4frnt MSP Review

**descender** · 12-06-2004, 12:21 PM

The Ski:
MSP 187 127cm-96cm-113cm
http://www.4frnt.com/sub_skis/skis_msp_187.htm

The ski is wood core, and feels very solid. I like the construction. The shape is interesting. The tail is pretty skinny compared to the rest of the ski, and the sidecut is more forward than on most skis giving an interesting look and ride. Flex is medium-stiff.

The ride:

This is one of the most interesting skis I have ever been on. Initially I thought the binders were too far forward for my tastes. However this didn’t seem to matter whatsoever on the mountain, probably because of the more forward sidecut and the skinny tails. They were pretty solid on edge -- definitely good hold for a wide ski. The shape pulls you into turns but doesn’t force you to finish them they way some shapped skis do -- you could slide out and scrub speed pretty much any way you wanted to. In the pow they were good, nothing special for a wide ski, but on the crappy hard bumps and junk they did really well. Easy to turn but not too light so they don’t get banged around. They are a great all-around ski, turny enough, stiff-enough, can be pointed when needed. There is also the advantage that you can mount them more forward without loosing normal skiing performance. Good one ski quiver for jib oriented people.

**skier0178** · 12-06-2004, 03:32 PM

Nice review, I'm riding on the same ski. You pretty much summed it up as far as my feelings go. I would add that if you don't plan on riding switch and using this as your "big mountain" ski, mount them 3/4" back from the freeride line. This is what i did and it just felt right. Based on this, they are making this the new freeride line on all new models (feels cool to have input into a ski on the market...). I would strongly recommend this ski. I'm not a jibber, ride Mammoth a lot and think it's a great ski.

**descender** · 12-06-2004, 04:29 PM

Yeah they were pretty sweet. I think my boot center was near the line that was further back whatever that means.

**other1** · 12-07-2004, 10:45 AM

I just got the MSPs in a 180. I pm'd skier0178 a few times about mounting, ect. for them. Glad to hear they rock. I won't get a chance to ski them on anything other than hardpack until after X-mas when I am in KHMR. I'll try to write something up then....

**other1** · 01-20-2005, 11:48 AM

4frnt MSP 180 - A little late and my first review but here we go.
I don't have much to compare the ski to for mid-fats, I have been on last year's Gotamas and I am usually on a pair of 174 Scratch FS. I am 5'-8" #155 and consider myself an aggressive skier. I mounted on the Freeride line. I skied on the 4frnts numerous times here in the midwest and was impressed with their ability to handle the hard pack. With a little effort and decent edges I was able to lay down some decent turns on the boilerplate.
The skis really did well when I hit up KHMR, Lake Louise, and SV after xmas. Granted I am kind of a Powder Jong, but I was able to get to some great stuff off 75 over Bowl Over and 98 - 106 over the Feuz Bowl (Names?) They were nimble enough to pick my way down through the rocks and they felt great on smaller drops. I didn't have trouble with nose dive, I was probably about shin/knee deep. A couple of days later I was at SV later in the afternoon skiing off of Goat (?) There was some pretty carved up sun bake that the 4frnts handled great. They are stiff enough that they can really handle some chop without tossing you around.

I e-mailed Matt about the tip to tail taper...this was his response -
"The taper is a result to sidecut center on the ski. If you are mounted on the freeride line, then your about 3cm ahead of sidecut, for optimal performance, that’s where you want to be. The further forward you go, the less control you have on the tail while initiating turns. You can do it but if your looking for all around purposes, you want to keep the sidecut just behind your mount midsole. I mount my MSP 180’s for park Center, which is the Mid running surface center. The tips are a bit bigger than the tails so its not true center, its only the center of the ski when its on the snow. I use a mount closer to freeride for all around and on my 187 I mount .75” behind freeride to keep my tips floating throught the pow."

Looks like skier0178 might be on to something...

As stated earlier, a great all mountain ski. Works great for a somebody like me that travels with one pair... (of skis

)

**runethechamp** · 01-20-2005, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by descender

The Ski:
MSP 187 127cm-96cm-113cm

Yeah, this must be the standard for new fat skis. [Unit nazi]127 cm wide at the tip [/Unit nazi]

**skier0178** · 01-21-2005, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by other1

Looks like skier0178 might be on to something...

Matt is actually a really good friend of mine so we have been testing out this idea for a bit now. Based on our experiences and testing, the freeride line on the new 187s will be 3/4" back from the freeride line on the current 187s (where we mount them now).

Glad you like the skis, look for some new models coming out at SIA.