Some skis do a lot of different things pretty well, and some don’t. Those skis must totally and completely excel in one particular area as a result, and the K2 244 skis are a prime example of this. Built exclusively for competitive or obsessive mogul skiers, these straight sticks are a throwback to the skis of the mid-90's. It’s funny, though, how race skis have undergone a series of changes over the years, and have incorporated and altered different shaping techniques to maximize their efficiency in a race course, while mogul skis have stayed relatively the same. My big beef is that they’re just not long enough for bigger skiers, topping out at 173, but that’s mostly the case with competition bump skis these days. Nothin’ like my old 203’s (which I still have, btw)! At any rate, another one of the changes is that they use denser wood and more fiberglass to add more heft to the ski, so that 173 does ski and feel longer. Since they’re built to absolutely demolish tight zipper lines and land huge airs at almost 30 mph, they do have to have a more robust build, and K2 nails it. At 66 mm underfoot, they’re also a bit wider than my old skis (there I go again down memory lane), and while this makes for a bit less quickness, when it’s combined with the shorter lengths, it makes more sense. Bumpers and zipper line aficionados will love the K2 244 mogul skis.