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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    In The Mountains...
    Posts
    254

    Red face 4Frnt Quality Control?

    As some of you know, I picked myself up a pair of 4Frnt VCTs (182) to round out the quiver. They arrived in the middle of the week so last night was really the first chance I had to look them over since I was teaching night class this week.

    So, as I am running my hand along the edges, I get to the tip of one of the skis, and I hear this hollow sound as my hand passes over some roughness. I look closer, and low and behold, the entire topsheet is already delaminating! The last inch of topsheet is pulling away, and I could easily stick a credit card in there. I had just pulled them out of the plastic!

    Called backcountry, and they said they would exchange them and refund my shipping both ways, which was pretty decent. What bugs me is that these sticks should have never left the distributor with such an obvious defect. Also, as I looked at the other edges, it appears that the trim job that they did after pressing the skis was bad, since there are layers of laminate that were not trimmed away and just hanging there.

    Anyway, not really pissed about it, since it will be taken care of, but I wanted to see if anyone else has had any issues with 4frnt's quality control or if this was just a fluke case of getting the one bad pair of skis they made this year. When I first got them, I saw "Made in Slovenia" on the topsheet, which was kind of reassuring, since some companies outsource to China.
    Last edited by Fuorilegge; 10-04-2008 at 07:07 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    9,300ft
    Posts
    21,938
    4FRNT has a pretty good reputation for quality.
    Everyone makes mistakes.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Alpy/Stevens
    Posts
    1,299
    I got shipped a pair of EHP's that had the same half of the graphic. Backcountry claimed it was a problem with 4frnt but they shipped me another pair regardless. Those skis were made in Tunisia.
    eating and sleeping is serious business

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    477
    I had an issue with the 1st year 193 ehp's. When they arrived they had camber to them and I was quickly told to send them back for "re-pressing". I was ready to send them back but thought I'd take a look at them as it would be another month or so before I saw them again. As I inspected the ski I felt a ruff spot on the sidewall that looked like excess wax etc. On further inspection I rubbed a fingernail over the area and an entire 1" chunk of sidewall just fell out exposing the core. The piece that fell out clearly looked like someone tried to fix or cover up the problem with p-tex. In the end I sent them back and got a refund.

    By the way, I'm not trying to bash the brand. I'd love to try out the new EHP's though based on my previous experience I'd need a great deal to give them a second try.
    Last edited by azzure; 10-04-2008 at 12:10 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    3,083
    I think that when you are making that many skis things definitely slip through.

    I was checking out a bunch of skis in Boulder yesterday and once I started looking for them, I found an number of different blems in rossignols, armadas, and surface skis.

    the first rossi s6 I looked at had a gap between the edge and the base material in the tip so big I could easily stick my fingernail in it.

    Then there was a surface ski whose edge on one of the twins had been almost ground down to a point at the end of the 3/4" wrap.

    Then definitely saw some armada edges that really poorly met the bases and should have been reattached before pressing.

    None should have made it thru, but here they were sitting in ski shops.

    sucks about your 4frnts. hope they make it right.
    Seriously, this can’t turn into yet another ON3P thread....

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    765
    Seems like a good reason to buy skis from your local shop when you can--I'd rather pay a little more and get to inspect and pick out the best ski from the pile. I've seen skis that should be seconds on the floor many times. Usually it's gappy seams between the edge and sidewall that get filled with cosmetic putty. Back when Volant was happening, you could pick out which new skis would be the first to delam--all you had to do was look for the ones with the biggest putty-filled gap between cap and sidewall where the transition to the tip starts. Most companies are pretty good about it and slate those skis for demo use, but some always slip through, and even among skis that pass QC there will be skis that are noticable tighter/looser.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Jackson, WY
    Posts
    259
    I have absolutely railed for about 40ish days on my 08 MSP's (except no actual rails), rock hits galore, and I'm no easy rider (190lbs) skiing hard and they have held up wonderfully. My EHP's seem just as solid and have no visual flaws. I've only got about ten days on them but so far so good. I have been really impressed with the durability of my 4frnt's, for sure a lot better than my squads which are basically falling apart after very little use. If they'll give you a new pair I wouldn't be worried at all.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Redwood City and Alpine Meadows, CA
    Posts
    8,277
    Just for the record, there's obviously no way to know whether that problem was evident before they left 4FRNT's hands. Could've happened at Backcountry -- and definitely could've happened in transit.
    not counting days 2016-17

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    765
    Should have added that all the 4frnts and other skis from that factory (G3, Movement) have been sweet and tight.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    where the beer flows like wine
    Posts
    2,402
    4frnt skis are quality. my EHPs are bomber. this year's skis are all made in the elan factory. i know for a FACT that backcountry dot com bought, sold, and shipped production samples so they could have 4frnt skis before other retailers.
    Big skis from small companies at Backcountry Freeskier

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    3,609
    Quote Originally Posted by H-wood View Post
    Should have added that all the 4frnts and other skis from that factory (G3, Movement) have been sweet and tight.
    and it's elan's factory, who i've always had good experiences with
    ‎Preserving farness, nearness presences nearness in nearing that farness

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    180
    World Cup Sports in Girdwood Alaska stopped selling 4frnt skis after they had issues with their ehp and vct demos. i wish i could tell you what the problems were, but all i remember is that they don't sell them anymore.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    retired
    Posts
    12,465
    the made in tunesia skis (ie older 4frnts, g3) are by by movement. the made in slovenia skis are by elan.

    to be honest, both factories put out really nice skis, but yes everyone occasionally puts out a bad pair. glad BC took care of it.
    go for rob

    www.dpsskis.com

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    210
    Could have happened during shipping or at backcountry.coms warehouse. Stuff like that doesn't happen at the factory it happens after it leaves. Backcountry.com buys in bulk and ships large number of orders each day and I doubt everything gets put under the microscope before it leaves. 4FRNT and its supplier have a good rep for quality product. Check out this work of art courtesy of USPS.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Between 2 big puddles
    Posts
    1,389
    ^^^ that makes baby jesus want to cry.

    Doesn't 4FRNT, Nordica, and Elan all come out of the same factory in Slovenia?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    30
    The first 4FRNT skis were made in Canada in the Option snowboard factory.

    They then went to the Elan factory in Slovenia for 2 seasons.

    They are now made in Tunisia in the same factory as Movement, G3 and now Black Crows.
    The factory is owned by Nanni Tua, if you remember Tua skis from a few years back. It's his place.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    CH
    Posts
    1,871
    I think the first gens came out of a snowboard factory in SoCal. They were the same factorty dumping the Ninthwards last season through Ebay. I forget the name.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thebaldskiman View Post
    The first 4FRNT skis were made in Canada in the Option snowboard factory.

    They then went to the Elan factory in Slovenia for 2 seasons.

    They are now made in Tunisia in the same factory as Movement, G3 and now Black Crows.
    The factory is owned by Nanni Tua, if you remember Tua skis from a few years back. It's his place.
    #1 goal this year......stay alive +
    DOWN SKIS

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    210
    Quote Originally Posted by Thebaldskiman View Post
    The first 4FRNT skis were made in Canada in the Option snowboard factory.

    They then went to the Elan factory in Slovenia for 2 seasons.

    They are now made in Tunisia in the same factory as Movement, G3 and now Black Crows.
    The factory is owned by Nanni Tua, if you remember Tua skis from a few years back. It's his place.
    '03-'04 was 2 different factories in SoCal. '05 was Option & Elan. '06-'07 was Elan & Sarco (Tunisia). '08 forward is 100% Elan.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Nordvand
    Posts
    1,619
    Sweet! A rockered X-Wing. Nice one bro.

    i wish i never chose that user_name

    Whitedot Freeride

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    CH
    Posts
    1,871
    History here: Link
    #1 goal this year......stay alive +
    DOWN SKIS

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Bravo Delta.
    Posts
    6,135
    Got my EHP 193 today. Quality looks good.
    Quote Originally Posted by Socialist View Post
    They have socalized healthcare up in canada. The whole country is 100% full of pot smoking pro-athlete alcoholics.

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