Max from K2 talks us three of the snowboards in the 2014 line-up:

The Subculture

The Subculture is a brand new model for 2014 and uses K2’s new ‘Precision Baseline’ profile. Many of us will be familiar with the fact that K2 have a thing for making boards with flat profiles, but this new one essentially places contact points in the nose and tail and lifts the flat base slightly off the snow so that it “tracks and turns like a traditional camber board but without the unstable hook”. This gives the board a more aggressive ride which is ideal for kicker and pipe riding with the carbon web that radiates from the bindings reinforcing that. Elsewhere, the board is understated and minimal, supposedly being aimed at the ‘core rider who keeps it simple and lets his riding do the talking’.

The Turbo dream

The Turbo Dream is a long-standing favourite in the K2 line and has been optimised for freestyle charging in the backcountry. The board features K2’s ‘All Mountain Baseline’ profile, which is flat between the feet with a slight rise in the nose and tail (slightly more in the nose), and incorporates ‘Tweakends’ which smoothen out the rocker in the nose and tail for a better ride in powder. However, The Turbo Dream is by no means a pure powder board and has also been designed to handle the piste with ease.

The Ultrasplit Splitboard

The Ultrasplit Splitboard is, according to K2, the lightest and fastest splitboard on the market. It certainly was incredibly quick to assemble/dissemble as demonstrated by Max here and is super light thanks to the lack of a glass topsheet. Interestingly, K2 have opted to rejuvinate the step-in-binding systems of snowboarding’s past, a move that will no doubt be a talking point around the system.