Review: K2 Mindbender 115 BOA

The K2 Mindbender 115 BOA women’s boot is available now. 

Intro

Having a good ski boot is a pretty vital part of skiing. When choosing a boot it’s always a compromise between performance and comfort. Having one doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have the other, but it can be hard to find a versatile boot that can charge hard downhill and walk uphill comfortably. The Mindbender, however, takes on the challenge.

Simply put, K2’s Mindbender 115 is an inbounds freeride oriented boot with a walk mode. It features the new H+i1 BOA, a GripWalk sole, and a PowerLite shell that balances a lighter weight with a performance-oriented fit. Yes, it has a BOA, which I was excited to finally get my foot in. We’ve talked about much of the updated K2 Mindbender boot lineup here already, including Cy Whitling’s review of the 130 flex version of this boot and Max Ritter’s take on the super stiff pro-level Mindbender 140.

Fit

Ski boot fit is a complicated and personal matter and your best bet to find ski boots that fit you really well is to hit up a local ski shop and try on a bunch of different boots with the guidance of an expert bootfitter. But, part of what’s nice about the touted BOA system is that this boot offers a bigger range of sizes than a boot with standard buckles because the BOA system can be cinched down in a novel way to find the perfect fit for your foot. 

There are in fact two BOA dials on this boot - one on the lower shell, and one at the top of the liner, which pulls the liner's tongue tight across your shin. 

The Mindbender features a MultiFit™ Last, meaning they are designed to accommodate a range of foot shapes and widths. Out of the box, this boot touts a variable last of 97-100mm, with the ability to stretch out to 104mm with some heat molding. Julia Tellman called out the Mindbender as a boot that is great for people with wider feet who want a BOA boot in her review of Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD earlier this season.

I have really low volume feet and definitely felt that these boots were pretty wide for me out of the box. That being said, thanks to the BOA fit system I was able to crank these boots down quite a bit using both BOA knobs to cinch down the liner and the shell. This really helped me keep my foot locked into both the liner and the shell. I found it easy to just mess with this setting to make the boot a little looser when you’re ready to walk uphill or when you need to loosen the boot on the chair.

I did find that given my narrow foot, the boots felt pretty high profile on my feet. So while they were able to be tightened down to fit my feet, they did feel a little bit too high volume for me. But I do really like the adaptable fit of these boots and think the massive range of adjustability that K2 offers with this boot will help it fit more people’s feet right out of the box. You can’t win ‘em all, but this one will work for most.

Performance

This is a downhill-oriented boot and so that’s really where it shines. The boot felt powerful and really supportive on a variety of different terrain, like bumps, trees, and open bowls and groomers. While it is not overly stiff, it flexes consistently through its range making it a trustworthy and controllable downhill option. In other words, it skis about as close to an alpine boot as an uphill-capable boot can.

I did notice that there were some runs where I felt like my foot was sliding around a little bit and I had to stop to crank the BOA dials down even more. I think this is mostly due to my narrow feet. I did try to size down in this boot, but found that it was simply too short and smashed my toes up front. So I just have to be really diligent about keeping the boot as tight as possible to accommodate my narrow feet and felt like I compromised a little bit of precision given the wider fit.

As someone who spends the majority of my time in the backcountry, I care a lot about my backcountry boots and the Mindbender 115 BOA is simply more of a downhill-oriented ski. It’s quite heavy for touring and I didn’t find it to be the most comfortable for uphill travel. The walk mode, however, isn’t too bad and you can get a surprisingly large range of motion with it. Furthermore, the BOA once again shines as a way for you to customize the best uphill boot fit for you and transition easily to downhill.

The Mindbender is definitely more of an inbounds boot, so it’s not for those who spend more time in the backcountry than the resort. But if you’re an inbound skier who likes to venture into the sidecountry and wants the ability to easily transition to hiking or touring, then this is a great one boot quiver for you.

Compromises

The Mindbender is designed with uphill travel in mind, but is definitely more of a downhill boot at heart. I wouldn’t recommend buying this boot as a touring-only boot. But if you want a good inbounds boot that can walk, the Mindbender fits the bill.

I’d also say that this boot can be a little more challenging for people with narrower feet. The BOA goes a long way in terms of customizing fit but if you truly have truly low-volume feet, the boots may just simply feel too big.

What does a perfect day in K2 Mindbender 115 BOA boot look like?

If you like to spend most of your day at the resort but are keen to venture into side-country and resort periphera when the crowds pick up, this is the boot for you. It will serve you well on the downhills but allow you to bootpack and transition to uphill travel when you so desire.

The K2 Mindbender 115 BOA women’s boot is available now.