The Landscape Collection is a pinnacle range of freeride snowboards from K2 designed to enable riders to tackle any terrain the mountain has to offer with confidence. They are mindfully manufactured, precision-engineered, and built to enhance the rider’s end-to-end experience. All of the boards in the Landscape Collection have a sharp focus on specific riding styles and types of terrain and have been designed from a gender-neutral perspective. Your snowboard doesn’t know what gender you are, and it doesn’t matter. This is simply an assemblage of high-performing all-mountain snowboards for riders who want to rip the mountain their way.
A tech-packed directional twin, the Antidote is the result of K2’s ongoing collaboration with Olympic Slopestyle gold medalist turned backcountry big dog Sage Kotsenburg. The field-tested and rider-informed beast of a board features a twin camber profile and is geared for riders who want a fully charged all-mountain freestyle experience from the peak to the park.
Sage highlighted his experience working closely with K2 Snowboarding’s Development Engineer, Justin Clark, on the fully-equipped all-mountain ATV, “Since day one on the Antidote—through all the rounds of boards that we tested, it’s been everything that I’ve wanted in an all-mountain board. When we started designing it, I was going into the second year of Natural Selection. We looked at all the places that I’d be riding for that—Alaska, Interior Canada, and Wyoming; and then all of the terrain that I like to ride in general—backcountry, park, jumps, pillows, lines—with the goal of making one board that could do it all without any compromises. So it has the shape and tech to hit big jumps and handle big landings, but it can also easily get between the trees and navigate techy zones. I can take it to Alaska, I can ride it at Brighton, I can hit a 100-foot jump on it in Wyoming—I can do everything on it. Whether I’m just going up to rip the resort with my friends or going out to film in the backcountry, I'm on the Antidote nine times out of ten. That’s my daily driver.”
Equal parts freeride and freestyle, the Antidote features a directional twin shape with twin side cuts. Its 8/10 flex rating supports the board’s focus on peak performance and precise control. The stance is setback 0.75”, giving it just a bit more nose than tail and a tail that is slightly stiffer than the nose. When designing the Antidote, it was important for Sage to maintain the same general feel when riding regular or switch. On that note, Sage commented, “When you’re primarily going one direction, having that extra nose and slightly stiffer tail does help, but when you change directions, it’s not drastically different enough that riding switch feels weird.”
The Antidote’s most defining feature is its 3D Base Contour, which delivers a surfy, catch-free ride. 3mm of contour paired with the unique 3D shaping in the board’s tip and tail deflects snow, eases turn initiation, and plows through powder with ease while seamlessly transitioning across different types of terrain. Sage spoke on his experience riding with 3D Base Contour,
“Having the base contour on there is really nice in powder because it allows you to move around like you’re on a tapered board and get between the trees easily, but then when you’re riding on hardpack or hitting jumps, you’re not engaging the contour so it acts as a more freestyle setup. For the type of riding I like to do, it’s the best of both worlds in one board.”
Like Sage, smooth-styling Belgian ripper and Olympian, Sebbe de Buck is another rider who honed his skills in the park and has since transitioned to an all-mountain approach. One of the more recent additions to K2’s roster, Sebbe also spends the majority of his snowboard season on the high-octane Antidote, “When I rode the Antidote for the first time, I felt like it did exactly what I wanted it to do when I wanted it to. That was a big change for me, and that's the relationship you need to have with your board—it needs to be feeling good under your feet. When it is, and it’s all clicking, that’s going to boost your confidence massively, and that’s what you need when you’re trying to put it all out there. Feeling good, riding good. If you want to ride the entire mountain while still being playful and doing tricks—100% that’s your board.” On a board like the Antidote, the details are dialed all the way up. Sebbe, spoke on getting upskilled in the science of specifics, “Before riding for K2, I was never really into board tech. I never thought much or knew much about it. But now, working closely with J Stone [Justin Clark, K2 Snowboarding’s Development Engineer] and the rest of the team, I can see how little changes here and adding specific tech there can really affect your board and your riding so much.”
A specific and easily identifiable design feature found on the Antidote and all K2 snowboards is the patented Hybritech construction. Hybritech features tried-and-true cap construction in the board’s tip and tail, blended into a modern sidewall construction along the effective edge. Pairing the cap and sidewall constructions makes the board less torsionally stiff, resulting in better edge hold, lower swing weight, added durability, and an overall smoother ride. Additionally, with the cap construction technique in Hybritech, the board’s sustainable wood core can run up to the ends of the tip and tail, which are then capped. While many manufacturers use a tip fill—a large plastic square that fills up the nose and tail of the board under the topsheet, K2 can side-step that, bypassing the use of the plastic. The result is a higher-performing board that is better riding, more durable, and more eco-friendly.
The Antidote leverages K2’s patented SpaceGlass technology—a pre-cured fiberglass insert placed inside the board in the tip and tail that reduces its overall weight and adds stability. SpaceGlass also increases edge pressure, which results in a snappier pop and supports responsiveness and control when initiating, holding, and coming out of turns. Sage’s real-world takeaways from riding with SpaceGlass is that “It noticeably reduces the board’s chatter when I’m bombing through chundery snow and helps me stay in control—if you like to haul ass, that’s a really good thing.” K2 Snowboarding Development Engineer highlighted the origin and inclusion of the out-of-this-world inserts, “SpaceGlass is made by the same company that manufactures all the carbon fiber for NASA. It’s a really cool material—super thin, super light, extremely strong. When you’re riding fast through bumpy snow, the chatter or the vibration starts in the nose of your board and then starts to reverberate into the sidewall and underneath your binding—that’s what’s going to cause your board to lose its edge and for you to lose control. SpaceGlass reduces that vibration and smoothens out the entire board so that you can hold a much better edge at a higher speed and through bumpier snow.”
K2’s SnoPhobic topsheet on the Antidote sheds snow that generally would tend to build up and stick around, especially when riding powder—which this board loves to do. Shedding that snow means getting unnecessary weight off the board and on the mountain where it belongs. Whistler BC local and backcountry aficionado Jody Wachniak commented on the benefits of a lighter and more aesthetically pleasing setup, “The SnoPhobic topsheet keeps your board looking clean, which is always nice, and you don’t have to worry about kicking or wiping the snow off the chairlift or before you drop. It’s a small thing, but it helps with every aspect of riding throughout the day. The biggest benefit of a lighter setup overall is less exhaustion; it just makes everything easier. A lighter board means less work for your legs, which means more laps and more fun.” Marginal gains are gains, and it all adds up; Jody continued, “The board’s overall weight is especially important to me because I like to ride more playfully, and to do that well, I need to be nimble. A lighter setup makes that easier.”
Jody has options for boards, but sometimes less is more, and with the Antidote, he’s one and done, “That’s the board that I've ridden all year. I ride it everywhere and for everything—lapping the park, filming in the backcountry—everywhere. That’s my go-to. Riding the Antidote, I feel like I can do anything in the mountains. It’s a directional board that fully charges, but you ride it with more of a twin-tip freestyle mentality.” We also spoke with all-mountain ripper on the rise, Aito Ito, from Japan. Aito loves going fast, going big, and riding big mountains, and for that, he chooses the Antidote: “It’s a very reliable board, especially if you want to be a beast at filleting backcountry jumps [laughter]. Without a doubt, the Antidote is the most reliable board in the Landscape collection for hitting big jumps and riding rough terrain, but it’s also great for carving and side hits. It’s best suited to handle powder very well while keeping the advantages of traditional camber—more stable and powerful. The nose and tail are not early rise, but the base contour keeps them from getting buried. It’s also very durable, so even if you slam hard, it’s not a problem—I spend most of my time on this board.”
The Antidote is also fitted with K2’s Carbon Darkweb stringers, which aid in energy transfer, stability, control, and speed up edge-to-edge transitions. Justin Clark expanded on the benefit of the signature stringers, “The Carbon Darkweb stringers extend from the inserts to the contact points at a 45-degree angle. They increase the board's response and help it hold a better edge at higher speeds. Also, with the Carbon Darkweb, the board isn’t going to be able to twist as much torsionally in the tip and tail, giving it a more stable and consistent edge feel. In addition to the Carbon Darkweb, the Antidote uses K2’s torsionally stiffer and more responsive ICG 20 Triax Glass, which includes twenty inset carbon stringers from the tip to the tail. This increases the board’s liveliness and pop as well as the longevity of its flex. This calculated addition makes the board more aggressive and high-performing, with a stronger edge hold. The Antidote’s A1 Core comprises three types of FSC-certified renewable woods. Aspen, selected for its snap and response, makes up the majority of the board’s core, while bamboo is incorporated underfoot at a 30-degree angle out to the edges, increasing strength and pressure distribution. Paulownia, used in the board’s tip and tail, is exceptionally lightweight, strong, and durable and provides a consistent, well-balanced flex.
K2’s Recess 3D technology removes excess material from low-stress zones in the board’s topsheet; this adds visual depth and shaves weight while increasing strength. Clark explained, “Recess 3D reduces the board's overall swing weight, making it more maneuverable. It’s like when you take a floppy piece of paper and put a crease into it; it’s going to be more rigid; that’s essentially what we’re doing with the fiberglass. We’re taking unnecessary material out of the board where it’s not needed, making it lighter, and at the same time, we’re adding stiffness due to the geometry.” The Antidote is dialed, top to bottom, and a great board needs a strong foundation. The Antidote’s wax-infused sintered 4001 base is stone ground and rock solid. Before being pressed together, the individual particles that make up the base material are coated with an all-natural, fluoro-free, non-toxic, biodegradable wax by Wend Waxworks. Infusing the wax through the entire base creates a stronger, smoother finish, which reduces friction against the surface of the snow and results in a faster, smoother, more durable ride.
With its directional twin shape, traditional camber, 3D base contour, and all the next-level tip-to-tail tech K2 could fit into it, the Antidote is a hard-charging freestyler’s dream and an uncompromising, all-mountain machine. It’s a board that meets the demands of the best riders in the world, designed specifically for those who want to push their limits and tackle everything the mountain has in store. Sage summarized, “The Antidote is a powerful board, but if you’re an advanced rider who wants to rip the whole mountain, do tricks off cliffs, and then go take laps in the park, this is your board. My favorite thing about the Antidote is that on that board, I can shred the mountain the way it’s intended to be shredded. It lets me ride how I like to ride.”
Loading
Ergebnisse werden geladen
Loading
Ergebnisse werden geladen
Loading
Ergebnisse werden geladen
Loading
Ergebnisse werden geladen
Loading
Ergebnisse werden geladen
Loading
Ergebnisse werden geladen