4FRNT Renegade ~ Hand built in SLC.

[kc_7777]

So......

It was opening day at Mt Baker and took my new 2012/13 Owl 186cm Rens out in 6"-9" of blower powder at Baker (on top) with harder/less snow (near the bottom). I skiied the Rens from 9 am - 11 am.

My 1st run was probably the fastest I have skiied the North face of chair 6 since my Lib NAS Pows......maybe ever (and it was my first run of the season but I just could not help it?). Frickin' things rip so fast! Really unbelievable feel in the first few runs of virgin pow. I even did not mind them in the chopped up packed pow and icier conditions down below. Like the Hoji, you need to stay awake on them on sketchy, icier/harder snow sections. But even carrying 5 lbs of extra summer fat, and not having skiied much since last season, and being 47 years old I had no problem getting used to 186 Rens, most likely as I spent a lot of time last season on 187 Hojis. Rens just stiffer, faster but definitely not a ski to be afraid of. These will absolutely rip in deeper Baker conditions. Note - must always wear a helmet. I found myself doing stupid things.....ie come up fast to a small steep knoll where North face gets steep, and instead of checking speed like last year, for some reason I just flew off it, even though I knew there were rocks under the face. My Rens just landed it and keep me alive. legs were going WTF? Best feeling was looking back up the hill at my 14 and 16 year old lagging behind (note: they must not own Rens).

Both my 187 Hojis and 186 Rens are mounted with Sollyfits/STH16s at 87cm from tail based per Hoji's rec.....perfect feel to them at that mount point.

Legs were dead by 11 am, then I skiied some new 182cm Belafontes which were great in the early season conditions once the pow was gone and it got a bit sketchy. Loved those too.

K

PS here is a pic of Baker's opening day.....14 yr old son hitting a jump near chair 8:

[undertow2]

You will have these in gear swap within the next 3 months... Would kill to buy these skis, but have to demo and no 196s available...

[pfluffenmeister]

^^^ snicker.

[Bobcat Sig]

You will have these in gear swap within the next 3 months... Would kill to buy these skis, but have to demo and no 196s available...

ppssshhhh. Just have both! 196s fully dedicated for alpine charging and the 186s set up with SollyFits for days like that and short tours. Not that I would know, or anything ...

[JimLad]

Had a few days on my 196 now. Dynafits on them, they are my touring sticks. Very easy to ski, pleasantly surprising given some reviews I had read.

Impressed with how maneuverable they are even at low speeds. Hopefully it snows again this year and I'll get them up to a speed more appropriate.

[Swirlwich]

Had a few days on my 196 now. Dynafits on them, they are my touring sticks. Very easy to ski, pleasantly surprising given some reviews I had read.

Impressed with how maneuverable they are even at low speeds. Hopefully it snows again this year and I'll get them up to a speed more appropriate.

Height weight?

[kc_7777]

Impressed with how maneuverable they are even at low speeds. Hopefully it snows again this year and I'll get them up to a speed more appropriate.

Same re the 186s (175lbs, 5'7"). I was a bit apprehensive too based on reviews. But had no problems, though you ski faster = legs get tired quicker.

Definitely a ski to have in the quiver.....hey undertow - gonna keep these ones more than 3 months I figure.

K

[mtskier]

If any mags are looking for 2013-14 Rens, should me a PM. We have both lengths at the shop. Happy to help out. Cheers.

[JimLad]

Height weight?

6'2" 75kg

[rinkos]

Wha bindings do you recommend?
4frnt attack would be good solution ?

[Bobcat Sig]

Wha bindings do you recommend?
4frnt attack would be good solution ?

Ones that clamp your boots to your skis.

Really, it's personal preference. Many on here are die-hard Salomon, while others are on FKS. Run what you have or can get.

[rinkos]

based on rumors, how renegeade request skier to ski

[Altaholic]

Wha bindings do you recommend?
4frnt attack would be good solution ?

I put some Atomic (same as Salomon STH) FFG 16 on mine, have not skied them yet. Waiting until the base builds up in the Tetons before I'll use them. I'll use them soon enough, I have other skis for early season conditions. I mounted them at 88.5 cm from tail on the 196 model.
Back to the bindings, go with a binding you are comfortable with. I'm a fan Rossi FKS 180/Salomon STH 16, it rolls to preference. I'm not familiar on 4Frnt bindings, I think they are renamed Tyrolias???

With the 4Frnt Renegade you ideally want binding with a DIN that is 15 or higher due to the aggressive nature of the ski. Yes, you could get a 13-14 DIN binding & push it to 11-12, but you wear the springs out faster on the bindings faster with too much pressure on the medium level binding.

[JJChit]

Have a pair in gear swap for $400. Inserts for dukes. 316bsl 87 from tail

[Evil E]

i picked up a pair of 186 that have been mounted 2x. They currently have some look fks15 mounted up at boot center. Unfortunately my BSL is 15mm too big to make this mount work. Im thinking the smart move would be to pull the heelpieces and remount them further back while leaving the toes alone, but also wondering if I should just completely remount the skis with a jester or s916 at perfect boot center. Im worried about being at the wrong place on the ski as well as weakening the ski with too many holes. With this ski whats the smart move?

[Lindahl]

With the smaller sweet spot, I think you'd want to be perfectly in it. 2.5x mount basically counts as 3x mount for resale value. Don't see the benefit of moving the heelpiece, aside from time. I'd just mount for jester/s916 at boot center.

[Bobcat Sig]

Welp ... finally got out on the 186 Rens today in about 2 and a half feet of Bridger blower. I mounted them with SollyFit plates at 87 form the tail. They seemed short standing over them, so I was apprehensive this whole time.

On the chairlift up, I kept thinking that there were some mystical skis and they would ski all funky. Or that I needed a full day on them to get the style needed to get the most of them. Well ...

After three turns straight off a steep face, all I could think was:


I proceeded down and just laughed maniacally on how intuitive and surfy these skis were. Just stupid fun. Crushed everything, turned on a dime and were so intuitive to pilot. Fuck me, I was so wrong.

Then, after the second run, I was all like:

Fuck me, these are fun skis. I'm going to need a clean pair of shorts, these are so good.

Gaijin was right on; these things truck and haul the lumber. Good God, I was hucking stuff that I usually scout or at least get a run on first. Nope, not today. Just sent it. Stomp-a-fucking-palooza. I think at one point, I was under the lift and blurted out, "Hold my dick!" as I aired over a soft roller.

The caution about these things tiring you out is dead on. At the end of each run, my legs were smoked and I biked all summer. So weird; they are so easy to turn and pilot, but then all of a sudden; noodle legs. I need to up the leg workouts.

The best part? I smart enough to pick up the 196s. I'm like an addled crack addict waiting to get on those this weekend at Big Sky.

Renegades make me feel funny, like when we used to climb the rope in gym class.

[kc_7777]

I have 2 days on my 186 Rens, with STH 16/Sollyfits, also 87 from tail.....could not have said it better. Frickin' awesome review.

Baker should get some pow this weekend.....I am yelling "hold my dick" over the first roller I air.

K

[gaijin]

HOLD MY DICK!

[ImSearchingforPowder]

Trying to decide between the 186 and 196. 6'1 190 Coming from 189 Obsetheds, need more of a daily driver for LCC, trees, some bumps, etc. Leaning towards the 186 as I think they will be a little bit maneuverable, but need to hear some thoughts.

[gaijin]

Trying to decide between the 186 and 196. 6'1 190 Coming from 189 Obsetheds, need more of a daily driver for LCC, trees, some bumps, etc. Leaning towards the 186 as I think they will be a little bit maneuverable, but need to hear some thoughts.

I'm finding the 186 so maneuverable I'm thinking the 196 surely can't be that hard to ski. I'm 5'9" 160 and ski primarily in the forests of Japan. I don't regret my decision. I have no need for more stability or float. But I wouldn't mind an even longer radius when things open up and I find myself hauling ass.

Your size... why not a 196? Just overall size being cumbersome?

[ImSearchingforPowder]

I'm finding the 186 so maneuverable I'm thinking the 196 surely can't be that hard to ski. I'm 5'9" 160 and ski primarily in the forests of Japan. I don't regret my decision. I have no need for more stability or float. But I wouldn't mind an even longer radius when things open up and I find myself hauling ass.

Your size... why not a 196? Just overall size being cumbersome?

Yea, I guess mostly the 196 number just scares me a bit.. But I'm sure the 189 Obsetheds ski a lot longer than the 196 Rens. I like to ski fairly aggressively, so I think I might just give the 196s a shot. BTW thanks for all your posts itt, I've read them all and it's really helped my decision on purchasing these sick sticks.

[Evil E]

Welp ... finally got out on the 186 Rens today in about 2 and a half feet of Bridger blower. I mounted them with SollyFit plates at 87 form the tail. They seemed short standing over them, so I was apprehensive this whole time.

On the chairlift up, I kept thinking that there were some mystical skis and they would ski all funky. Or that I needed a full day on them to get the style needed to get the most of them. Well ...

After three turns straight off a steep face, all I could think was:


I proceeded down and just laughed maniacally on how intuitive and surfy these skis were. Just stupid fun. Crushed everything, turned on a dime and were so intuitive to pilot. Fuck me, I was so wrong.

Then, after the second run, I was all like:

Fuck me, these are fun skis. I'm going to need a clean pair of shorts, these are so good.

Gaijin was right on; these things truck and haul the lumber. Good God, I was hucking stuff that I usually scout or at least get a run on first. Nope, not today. Just sent it. Stomp-a-fucking-palooza. I think at one point, I was under the lift and blurted out, "Hold my dick!" as I aired over a soft roller.

The caution about these things tiring you out is dead on. At the end of each run, my legs were smoked and I biked all summer. So weird; they are so easy to turn and pilot, but then all of a sudden; noodle legs. I need to up the leg workouts.

The best part? I smart enough to pick up the 196s. I'm like an addled crack addict waiting to get on those this weekend at Big Sky.

Renegades make me feel funny, like when we used to climb the rope in gym class.

probably the most entertaining ski review Ive read here in a LONG time.

[Bobcat Sig]

Yea, I guess mostly the 196 number just scares me a bit.. But I'm sure the 189 Obsetheds ski a lotshorter than the 196 Rens. I like to ski fairly aggressively, so I think I might just give the 196s a shot. BTW thanks for all your posts itt, I've read them all and it's really helped my decision on purchasing these sick sticks.

FIFY. K2s are notorious for overstating their length. The newer Seths seem to ski short.

Since you're in SLC, dial up the fellas from 4FRNT and demo both the 186 and 196. They are local, so take advantage of that.

[gaijin]

Last spring a rumor started flying that the '14 Renegade was getting sidewalls. Not the case. I fondled pair of '14s in my local shop. Same wall-to-wall maple now with a bevel milled into the top edge of the side... likely for durability against top sheet chipping (that doesn't really exist for me.) Beautiful graphics, too, but the Owl still wins my vote.

It's still gotta be the most coveted ski in the world right now even after the copies have started to arrive on scene. (need I name them?)

For any possible skeptics still loitering outside the bar-- think about how long this ski has been in production and how few changes have been made to the specs. Yeah, this shape/flex has been dialed for 5 (?) years now. (even more dialed than the tooling making them.)

The few early-season days for me have been phenomenal here in JP. I love drifting past other rippers riding their new purchases (Surface, DPS, Volkl, K2, Armada, etc.) Gondolas full of pow rippers and I'm the best one yelling- Hold my dick!

Stiff reflect-tech is here to stay. It's fast fast fast in 3D snow.