4FRNT Renegade ~ Hand built in SLC.

[Phill]

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...-196-Renegades

I'll add some pics later but just throwing this out there.

[Bird Blaster]

These things continue to mach. Had them out in Revi yesterday - they just plow through the snow and soft bumps like they aren't there at all. Just point them and hold on! haha

[Judo Chop!]

I've been getting out on my Rens a lot again since we've FINALLY been getting winter over the last couple weeks.
At first I was like "damn, I'm tired. maybe these aren't the right skis for me" but then I started to get my powder legs back and was all "DAMN!! these are the right skis for me!"

BTW> I have a second pair of 196 owls up for sale if anyone wants them. Drilled once for Guardian large (have the bindings as well, new-in-box)

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...96-w-Guardians

[Fejau]

I've been getting out on my Rens a lot again since we've FINALLY been getting winter over the last couple weeks.
At first I was like "damn, I'm tired. maybe these aren't the right skis for me" but then I started to get my powder legs back and was all "DAMN!! these are the right skis for me!"

BTW> I have a second pair of 196 owls up for sale if anyone wants them. Drilled once for Guardian large (have the bindings as well, new-in-box)

How much?

[nedplimpton]

Had my first day out on 13/14 186s mounted w Solly STH2 16s. 6' 175# fit, competent skier but certainly no superstar. Alta with 5" of fresh. F-ing awesome ski...

Must admit I was apprehensive picking these up without trying them first, especially with their rep. Maybe they just fit my style, but I felt great on them after only a few turns. Totally playful when you want, totally charger when you want. These things have a split personality!

Were absolutely stellar in the untracked (can't wait to try on a deeper day), railed in the cut powder and chop. Day got pretty warm and they even killed it in the heavy stuff. Wide open, chutes, trees, no problem. Even pretty good on the soft groomers.


So, yeah, this ski is rad. But you guys knew that.

[NWSkier]

Long winded post ahead...
For those of you who ski this ski a lot what other skis do you use that you can transition to and from w/o too much trouble?
I know someone said somewhere that they own and don't recommend billy goats because it took a different style and they went over the handle bars the first time they go back to the Rens after skiing the BGs.
I went back to my czars after spending most of my season on Rens and it took me awhile to make the transition and after I did they still weren't that much fun and I missed the Rens. I love my czars but they just weren't the same.
So what else do you ski? Is the perfect quiver Rens, Hojis and ravens?

[Lindahl]

If you ever wanted a burlier Ren, get the PM Gear Kusalas in a stiff/xstiff layup. They're what I always wanted the Rens to be. Fucking awesome ski. Sorry to jump into this thread with another ski, but I was disappointed by the Rens and I'm sure others were too.

[NWSkier]

If you ever wanted a burlier Ren, get the PM Gear Kusalas in a stiff/xstiff layup. They're what I always wanted the Rens to be. Fucking awesome ski. Sorry to jump into this thread with another ski, but I was disappointed by the Rens and I'm sure others were too.

I know some people were, it's definitely not for everybody just curious how long you spent on them and what you didn't like?

[Lindahl]

I really wanted more support in the tail and tip. Mostly for stomping cliffs, but for funky wind/warmth affected snow, also.

I really like camber for that, but fell in love with the manueverability and lack of resistance (speed) of reverse camber.

Note that I can't stand either the Rens or the Kusalas in firm snow, so the Kusalas won't fix that. Camber is a must for me, in those conditions. Thats what a quiver is for though.

[surfNski43]

Long winded post ahead...
For those of you who ski this ski a lot what other skis do you use that you can transition to and from w/o too much trouble?
I know someone said somewhere that they own and don't recommend billy goats because it took a different style and they went over the handle bars the first time they go back to the Rens after skiing the BGs.
I went back to my czars after spending most of my season on Rens and it took me awhile to make the transition and after I did they still weren't that much fun and I missed the Rens. I love my czars but they just weren't the same.
So what else do you ski? Is the perfect quiver Rens, Hojis and ravens?

I use my rens as powder day skis then switch to my praxis gpos for the days following the storm and eventually moment belfontes for no new snow. GPOs and rens get the most action and I have never had any issues switching between them and have certainly never gone over the handle bars. The rens are probably my favorite and I plan on adding some Hojis next year since I have fallen in love with reverse camber but as Lindahl mentioned camber certainly has its place so the belefontes and GPOs will still stick around.

[auvgeek]

For those of you who ski this ski a lot what other skis do you use that you can transition to and from w/o too much trouble?
I know someone said somewhere that they own and don't recommend billy goats because it took a different style and they went over the handle bars the first time they go back to the Rens after skiing the BGs.

'Twas me who said that, and I stand by the comment. But there are a couple subtleties in that comment you missed:

It's not that I "don't recommend Billy Goats." In fact, I got rid of my Rens and kept the BGs when I moved to Baltimore. In particular, I was responding to a poster who wanted to ski the BG inbounds and the Ren for touring. You just don't get that many runs in the bc, and I personally wouldn't feel confident standing at the top of a big face with the Rens on my feet coming from many days on the BG inbounds. YMMV. I'd rather ski the Rens inbounds and tour on carbon Kusalas, if I were going that route. The Ren just requires you to be on the balls of your feet, while (my pair of) BGs require a forward, driving stance. IME, the two don't play well together. But there are times on the BGs that I wish I had the Rens, and vice versa and I could certainly see owning both if I was still skiing 60-80+ days a year.

One more thing: I just came to understand that my BGs flex ~20% stiffer than stock and are nontrivially more "planky" in feel, so maybe it won't be as big of an issue on the stock BG. The GPO is retardedly easy to ski by comparison—it's fine with a neutral stance. I'd guess transitioning between the Ren and GPO is fine (as was confirmed above).

What specifically do you want this other ski for? Narrower/more versatile? Lighter for touring?

[angrysasquatch]

I feel like I know my 196 crows now. Man, they redefine stability at speed for me. And they can eat up a big farkin mogul or two at speed without hurting too much. And then they magically have pretty damn good (and very consistent) edge hold on groomed. And yet somehow with heavy ass binders and the length, they are not unmanageable when you need to ski a mogul run in a usual everyday style (not zippering).

This is definitely the best ski I've ever had for Kicking Horse, where you need to do highly variable 4k runs at least every other run. Charge some sharky waters covered in just enough pow to glide in a straight line off the headwalls, eat some mogul where people traverse onto the fan from some easier run, shut er down for some long mogul pitches on the ski out (or don't), then GS the shit out of some groomers. Fun on everything.

Where can I get some info on taking care of the wood sidewalls? Snow's getting a touch wet, will have rain at base before long. A bit worried at the soak I see in them after a day.

[auvgeek]

^^Just be sure you dry them out at night. Maybe someone has more specific advice, but I skied mine in wet Cascadia snow for 2 seasons with no issues.

[angrysasquatch]

^^Just be sure you dry them out at night. Maybe someone has more specific advice, but I skied mine in wet Cascadia snow for 2 seasons with no issues.

That's what I've been doing, but I'm pretty big on leaving the skis in the car at night. Is there any treatment I could use so they are less prone to soak?

[Mustonen]

^^Just be sure you dry them out at night. Maybe someone has more specific advice, but I skied mine in wet Cascadia snow for 2 seasons with no issues.

This. I think 4frnt said somewhere (here or out on the interwebs?) just to make sure they have a chance to dry out overnight (i.e. don't leave them in the truck). Finishing up 4 seasons on an OG pair, more than one of those seasons with these as my only ski, and I've never done anything special with them, I just make sure they don't stay out in the car.

I've got to be closing in on 150+ days on these. I've never spent that kind of time on a single ski before. Time to retire them next year, I think - though not due to any durability issues. They still even look good....

[Mustonen]

That's what I've been doing, but I'm pretty big on leaving the skis in the car at night. Is there any treatment I could use so they are less prone to soak?

The problem with treating them is that you run just as good a chance of locking moisture in as locking moisture out. Bring them in at night, you lazy sod.

[shroom]

I just came to understand that my BGs flex ~20% stiffer than stock and are nontrivially more "planky" in feel, so maybe it won't be as big of an issue on the stock BG.

The stock BG is pretty damn easy to ski too. (Finally got on them today.)

[auvgeek]

The stock BG is pretty damn easy to ski too. (Finally got on them today.)

Good to know. I'll have to hop on chick's pair next season and see how different they are.

I guess I should clarify my thoughts a bit though: it's not so much about "easier" or "harder" as it is about how much a ski requires you to adopt a particular stance, and how well those stances mesh. The Ren really does require a neutral stance—try to drive the tips hard, and they get pretty pissy. My pair of BGs requires a forward stance—try to drive them from neutral, and they'll be sluggish and annoyed. I didn't even really like my BGs all that much until I spent loads of time trying to get my hands up and really work on driving my tips. Anyway, I think this is maybe more of an issue with my particular pair so I'll shut up about it. Feel a little bit silly that I spent like 2 years spewing about that ski only to find that my pair is considerably stiffer than stock and that my comments didn't really apply.

[allTandA]

My ren complement is named Cochise.

[Judo Chop!]

+1 for Ren/Cochise

[OldSchool1080s]

Ren/Zealot/Vicik/RC112/RPC112/Automatic

[NWSkier]

'Twas me who said that, and I stand by the comment. But there are a couple subtleties in that comment you missed:

It's not that I "don't recommend Billy Goats." In fact, I got rid of my Rens and kept the BGs when I moved to Baltimore. In particular, I was responding to a poster who wanted to ski the BG inbounds and the Ren for touring. You just don't get that many runs in the bc, and I personally wouldn't feel confident standing at the top of a big face with the Rens on my feet coming from many days on the BG inbounds. YMMV. I'd rather ski the Rens inbounds and tour on carbon Kusalas, if I were going that route. The Ren just requires you to be on the balls of your feet, while (my pair of) BGs require a forward, driving stance. IME, the two don't play well together. But there are times on the BGs that I wish I had the Rens, and vice versa and I could certainly see owning both if I was still skiing 60-80+ days a year.

One more thing: I just came to understand that my BGs flex ~20% stiffer than stock and are nontrivially more "planky" in feel, so maybe it won't be as big of an issue on the stock BG. The GPO is retardedly easy to ski by comparison—it's fine with a neutral stance. I'd guess transitioning between the Ren and GPO is fine (as was confirmed above).

What specifically do you want this other ski for? Narrower/more versatile? Lighter for touring?

I know what you meant by not recommending both at the same time. Thanks for the input. I'd like a "point and plow" type ski for really heavy chopped up snow in the PNW the Rens are the most stable ski that is also fun and in powder that starts to get chopped up they're good but when the sun beats down on the snow and it gets heavy and chopped I want something w/ camber under foot and it the tail

[NWSkier]

Do you find the GPOs are better skied centered like the Rens or driving the tips?

[gramboh]

+1 for Ren/Cochise

+2

345678

[happytimefunbox]

Ren/Zealot/Vicik/RC112/RPC112/Automatic

H8u and your retardedly hudge quiver