K2 Fastplant 2015 - 2011 Review by The Good Ride

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The K2 Fastplant is like a more high tech version of the K2 WWW with a better base and core.  The WWW is a great jib freestyle board and so is the Fastplant. This board is mostly flat with a small bit of rocker at the tip/tail that allows for a stable, poppy and catch-free ride. It has the build for a jib park/jump specialist but felt like it could be more than that. It’s also incredibly sturdy.

Other than a few minor improvements to the board not much has changed to the overall ride from the 2013 K2 Fastplant to the 2015 Fastplant. It’s still a fun jib board that is also fun jumping.   

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

Size 154
Days:3
Conditions: Practically Perfect Groomed snow with only a few hard spots each time.
Riders: James, Peter, Kyle, Jimbo,
Bindings: K2 Formula
Boots: , Burton SLX, Burton Imperial, Nike Kaiju, DC Judge
Set Up- Centered 23″ wide 15 front -15 back

The K2 Fastplant is pretty much the high-end WWW.  It’s made for great jibbing but the rest of the park with the exception of the pipe is really fun as well. You can butter, ollie and jib your heart out with the Fastplant while still having a little something for the mountain if you want to switch it up. Very easy to one foot and flat base.

A Quick History
The new 2012 core claims an industry leading 5-year warranty which is a pretty bold statement. The 2011, 2012 and 2013 K2 Fastplant are very similar but there have been some minor tweaks to make the 2012 and 2013 a little better like the carbon fiber strip that helps you pop the board a little better than the 2011. It’s very close to the Matrix II carbon strips in the 2011. The 2013 is pretty much the same as the 2012 which isn’t such a bad thing. Both are great freestyle boards. If you want a high-end WWW with a fast base and better core this will be a great choice.

On Snow Feel: The flat between the feet that extends well past the bindings (almost entirely flat) makes for a stable ride that is also catch free.  The mostly flat to a little tiny bit of rocker design makes for a much better groomer ride than many hybrid shapes out there.  It’s fun finding natural terrain to ollie or jib off around the mountain without feeling completely like a fish out of the water.

Powder: No powder but based on my powder experience with other boards like this from K2 I’d rather be on the Turbo Dream here.

Turn Initiation and Carving: Another part of the pop game is a boards ability to spring in and out of a turn which isn’t a requirement for most park riding except the pipe. Short to medium radius turns aren’t bad. This isn’t important for a jib board but we like to butter/press/carve/ollie on the way to the park. Getting a little return out of your carve feels good and the Fastplant is missing that. Many jib boards are so it’s not a big deal.

Speed: The Fastplant was just fine up to moderate speeds but that is about where the good times end. In the park its fine

Uneven Terrain: No problem here. These kind of soft flexing boards are perfect at dealing with slow speed negotiations of bumpy shitty snow. It even allows you to get creative with it.

Approximate Weight– It felt light but well built/sturdy.

Edge Hold: We had good conditions and a lot of fun with this board. The edge hold was good but not suited for hard or even firm snow. The edge hold is made to not grip too much so you can live a catch-free life on jibs.

Flex: The bamboo in the core makes for a very resilient flex. It’s easy to butter as well as get some snap back on an Ollie.

Switch: It’s a true twin and rides the same either way.

Jibbing– Probably the strong point of the Fastplant.  It has a lot of flat in the board it could almost be called a flat camber shape and this gives you a large sweet spot for big technical jibs. The Fastplant is also very sturdy so it’s going to hold up pretty well to rail abuse.  You can get pretty technical on this board in the jib park and it’s a really fun ride if that is what you are looking to mainly do. It’s the kind of board that makes you a better jibber. It’s almost a Good Ride Favorite but we put the cheaper WWW in there instead since they perform pretty close to one another.

Pipe: When a board is lacking on a carve it’s usually not that good in the pipe. There is no drive from wall to wall and the edge hold isn’t great out of the rapper.  It’s a soft pipe day board only.

Jumps: Fun and springy on an Ollie. We found this pretty easy to snap the board for an ollie but wouldn’t say it has unlimited spring. Pretty fun hitting kickers because it’s very stable on approach and there is enough flat past the bindings to handle an off landing that’s heavy on the tail.

All in all, this is a great jib to park ride that will work very well for those willing to spend a little more than the WWW.