I only got two runs on them, but there’s plenty to say about the newly redesigned “MSP” by 4FRNT as an amazing 50-50 one ski quiver.
The first run on Downhill Course at Crystal Mountain showed how terrifically well they carve on a groomer. They feel like a widened (99mm under foot) and softened GS or SL racing ski. When laid over they hold a really strong edge. In the turn it feels like the whole length of the ski’s edge (at least the portion that is engaging the snow) follows PERFECTLY in the little groove cut by the tip. They carve as well as any ski I’ve been on that’s wider than 75mm, including Head Monsters (when you allow that they ski shorter and softer than Monsters).
That is not to say that the effective edge is equal to the whole length of the ski. These are 181’s but on the groomed they ski like a 165cm GS/SL. In other words, like so many skis these days, the tip and tail have some combination of softer flex and/or rocker, so they don’t engage the snow much on piste, like a 5-point design. These aren’t really a 5-point design— there is very little tail rocker, and no noticeable tip or tail taper.
They also have just a little camber and not much rebound. And they’re nicely damped.
After they succeeded in getting my full attention on groomers, I was especially curious how I’d like them in powder and crud. Crystal’s famously steep Chair 6 was right there, offering many off-piste opportunities, but we didn’t get much snow in December and the whole upper mountain is festooned with rocks. So I decided to poach the untouched K2 Face, which is steep and full of barely covered knobs and obstacles.
Like you’d expect from a ski with a stiffer central portion and tip and tail relief, they are really quick to turn in 3-D snow. More than once on that gnarly face, when the skis were traversing the pitch but my upper body had gotten too far down the slope ahead of my skis, I was able to tip them radically and they came around in time to catch me before falling. As I said, they’re really quick and maneuverable off-piste.
I’m 62 years old and only 155 lbs, but I think I’d like a longer version of the MSP’s. On piste the longer ones should feel more like planks glued to the snow (that’s what I prefer on piste). And I figure that they should still be quick-turning in crud.
So I’m eager to try the 187’s. I might even like them better than the Nordica Enforcer 100s and the (older) Fischer Motive 95’s, which are my current favorite one-ski-quivers.
The first run on Downhill Course at Crystal Mountain showed how terrifically well they carve on a groomer. They feel like a widened (99mm under foot) and softened GS or SL racing ski. When laid over they hold a really strong edge. In the turn it feels like the whole length of the ski’s edge (at least the portion that is engaging the snow) follows PERFECTLY in the little groove cut by the tip. They carve as well as any ski I’ve been on that’s wider than 75mm, including Head Monsters (when you allow that they ski shorter and softer than Monsters).
That is not to say that the effective edge is equal to the whole length of the ski. These are 181’s but on the groomed they ski like a 165cm GS/SL. In other words, like so many skis these days, the tip and tail have some combination of softer flex and/or rocker, so they don’t engage the snow much on piste, like a 5-point design. These aren’t really a 5-point design— there is very little tail rocker, and no noticeable tip or tail taper.
They also have just a little camber and not much rebound. And they’re nicely damped.
After they succeeded in getting my full attention on groomers, I was especially curious how I’d like them in powder and crud. Crystal’s famously steep Chair 6 was right there, offering many off-piste opportunities, but we didn’t get much snow in December and the whole upper mountain is festooned with rocks. So I decided to poach the untouched K2 Face, which is steep and full of barely covered knobs and obstacles.
Like you’d expect from a ski with a stiffer central portion and tip and tail relief, they are really quick to turn in 3-D snow. More than once on that gnarly face, when the skis were traversing the pitch but my upper body had gotten too far down the slope ahead of my skis, I was able to tip them radically and they came around in time to catch me before falling. As I said, they’re really quick and maneuverable off-piste.
I’m 62 years old and only 155 lbs, but I think I’d like a longer version of the MSP’s. On piste the longer ones should feel more like planks glued to the snow (that’s what I prefer on piste). And I figure that they should still be quick-turning in crud.
So I’m eager to try the 187’s. I might even like them better than the Nordica Enforcer 100s and the (older) Fischer Motive 95’s, which are my current favorite one-ski-quivers.