Positives
- Super damp.
- Lots of camber
- Spoon nose stays out of effective edge
Negatives
- Slow Base For The Price
- Stiffer flex can be fatiguing.
Summary
The K2 Antidote doesn’t have a great base for the price point but the rest of this full-camber beast has a lot of appeal for stronger old-school camber rippers.Where To Buy
No obligation, but these links support the site.
Blauer Board Shop
Favorite Storeevo
Sun & Ski Sports
Backcountry
BlueTomato Belgium
BlueTomato France
BlueTomato Sweden
BlueTomato Denmark
BlueTomato Finland
PRFO Sports Canada
Riding Style | All Mountain |
Riding Level | Advanced - Expert |
Fits Boot size (US) | < 8, 8-10, 10-12, > 12 |
Manufactured in | China |
Shape | Directional Twin |
Camber Profile | Traditional Camber |
Stance | Setback -20mm |
Approx. Weight | Feels Normal |
Split | No |
On Snow Feel | |
Turn Initiation | |
Skidded Turns |
Flex | |
Buttering | |
Edge Hold |
Where To Buy
No obligation, but these links support the site.
Blauer Board Shop
Favorite Storeevo
Sun & Ski Sports
Backcountry
Christy Sports
BlueTomato Belgium
BlueTomato France
BlueTomato Sweden
BlueTomato Denmark
BlueTomato Finland
BlueTomato Italy
BlueTomato UK
BlueTomato Netherlands
BlueTomato Austria
BlueTomato Spain
SnowCountry
PRFO Sports Canada
K2 Antidote Snowboard Written Review Review by The Good Ride
Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews and this is our unfiltered opinion. 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 rider’s perspective.
A Breakdown Of How It Rides And Who It’s For
How This K2 Antidote Review Happened:
Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 157
Days: 3
Conditions: Varied but mostly soft spring conditions
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs), Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Ride Torrent, Ride Fuse, Rome Bodega
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas, Rome Vice
Redunancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib, Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant,
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove
Similar Boards We Like (but not the same): Korua Otto, K2 Manifest, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc,
James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-9, +15/-15. Close to Reference
Approximate Weight
The K2 Antidote flet normal bordering on heavy. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight). I think if they didn’t have the reduced weight tech in the tip/tail it would feel heavy.
Sizing
The 157 K2 Antidote fit me really well and I wouldn’t want to size up or down.
Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller depending on your riding style and boot’s footprint, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
145: 5-6
148: 5.5-6.5
151: 6-7
154: 7-8
157: 8-9
162: 9.5-10.5
158w: 10-11
161w: 11-12
163w: 11.5-12.5
For weight, you can for sure go over the recommended weight and K2 means it when they say + at the end of each suggested weight.
Shape
The K2 Antidote is a directional twin and almost a true twin on sidecut. It feels very centered and much closer to a true twin than it looks.
Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level
This is pretty much full camber from tip to tail with only some lift to the sides of the nose that barely bleeds into the effective edge. It wasn’t super forgiving and still felt pretty locked in. Maybe without it the K2 Antidote would be even more locked in though.
Flex Personality
The K2 Antidote is very stiff for a directional twin but still pretty stiff overall compared to any type of board.
It takes a lot of work to butter but the lift to the sides didn’t seem to make butters seem too washy.
There is a lot of pop in this stiff damp ride but it just takes a strong rider to access it. It was a lot of work for me and as my batteries drained during a day’s ride so did my ollie power.
Uneven Terrain
This stiff damp flex can take on any kind of terrain and it’s truly a damp ride in anything from hard microbumpy snow to soft wet uneven snow.
Edge Hold
In the morning hardness you often get when you wake up…I mean in the morning on a spring day it gripped pretty well and it didn’t feel washy.
Speed
The K2 Antidote is not a full on straight liner but it is super comfortable at higher speeds. If you like to go straight but also carve this is an excellent choice.
Base Glide
I was hoping for more with this base. Especially with the K2 Antidote being so damp at speed. It just doesn’t glide that well and doesn’t feel like a good match for the price point.
Turning Experience/Carving
The turn initiation is pretty quick and it goes where I want it to. When I committed harder to a turn the overall turning experience was balanced bordering a little on the straight liney side of things.
The K2 Antidote can for sure carve but it takes a strong rider to turn it. I felt like I had to use all 185 lbs to lean into this thing to get it to turn. It didn’t fatigue me as much as it did trying to ollie but I couldn’t carve as hard at the end of the day on this as I could at the beginning.
Powder
I didn’t get this in powder but I’ve ridden enough full-camber and almost full-camber twins in powder over the years to not want to. If you rip camber in powder you will appreciate the lifted sides in the nose. It will make for a good turning experience and did in the softer thicker spring snow.
With a 21.75” stance width you can get 2.25” back from center of board which will help if you do plan to ride this in powder. It’s still a lot of work for average riders like me.
Switch/Freestyle/Park
Very doable switch and closer to a true twin than you would think. This is a great jump board and tracks well into and out of kickers. Same in pipe. It’s definitely good for hard chargers.
Final Thoughts
So other than the slower base the K2 Antidote does what it is supposed to. It charges hard, is very damp and matches up well with technical strong riders that prefer old school camber.
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K2 Antidote Specs
K2 Antidote Images
K2 Antidote User Reviews
Where To Buy
No obligation, but these links support the site.