K2 Protohype - 2012

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In 1956 at the height of the Cold War, hidden in top secret military labs miles from civilisation in the uninhabitable tundra of Siberia, Russian scientists developed a machine that was capable of launching a single human being into the stratosphere. Recently K2 was able to get hold of this devise and in 2011 is releasing it onto the unknowing public. They call this machine the Protohype, an untameable snow sliding and flying devise that will scare the life out of anyone good enough to ride and kill those that aren’t.

Manufacturer's Description:

K2’s development lab lets loose with the latest in a long line of top-end tech focused boards.  The K2 Protohype is designed for the freestyle technician that demands the leading edge of technology in one super damp, clean design.

Recommended for halfpipe riding.

Recommended for freeride riding.

Very high cost $

Zero Camber Construction.

Directional Shape.

Year: 2012

Available Lengths (cm):
153, 156, 159, 162

Riding Style: All Mountain

Specifications:

Baseline: Flatline®
Damping: Harshmellow
Construction: Hybrilight
Shape: Twin Hyper Progressive
Stance: Setback ¾” (19mm)
Core: Bambooyah WH5
Additives: Carbon Web™ II & Ollie Bar™
Glass: Triax / ICG 20
Base:  Sintered
Base Bevel: 1°

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K2 Protohype

Snowboard Review:

Watch the 2012 K2 Protohype Video Snowboard Review

2012 K2 Protohype Video Snowboard Review

One of the big shocks for me this season was hearing that K2 were dropping the Zero, which was almost as big as the shock the previous season that K2 were changing the Zero from camber to Zero Camber, a change that I wasn’t 100% about. Now the Zero is no more and replacing it is the Protohype, a slick black missile designed for all-mountain warfare.

From the moment I stepped on the Protohype it wasn’t hard to tell that this board is aimed at the advanced rider. The Protohype’s flex is stiff particularly longitudinally between the bindings. A couple of carves and you’ll understand that this board naturally creates very mellow, long radius carves, to get anything shorter you really need to work the Protohype, certainly more so than the Custom X which feels flexible by comparison. In the pipe, the Protohype’s tendency to hold shallow edges is a real plus and despite a rough as old boots flat bottom and uncut walls I could get a couple of feet out of the pipe where most people were struggling to leave the coping. The Harshmellow dampening does a good job of ironing out the lumps and pumps but the stiffness of the Protohype means it takes a line and blast through the snow rather than flowing with any undulations meaning that at times the Protohype can feel a little awkward. Riding switch the Protohype feel directional, and the firm flex means that you really need to be a proficient switch rider before you want to pop this board 180, if you can carve tough red runs switch then you should be ok. Sure the Protohype is light, but the most impressive quality is the pop the board has, although it should be noted that this is not pop that is easy to access, you really need to load the tail and attack ollies with serious aggression to get this board skywards, but when you do… wowsa! Also the Protohype sets down tail heavy landings for breakfast slapping them down like an alligator’s jaw!

There’s no doubting that K2 has succeeded in creating a very powerful, lightweight and responsive snowboard in the Protohype that will satisfy the needs of expert pipe and all-mountain riders. I loved the stability of the Protohype on a shallow edge and the rewarding pop from aggressive ollies, but I didn’t feel like the Protohype had much soul. It feels very clinical, getting the job of snowboarding done very efficiently but taking away some of the feeling you get from working a board through its sidecut, it almost feels like a big mountain snowboard that K2 cut short even through the sidecut is a pretty average 8m. I barely ever suggest sizing down on a snowboard , but unless all you are interested in is terrorising groomers and backcountry powder missions I would take a couple of centimetres off your all-mountain length, I usually ride a 158-9 but the 156 Protohype was more than enough board for me.

Highlights:
Lightweight
Balistic pop
Very responsive
Long carves are this board’s bread and butter

Let-downs:
Clinical /soulless ride
Only suitable for very good snowboarders
Hard work switch
Better get down to the gym because this board needs strong legs to get the best from it

Posted by Rich Ewbank in • K2

User Snowboard Reviews

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What colour is powder?

Sick-with-pow on January 17, 2013 at 02:38 AM

Bought this board at the local ski/board swap in November 2012. I started using it when the snow pack increased in December. On groomers this board fly’s, and holds and edge like a fat kid craddleing a pie. It’s flex is deffinently on the stiffer end, but the carbon rods/stringers give it a nice soft flex with consistant modulation in the tip and tail while holding the mid section firm under you’re feet. The flat base makes tight carves difficult in powder, that said if you spend your days in the in tight trees you may want to look for a different board. I’m not saying that tight tree lines on this board are impossible, it’s more like trying to shovel you driveway with your snowboard it’s just gonna be harder. This board screams off jumps like a jet pack has magically appeared on your shoulders, and sets down nice gentle on the tail/nose. The marshmellow dampening is just like a marshmellow under your feet, in other words it’s sweet on those days when you’re perfect line looks like hurricane catrina.

Overall: this board has great edge hold, dosent catch edge often, has great pop, is allright in powder but dominates light snow/groomed runs, harshmellow dampening dose work, the pop rod dose it’s job and the motion of flex is spot on for those looking to rip it Mach 1 or fly high like a f18 fighter. This board dose lack durability on the top sheet but has a strong solid base (although was sad to find that the word protohype on the base was not flush with the rest of it, only off by a millimeter so not noticeable while riding) with all these features k2 still managed to keep it light and thin with a decent width tip and tail. All said yes I would recommend this to a friend who has been boarding for a while but this is not a board for those still building Thier jumping and carving technique.