More Than a Women's Ski Boot: The Story Behind K2 Anthem

What happens when you design a ski boot by listening to the women who wear it? For Christie Burrow and the K2 team, it meant rethinking the process from the ground up.

A good day on the mountain looks different for everyone. Maybe you're working on your turns, chasing steeper terrain, teaching your kids, or squeezing in one last run after a full day on the hill. Whatever your day looks like, your ski boots play a big role in how much you enjoy it.

But what happens when the boots available to you aren't quite designed for your feet, your body, or the way you ski?

That's a question Christie Burrow, Engineering Manager and Lead Designer for K2's ski boot department, wanted to explore. The result is the K2 Anthem collection, built around K2's True to Form concept. With women-led design, a dedicated shell and stance, and a focus on fit that goes beyond simply scaling down an existing boot, the Anthem represents a different approach to women's ski boot design.

We sat down with Christie to talk about the thinking behind the Anthem, the feedback that shaped its design, and why better equipment starts with listening.

Meet Christie Burrow: From Mechanical Engineering to Ski Boot Design

Christie's path into ski boot design wasn't exactly a straight line. She grew up skiing with her family in Colorado, started ski instructing at 15, and went on to study mechanical engineering.

After university, she worked on wearable communication equipment for first responders, designing products that brought together hard and soft materials for different body types and real-world uses. When an opportunity at K2 came along, she realized she could bring that same engineering background to a sport she had loved since childhood.

Today, Christie leads the development of K2's ski boots, from early product ideas through to manufacturing. She's also still a ski instructor, which means she understands the importance of a boot that works throughout a long day on snow, not just during a few test runs. That combination of engineering expertise and time on the mountain has helped shape her approach to the Anthem.

What If Women's Ski Boots Were Designed Differently From the Start?

The Anthem project began with a simple idea: what if K2 developed its women's boot independently, rather than making it alongside a men's model and sharing most of the same components?

Initially, the plan was relatively straightforward. The team expected to develop a different shell shape, or last, while keeping much of the rest of the design similar. 

Then testing began.

The team asked female skiers about their existing boots, what they liked, and what they wished they could change. They also examined the adjustments testers had already made to their own boots to improve comfort and performance.

Some common frustrations emerged. Skiers described feeling pushed into the backseat, experiencing pressure around their calves, and struggling to get the fit and support they wanted. Many had already needed custom adjustments to make their boots work for them.

Rather than treating those experiences as isolated fit issues, the team looked for patterns.

As Christie explained, the process became an opportunity to examine nearly every part of the boot and ask what could be improved.

Instead of simply adapting an existing design, K2 could test different solutions and let feedback from skiers help guide the decisions.

The Small Details That Can Change How You Ski

One of the biggest lessons from the Anthem's development was that some of the most meaningful changes aren't necessarily the ones you notice when you first look at a boot.

Stance was a major focus. The angle of the boot board, the forward lean, and the alignment of the cuff can all influence how a skier stands in their boots and interacts with their skis.

During testing, the team explored different configurations to understand what worked best for their female testers. The goal wasn't to assume that every woman skis the same way, but to identify design choices that could create a better starting point.

As Christie described it, the difference can become much more noticeable once you're on snow. A stance that feels more natural can help you feel better positioned over your skis, rather than constantly fighting to get forward.

The team also looked closely at the cuff and calf area.

Calf pressure is a familiar frustration for many skiers, and Christie knows it firsthand. The Anthem's design includes refinements to the calf adjustment and the shape of the cuff, along with changes to buckle placement intended to make the boot work better for a range of lower-leg shapes.

The women's shell incorporates a snugger heel pocket designed directly into the shell, rather than relying on liner adjustments to accommodate anatomical differences. The liner also features additional room in the toe box and a shorter calf section.

Individually, these changes might seem small. Together, they reflect a different way of approaching the boot: start with how people actually fit and move, then design around those needs.

Listening to Skiers Means Looking Beyond the Average

One of the most important parts of the Anthem's development was paying attention to sizes outside the usual starting point for product design.

Ski boots are complex products to manufacture. Making changes to a design can be expensive, particularly when those changes need to be carried through multiple sizes. Traditionally, a manufacturer might develop one representative size first, then scale the design up or down.

But scaling a boot doesn't automatically guarantee that every size will fit and function as intended.

Christie described how K2 began testing its 23 and 27 mondo sizes simultaneously during an earlier development project. That helped the team identify issues in smaller sizes sooner, rather than discovering them late in the process.

For the Anthem, the team took that thinking further, developing the men's and women's boots independently and testing them alongside one another.

The result was more freedom to make decisions specifically for the women's boot, without having to find a compromise that worked for two shared designs.

It also reflects an important point: designing for a wider range of people benefits everyone who falls outside a manufacturer's original sample size.

A Boot With Its Own Personality

We asked Christie a slightly different question: if the Anthem boot had a personality, how would she describe it?

Her answer wasn't about a colour, a trend, or a particular type of skier. It was about confidence, strength, and the freedom to enjoy a day on snow.

“It's extremely versatile, it's extremely strong, female forward, and it's not a pink it and shrink it. It’s really, truly about, let's go and have a great day on snow and let's get better at skiing and show everybody what we can do.”

She described it as a boot designed to help women have a great day skiing and keep progressing, without feeling like they're wearing a watered-down version of a men's product.

That idea gets to the heart of the Anthem's development. Women's-specific design isn't about making equipment look different. It's about taking the time to understand what skiers need and putting that understanding into the product.

The Bigger Picture: Better Gear Starts With Listening

Christie doesn't see her work as finished with one boot. She hopes the Anthem encourages the wider industry to keep improving women's ski equipment, because no single boot will work for everyone. More thoughtful design across the industry means more skiers can find equipment that suits them.

She also wants skiers to feel confident speaking up when their equipment isn't working for them. Product development takes years, so the feedback brands receive today can help shape the boots that arrive in stores in future seasons.

“If you have ideas, if you have things that are frustrating you, find the right people, get your voice out there.”

The Right Boot Starts With Your Kind of Ski Day

For all the engineering that goes into a ski boot, Christie believes choosing the right one starts with a surprisingly simple question: What do you want out of your day on the mountain?

Are you looking for a comfortable boot for cruising groomers and skiing with family? Do you spend long days teaching or guiding? Or are you looking for a more precise, responsive feel as you push yourself on challenging terrain?

Those priorities matter. A boot's flex, fit, and overall feel should suit both your feet and the way you want to ski.

As Christie pointed out, a boot fitter can help assess your foot shape, size, and volume, but you also bring something important to the conversation: an understanding of what you want your boots to do.

And if your boots hurt, that's worth addressing. As Christie put it:

“Your feet should not hurt while you're skiing. And if they do, something's wrong, and you should try and fix it.”

At Sundance, we believe the same thing. The best boot isn't necessarily the stiffest, the most expensive, or the one someone else swears by. It's the one that works for you.

The K2 Anthem is one example of what can happen when product development starts by listening to skiers. Behind the design are years of testing, thoughtful engineering, and a willingness to question whether the usual approach is really the best one.

Because a better day on snow starts before you reach the lift. It starts with gear that lets you focus less on your boots and more on why you love skiing in the first place.

Looking for your next pair of ski boots? Visit Sundance Ski & Snowboard Shop and talk with our boot-fitting team. We'll help you explore your options, ask the right questions, and find a fit that works for your feet and your kind of skiing.

Explore the Anthem ski boots available at Sundance