REVIEW
K2 Excavator Unisex Snowboard
Short/wide snowboards don’t usually work for me. But the K2 Excavator does. Read on to find out why.
Now that we’ve got the TL;DR out of the way, let’s dig a little deeper. I’m not a big dude, but I’ve always liked to ride bigger boards than recommended for my stature. Maybe it’s because I spend most of my time in the coastal Pacific Northwest with its incumbent heavy snowfall, but having an extra bit of nose and tail just seems to smooth things out a bit. I also ride front foot heavy, which requires ease of engagement from the front and middle of the board. My favorite boards are usually around 159cm on the stiffer end of the spectrum with as close to a 25cm waist as possible, camber underfoot, and a bit of early rise in the nose. Anything too wide felt a bit sluggish edge to edge and anything too short and/or soft felt unstable at speed, especially through chopped up snow.
Aito Ito leaning into the tail. This board holds.
To be honest, I was a bit wary of the 154cm K2 Excavator I received for this review. At 154cm long with a 26.4cm waist, it fits that “volume shifted” profile—ride it 4-6cm shorter than your normal daily driver because it has the same surface area and reap the benefits of less toe and heel drag. It’s not a novel concept anymore, but certainly one that could still use some perfecting, in my experience.
With that thought at the forefront of my mind, I took the Excavator out for Mt. Baker Ski Area’s mid-November opening day and have been riding it ever since. Day one was deep and heavy, that classic Cascadian combo that leaves your back leg burning, where planing speed must be achieved before you can engage your front foot. After dusting off the cobwebs, it was almost like I could feel the moment that the Excavator’s wide, elongated nose found optimal velocity to lift and I could start steering from the center. That said, it felt good from day one. And as an added bonus, the “SnoPhobic topsheet” actually worked, keeping that 32-degree Cascadian powder from wadding up atop the board.
Enough camber to hold a strong edge, enough early rise in the tip for floatation.
Day two was a bootpack day in the lift-accessed backcountry. The snow had consolidated a bit. In steeper terrain, the board felt just right. Point it downhill, wait for that lift, and the Excavator was lively and held strong on long, fast and steep turns, but also simple to navigate through heavily treed early season runouts off the back foot. That little swallowtail had billy-goat-friendly bite.
Classified as a mid-stiff snowboard (7 out of 10 on K2’s flex scale), it felt solid across undulating terrain and down a few little pillow stacks. And once back on resort, it was fun to whip around on groomers, feeling the benefit of a bit of extra waist width to eliminate toe and heel bite when leaning into deeper carves.
Aya Sato side hit exploration.
I’ve since ridden the board another half dozen days and it now feels completely natural to me. It’s an easy-riding sled that can still hold up when things get a bit spicy, unlike the other volume shifted rides I’ve tried in the past.
Looking at the camber profile, it all makes sense. The board has that bit of rocker up front with a healthy dose of camber between the feet and out the tail. It has 20mm of taper, which lends it a flickable tail and more float out the front end. Bamboo stringers add some torsional hold to the Excavator, and the tail’s reinforced with a “Carbon Power Fork” for a bit of extra sprock in the back end. There’s more to it than that, including strategically angled wood in the core, but I won’t get too deep into the tech talk. Simply put, the board felt lively and comfortable in a way I’ve never experienced in a short/wide design. Bravo, K2, for figuring out the recipe for a volume shifted daily driver for those of us who like to put some energy into the front foot.
Aito Ito puts that powerfork pop to use.
So, who should ride this board? Anyone intermediate and up, really, who leans a little more toward the freeride end of the spectrum. It’s easy to ride, but won’t let you down when things get spicy—plus it’s comfortable with some natural airtime.
In the recommended size, it truly does make a great daily driver for the resort. It’s easy to navigate on piste and off and offers easy float and quick carving without sacrificing much stability when the going gets rowdy. Hammer off the back foot and you get a surfy ride that’s quick to change direction. Lean into the front foot and it holds predictably and rides smoothly. If you want a quiver piece for the deepest days, I’d recommend going closer to your normal snowboard length—I can only imagine how good the 158 would feel when it snows 18 inches at 32 degrees.
ABOUT THE TESTER
Age: 43
Height: 5’7
Weight: 155
Boot size: 8
Years riding: 31
Home mountain: Mt. Baker Ski Area, WA
Riding style: fall line/freeride