkweb running out to the contact points, making sure you’re super stable and in control with the slightest touch.
All of this results in a really responsive and damp ride, one that’ll smash through lumps and bumps, take you through rutted terrain and blast over janky cat tracks without bucking you off. While it might seem that there’s a lot going on here, and thus a lot to go wrong, K2 back this core so much, they’ve slapped a hefty 5-year warranty on it against breakages.
“Twenty carbon fibre stringers run the length of the Manifest Team powering up the board without making it too stiff torsionally”
Tried and tested Directional Combination Camber Profile puts a powerful midbody camber, with an elongated rockered nose and a shorter rocker in the tail. You’ll get power and precision on piste, and the benefit of the extra float when you take it off the beaten track.
This isn’t a snowboard for the average joe, this is a specialised piece of kit that is built only for the select few, it’s for skilled riders who’ve spent years honing their craft. The Manifest Team won’t just keep up with you, it’ll push your limits and shift your perceptions.
