The year of the K2

2016 has some unusual activity regarding K2s. There are no less than 5 brand new K2 surfskis launched on the market.

Is that a hint?
Will K2s become the next best training tools on the market?
Are we aiming at more safety?
Are we looking to get more people to explore the world of surfskis?

What ever the answer, the bar has been raised & choices seem rather abundant. Huge kudos go to Epic and Nelo - merely for coming out with models that really stand out. Clearly, they are thinking outside the box.

Here's the list of the most popular K2 Surfskis I found on the market.

EPIC
V8 Double (Intermediate ski):: 670x57 – available in 24kg or 19 kilo versions (brand new for 2016).
V10 Double (Advanced ski): 760x48 - available in 25kg or 20 kilo versions.

NELO
SS2-600: 600x58 (Intermediate ski): – available in 18kg, 15kg, or 12 kilo versions (brand new for 2016).
Viper SS2 (Intermediate ski):: 650x56 – available in 18kg or 15 kilo versions.
SS2 (Advanced ski):: 750x47 – available in 18kg or 15 kilo versions.

STELLAR
S2E (Elite Double): 750x48 - available in 24kg, 23kg, and 19 kilo versions.
S2EL (Elite Double Low Volume): 750x48 - available in 23kg, 22kg, and 18 kilo versions.

CARBONOLOGY
Zest (Intermediate ski): 727x50 – available in a 18 kilo version (best guess on weight) (brand new for 2016).
Blast (Advanced ski): 742x47 – available in a 19 kilo version (best guess on weight) (brand new for 2016).
Boost (Intermediate ski): 722x52 - probably available in the 19-20 kilo range

ALLWAVE
CX Double (Advanced ski): information to be released soon by manufacturer (brand new for 2016).

OKREA
Morfal (Advanced ski): 745x47 – available in a 19 kilo version (best guess on weight)

FENN
K2 XT S Double (Intermediate ski): 750x51– available in a 18.5 kilo version.
K2 Elite S Double (Advanced ski): 750x46.5 - available in a 18 kilo version.

Don't forget Fenn, they launched a few doubles too

Fenn XT S
Fenn S
and the original Fenn Elite.

oceanpaddler.com/skis-and-kayaks/fenn/

Matt

I was sitting there... thinking that I am forgetting something important. I just added it. Thanks!

@photofr,

hashtag #nelo600,

btw. seen the new factory ? holy cow

I guess you didn't see the SS2-600 from Nelo. That is the Nelo 600. Why hashtag it?

Unlike flat water/down river racing where K2 fields can be huge we dont see a lot of SS2 around.

Some of that may be due to the price barrier ( K2's generally much cheaper than SS2.) and some due to lack of genuine competition due to low numbers of available boats.

As we know team boats are excellent at introducing paddlers to racing and in the case of double ski's, downwind, so from a manufacturers perspective it makes sense to have a lot of them out there in order to expose more paddlers to surf ski and grow the total paddler pool.

To this end I wonder if manufacturers might see the discounting of these boats to close to cost price for a period as a marketing exercise to grow brand and sport in targeted areas.

I know in WA we benefited from sponsored K2's coming onto the market after events like the Avon descent growing the pool of performance river K2's.

Another SS2 to add to the list,

Carbonology Boost (Beginner/intermediate)
Boat Dimensions:
Boat Length: 7.22m
Boat Width: 52.0cm
Boat Depth: 26.0cm
Seat Width: 43.0cm
Seat Depth: 19.0cm

australianpaddlesports.com.au/product/ca...ogy-sport-ss2-boost/

Excellent point about making SS2 more affordable to benefit EVERYONE! Hopefully, we'll see that happening with kids' skis as well: making them super affordable to get kids started in learning about the wonderful world of the ocean.

"I guess you didn't see the SS2-600 from Nelo. That is the Nelo 600. Why hashtag it? "

1. I`ve been posting video links to the new Nelo-SS2 a while back in your 560s thread. 1rst one 6 weeks ago:
www.surfski.info/forum/2-announcements/1...html?start=140#27492
see others below

2. #nelo600 is/was the hashtag used by big O. for the SS-2 (a typo with "space" double), which is now #nelo600double


others:

I wasn't sure why the # - now I know.
It's just that I am not used to seeing hashtags on a forum, but no worries.

to look them up in that part of social media where they are used?

Yes, but what am I missing then?
I understand that you may want to use hashtags in relevant social media like Instagram and such. Are you sure that hashtags are needed or even useful on a forum?

I am asking because I don't know.

to look them up in that part of social media where they are used ...

photofr, no offence, but talking to you sometimes is going in circles ... I am ending that here.

I am SUPER happy: Santa's being really good to me this year.

Just ordered a Nelo Viper SS2 :
It's 650x56 so should be plenty stable to take total beginners, yet fast enough for my wife and I to cover pretty good distances with a good vibes and good glides.

Based on a friend who ordered one a while back, I expect our new ski to be about 17 kilos. I went with bright colors: a Neon Green and will be adding Hawaiian deco bow & stern.

This is pretty exciting - now it feels like Christmas
(Midlife crisis - but I thought it was better than a red Corvette ahahahah)