Bootfitter's Notes: K2 Minaret 100 Women's Boot
The K2 Minaret 100 is a new women's backcountry ski boot, based on the new-last-year K2 Pinnacle design, which has been a testers' favorite at Start Haus in the beefy backcountry boot category.
Our testers got into the Minaret at Mt. Bachelor, Oregon for the America's Best Bootfitters annual boot test, and were similarly impressed with the women's iteration. K2 spent a lot of time on boot fit when re-entering the boot world, and it shows - the lower in particular has a lot of anatomic shape that worked well for our testers.
The buzz around the boot, and the Pinnacle before it, is in the "Spyne" technology, which eliminates the traditional rivet interface between the upper and lower shells at the back of the boot. It instead uses overlapping, knuckled-together pieces with a little give to them. This lends itself particularly well to a walk mode boot, as the knuckles can be released from each other, then re-engaged, skiing effectively just like their non walk mode boots.
In practice, this is in fact one of the best skiing women's boots with a walk mode, but not the lightest or the easiest striding, so we'd pick it as a in-bounds/out-of-bounds do it all boot rather than a backcountry specialist. Better for someone who mostly skis at the resort and occasionally heads out of bounds, rather than someone on all-day missions.
On the snow, our tester rated it generally as a medium fit - no surprise as K2 calls it a 100mm last - with a little extra room in the toe box and instep, with a little more hold around the navicular and upper-ankle/lower calf area.
"The stance is perfect. It is ideal, and just perfectly forward, making you ski well," Allison wrote in her testers notes, adding; "Strong plastic with good support."
With Intuition heat-moldeable liners, it should be easy to work out smaller fit issues any particular person might have, and the plastic isn't as crazy thin as some touring-specific boots, giving our bootfitters something to work with in more extensive customization.
Also of note, in contrast to some other similar boots with a walk mode but an emphasis on downhill performance, it has tech fittings, so its Dynafit Boot Ready. The replaceable grippy soles make walking or hiking nice, whether you're scrambling over rocks or just heading back to the car.
I'd recommend this boot to medium-volume footed women who want a strong skiing boot first, and a walk mode second, something you can use all day at a ski resort and spend some time out of bounds as well.