Review: 12/13 4FRNT Hoji

[truax]

I would bet for a primarily touring ski you'd be able to get away with 179.

+1. I'm 5'10"/177cm, 150 lbs, and have toured on the 187. Great on the down but for steep kick turns the long tail required quite the man yoga maneuvering. But really, you know you should be on the 195

[ghosthop]

Now if 4FRNT would just build the EHP again but with the new lighter core layup... Please, 4FRNT, pretty please?

I've always been curious, how different is the hoji from the EHP? And what is the renegade missing? My 179 EHP handflexed stiffer than a friend's 187 hoji, visually had a thicker core and were heavier, and appear to have a longer sidecut. The comment above about the hoji being great in all terrain does not apply to the EHP, imo. Steep, consistent soft snow yes, one of the best skis I've been on, but less so as the snow gets more variable or the terrain becomes difficult to carry speed without going straight.

[DGamms]

I've always been curious, how different is the hoji from the EHP? And what is the renegade missing? My 179 EHP handflexed stiffer than a friend's 187 hoji, visually had a thicker core and were heavier, and appear to have a longer sidecut. The comment above about the hoji being great in all terrain does not apply to the EHP, imo. Steep, consistent soft snow yes, one of the best skis I've been on, but less so as the snow gets more variable or the terrain becomes difficult to carry speed without going straight.

Ghosthop, I only had a few runs on the first generation Hojis, so what I said above may not be applicable to current Hojis. And FWIW my wife has the 2017 Hoji W 179 cm as her touring skis, and she will happily ski them in resort on 6-12" of new snow days.

When I had skied the Hojis, the softer flex, increased tip splay, and lighter weight compared to the EHPs made them feel less stable in variable snow at speed.

I had my EHPs set up with Vipecs for the last two seasons. It was awesome downhill for touring in the Wasatch and Tetons. But damn the EHP is heavy going uphill. I think the 186 cm was almost 6 lbs per ski.

This year I indulged my inner gear whore and got a two ski quiver for touring. 186 cm Kusalas for soft snow touring, and 2017 184 cm Ravens for low snow/big vert touring. Both these skis are lighter, stiffer, have less tip splay, and a bigger flat spot under foot than the OG Hojis.

[Supermoon]

The Renegade was really the EHP replacement. It fills the same need as the EHP does better than the Hoji. Big lines, fast, stable.

The original EHP was designed in a world that was pretty much pre-rocker, so a flat, wide, heavy, straight ski was what you wanted for burly lines. I loved that ski, but I would much rather be on Rens or Hojis!

The Hoji was designed as a more backcountry ski, soft snow, lighter, etc, to complement the Renegade, and the Raven followed suit as the super-light (for 4FRNT) little brother for the other two. I do think they made the Hoji stiffer after the first year as well.

[thewestisthefuture]

+1. I'm 5'10"/177cm, 150 lbs, and have toured on the 187. Great on the down but for steep kick turns the long tail required quite the man yoga maneuvering. But really, you know you should be on the 195

Great info, thanks - that's what I was looking for. I know I'm not looking at the longest, but at least they're red!

[reckless toboggan]

Now if 4FRNT would just build the EHP again but with the new lighter core layup...

Yes Please!