The K2 Alluvit 88 Ti is a ski for the masses: creamy on groomers, maneuverable in soft or chopped up snow and easy to swing around in tight areas. “This ski is smooth—creamy smooth like Jiff,” says one tester. Ski testers gave the 88-mm-waisted ski its highest marks for Carving Pleasure, followed by Stability, with lower scores for Flotation and Turn Shape Variability. “This ski likes a shorter turn radius, but not so much long swooping arcs,” says one tester.

The Alluvit 88 Ti lives in a four-ski Luvit collection, including Gottaluvit 105 Ti, Fulluvit 95 Ti and the narrowest, Thrilluvit 85. The turn radius of the Alluvit 88 Ti is 12.5 m (at 163 cm) thus designed to make medium to short-radius turns. Testers commented on the “straight-ish” sidecut of the ski, noting that more shape would make the ski even easier to carve. The tips and tails are tapered, and one tester felt that affected Turn Shape Variability. “It’s challenging to set the tip into a carve like a pure carving ski.” The Alluvit 88 Ti has K2’s All-Terrain rocker, or a gradual rise in the tip and slow rise in the tail. “The tail is a little too stiff,” comments on tester. “It reduces forgiveness.”

The Alluvit 88 Ti is constructed with K2’s BIOKonic technology—a placement of heavier and denser materials over the edge of the ski with lighter materials around the middle. This technology aims to impact performance by increasing the sweet spot as well as precision over the edges of the ski. The wood core consists of stiffer fir and lighter weight aspen along with dampening Titanal. Part of the BIOkonic design includes a forward stance, “optimized with shape and sidecut,” according to K2. In other words, the center mounting point has been moved forward of traditional center, according to the specific shape, flex and construction of the ski in order to balance performance and forgiveness for a wide range of ability levels. All in all, testers felt that K2 achieved that goal. “It’s an easy go-to all-mountain ski,” says one tester. “Great for the masses, but also great for instructors to teach carving on.”

While scoring high in Carving Pleasure and Stability, testers felt that the Alluvit 88 Ti was limited in Turn Shape Variability. It’s here that the ski’s shorter turn radius comes into play as testers agreed the Alluvit loses some Edge-hold and Stability in longer turns. “It feels a little floppy making big, fast turns,” notes on tester. The tail, which some testers said felt a little too stiff, reduced forgiveness once engaged in a bigger turn radius. The tip—with its tapered, more narrow shape—lacks the “bite” that some more carving-oriented skis have, the gradual rise offering less effective edge. “The turn starts 1/3 behind the tip,” says one tester. However, short to medium turns are the sweet spot of the ski. “It has an easy maneuverability and a good combo of dampness and energy,” says one tester. “It’s versatile and not specializes in turn shape.”

Stability

Testers rated the Alluvit 88 Ti high in Stability—a goal of K2’s BIOKonic technology. This construction technology places heavier and denser materials over the edge of the ski and lighter materials in the middle, designed to impact performance by increasing the sweet spot as well as precision over the edges of the ski. The wood core consists of stiffer fir and lighter weight aspen along with dampening Titanal. Part of the BIOkonic design includes a forward stance designed to balance performance and forgiveness. Testers felt that BIOkonic meets that goal in terms of creating what one tester calls “A ski for the masses: maneuverable, creamy smooth and a good combo of dampness and energy.”

Edge-hold

Scores show a consensus that the Alluvit 88 Ti offers adequate Edge-hold. “You can put them right where you want them and they obey,” says one tester. The ski performed well in short to medium turns and maneuverable well around tight areas like trees. It’s only in long turns where Edge-hold and Stability slightly decreased in tester scores. But all in all, testers felt that the ski was easy to turn for a variety of ability levels.

Resort Flotation

Testers gave the Alluvit 88 Ti its lowest scores for Resort Flotation. The tip—with its tapered, narrow shape—lacks the “bite” that some more carving-oriented skis have, the gradual rise offering less effective edge. “The turn starts 1/3 behind the tip,” says one tester. However, short to medium turns are the sweet spot of the ski. “It has an easy maneuverability and a good combo of dampness and energy,” says one tester. “It’s versatile and not specific to turn shape.”

Carving Pleasure

Testers enjoyed the big sweet spot of the Alluvit 88 Ti, calling it “a ski for the masses.” “This ski is smooth—creamy smooth like Jiff,” says one tester. Ski testers gave the 88-mm-waisted ski its highest marks for Carving Pleasure, noting that the ski shines best making a shorter turn radius, “but not so much long swooping arcs,” says one tester. The main attributes of the Alluvit are its easy maneuverability, smoothness in the turn and the balance of a friendly flex, with a good combo of dampness and energy.

Turn Shape Variability

The Alluvit 88 Ti scored high in Carving Pleasure and Stability, but testers felt that it was limited in Turn Shape Variability. Short to medium turns benefited from the BIOkonic design of the combination of sidecut, flex and construction material, resulting in a large sweet spot. The ski lost some Edge-hold and Stability, however, in longer turns. “It feels a little floppy making big, fast turns,” notes on tester. The tail, which some testers said felt a little too stiff in a long turn, lost forgiveness in GS-type turns. The tapered, narrow tip lacked the “bite” that some carving-oriented skis have, the gradual rise offering less effective edge. “The turn starts 1/3 behind the tip,” says one tester. However, short to medium turns are the sweet spot of the ski.