4FRNT MSP 99 Review

[kc_7777]

I’ve been in the market for a 100mm waisted ski with metal for no new snow days at Whistler. I’ve have't owned a metal ski in a long time but lately been thinking I need (want) one for Whistler. My Current Quiver: 181cm Icelantic Nomad 115s and 105s and 181cm 4FRNT InThaynes.

I’m 5’7”, 160 lbs and wanted around a 176-178 length (been riding too long skis >184 for too long).

Read lots on tgr. So of course I have considered the 177cm Head Monster 98, 176cm Stockli Stormrider SS Pro, 177cm Nordica Enforcer 100 to name a few.

Then I tried my fiancé’s 171cm 4FRNT MSP 99s (she has last years model) and it ripped the groomers, even for a 171cm.

I’m 52 yrs old, ski 60+ days per year at Whistler or Baker, am in really good shape but just decided at my age WTF do I need a Head Monster for?

Ended up getting some of this year’s 2018-19 176cm 4FRNT MSP 99s (been crazy deals on 4FRNT this year and I really love my InThaynes so wanted to support them). Same price or lower than I would have paid for 2016 Monsters or 2011 Stocklis on eBay.

Skis arrived in North Vancouver straight from 4FRNT. So easy. It’s a good looking ski, better than last years graphic. I like the subdued colours with the tree//mountain graphics. Feels decent to hand flex, not too burly but solid feeling. Decent weight (not too heavy though) which I want for this inbounds ski.



Just mounted with Marker Jester Pros....will ride em tomorrow at Whistler.

Thoughts and review coming after.

Anyone else got these?

[Best Mexican Skier from Da South]

Great all mountain ski. Ski’d the Salomon Q99 on demo, and like the MSP 99 better. Heavier in hand compared to the Q99, but I don’t notice the weight difference on snow. MSP is burlier and I love it for no recent snow skiing, but the big front shovel still allows for FUN skiing with fresh.

[Self Jupiter]

Not a lot of beta on these. Looking forward to the review!

[gaijin]

Waiting eagerly to hear more...

[kc_7777]

Just waxing now. With a cold beer.

Will be on these all day tomorrow and will report back.

[lake_effect]

I got mine with the New Year's sale with the attack 13 bundle. I'm 5'10" 170 lbs and got the 181. So far I only have three days on them at Steamboat but there was anywhere from 4 to 20 in every day so no groomer report yet. Everything got pushed around pretty quick but the ski's were pretty nimble through the bumps and pretty damp through the chop. Had to stay way in the backseat on the 20" day unless I was hauling ass but that's to be expected with most 100mm skis. Back in Wisconsin now so should have a groomer/ice report soon.

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[kc_7777]

Here ya go:

Economics:

First…the economics of the decision….4FRNT is one of the only companies that ships direct to Canada for $0 ship cost, and it arrives quickly and however they ship, there are no taxes. Versus an ebay purchase where I have pay for shipping, then walk across border to grab the skis, and then get charged the 12% Canadian sales tax. Exchange is approx. 1.30x to go from US$ to CDN$

The MSPs at $485CDN were by far the least expensive option….and they were this year’s model. Here are the estimated delivered prices in CDN$….from most $ to least $ for the skis I was considering:

2018 177cm Nordica Enforcer (133-100-121, turn radius 16.5m)
$699US + $30 ship x 1.12 x 1.30 = $1,050CDN delivered

2018 177cm Volkl Mantra (132-100-118, turn radius 23m)
$600US + $45 ship x 1.12 x 1.30 = $940CDN delivered

2017 177cm Head Monster 98 (135-98-120, turn radius 23m) - super far back mount too? -10 to -12?
($450US + $50 ship x 1.12 x 1.30 = $720CDN delivered

2011 176cm Stockli Stormrider SS Pro (132-101-121, turn radius 24.5m) - it’s 8 yrs old now
$389US + 40 ship x 1.12 x 1.30 = $600CDN delivered

2019 176cm 4FRNT MSP 99 (133-99-122, turn radius 17m)
$499US with bindings bundle deal less $125 bindings sold = $375US net
$375US + $0 ship + $0 tax x 1.30 = $485CDN delivered

….and the MSPs could have been $100CDN lower on their crazy $599US two for 1 deal???

Makes me think there are company cashflow issues....or they over estimated demand for Devs, MSPs and Hojis....which were really on sale? Or they needed some cash quickly to buy-back the bastard Rens?

Tax Deductibility:

My fiance and I have a bookkeeping and consulting company called Forefront Consulting Ltd….so 4FRNT makes sense? Tax deduction for advertising on the chair? Skis = tax deduction = living the dream? haha

Mount position:

We ski all over the mountain, I think I ski pretty fast for a 52 year old dude who gets 60 - 70 days a year mostly at Whistler or Baker. I don’t huck more than my height. I like to ski centered, pressure on my shins in Dalbello Krypton 130s.

I’ve become pretty anal over the years about how much ski I have in front of me?? At 5’7”with a short bsl I don’t get/need a 184cm ski mounted at -10 to -11cm. That's way too much tip. Tried that once and never liked it. So I usually mount at -5.5 to – 6cm back from true center (tc) on 180-181cm skis that have both tip and tail rocker or full rocker (eg. recently have been skiing on: 181 Icelantic Nomads, 182 Moment PBJs, 181 Moment Meridians, 181 4FRNT Inthaynes, 181 LibTech NAS Pows, 178 Line Chronics, 178 LibTech Freerides…all mounted at -5.5 to -6cm with rockered tails).

So I mounted my 176cm MSP 99s on the recommended line with Marker Jester Pros. The recommended line on the 176 is approx -8 from center which makes sense with the flatter tail than the tip/tail rockered skis I've been on above mounted at -5.5 to -6cm.

The math works...tip is the same!

181cm/2 = 90.5 + 5.5 = approx 96cm as my usual in-front “tip” length that I'm used to.

176cm/2 = 88 + 8 = 96cm tip length on the 4FRNT 176cm MSPs. I like.

Also very glad I got the 176cm MSP 99 and not the 181cm. The 176cm MSPs at first “felt” longer than my 181cm Icelantic Nomads and 181cm 4FRNT InThaynes (both mounted at -5.5). Probably as I was not used to skiing on the flatter tail? I’ve been skiing my fully rockered 4FRNT InThaynes a ton this season….I go fast on the InThaynes but kind of just ride centered on them vs skiing them. But by the end of the day, once I adjusted my stance, and drove the MSPs more, keeping pressure on tips, and after I realized you can’t relax and slarve flat tailed skis like you can skiing centered on tip and tail rockered skis. The 176cm floated me fine in pow, and was still maneuverable.

Flex:

The MSP 99 is pretty stiff at around the front of the binding area, with pretty decent stiffness through the middle of the ski and staying stiff back towards the ski's tail, it's definitely not as stiff in the tip though.

Smooth Groomers:

Fast and so fun. Easy and quick. Likes to carve its turns. The MSP 99 didn’t seem to care if I was doing bigger arcs or faster, shorter ones. Not super bouncy and energetic; but energetic enough. I could pump/arc back and forth on flat cat tracks and actually pick up speed. The MSPs have a pretty damp feel that is very predictable when you drive the tips into a turn, and with very decent edge hold at speed. But not a hard ski to ski at all…it doesn’t punish you if you f up. But burly enough for me at 160 lbs that I’m glad I didn’t get a Head Monster mounted at -12!


Bumpy Icy Groomers:

Was skiing out to Whistler Creekside at the end of the day. Was typical bottom of Whistler groomers with shit snow with big ice patches and some weirdly spaced bumps and piles of pushed around crap snow. And random skiers on the run. Holy crap did these things fly? I didn’t have to turn as much or bleed speed like I do on my other skis….just kept going andd ripped straight down arcing big turns. Easy (forgiving?) to ski really really fast over shit snow and plenty strong when you need to straight-line over the tops of some bumps/through crud at warp speed or crank them hard to avoid killing someone who was skiing at normal speed. That last run in the crappiest snow of the day was the most revealing reason as to why I bought these. Made the ski out fun.

Chop and not so light Pow:

There was 3-5” of new pow we found, but with some ice crust and the MSP handled it really well. The tips (133mm) are big enough to float me at 160 lbs and the tip rocker doesn’t dive down in fresh pow. I really like how the MSP 99 shovels seem to flex up and over the chopped up pow and then the middle to end of the ski is thenstiff enough to blast through crud and deeper patches.

It’s been a long time since I had a ski with metal (last were the 179cm 2012 Line Influence 115 mounted @ -7.9cm). Forgot how good the damp feel of metal is is in variable snow!

Definitely felt I could ski the MSP pretty fast all the time and knew that this ski would do what I wanted/needed it to do. I got lazy at speed in harder bumps once and they let me know by throwing me back a bit. Again I think it was me getting used to a flat tail.

So I’m pretty happy with the purchase. Super happy actually. Got exactly what I wanted…a predictable ripper ski with metal, that that’s not very heavy and doesn’t punish you if you’re not perfect. I don’t consider it super maneuverable, like my rockered InThaynes…but the tails release nicely when you need them too. Basically it’s a stable, fun, and versatile ski that skis super well over a range of snow conditions, and its still got some forgiveness. Makes me think the MSP 107 would be awesome too?

Will update as I ski it more.

Here’s some random pics from Day 1...my 176 MSP 99s on right, my fiance's 171 MSPs on the left:

[Name Redacted]

Got same deal on my 187's but put Shifts on them. 7-8 days in, I love them so far. They've been a little less floaty than my Wren 108's in the pow, but other than that, they are great all around. Steep, tight trees they really give me some confidence as they are easily maneuvered. Out in the open on groomers, they could have a longer sidecut, but I rarely ski groomers. The shortish sidecut makes them pretty fun.

[mc74d1]

Glad to hear they handle the crud well. How are the tails? Do they manage to break loose pretty easily in heavier snow?

[kc_7777]

Glad to hear they handle the crud well. How are the tails? Do they manage to break loose pretty easily in heavier snow?

Tails release no problem in 3-6” pow with ice crust.

[M_R]

Great review, thanks for spending the time writing it up. Especially liked the “economics section” bringing to attention how ridiculously expensive sourcing skis in Canada can be.

[TAHOEDOWN]

Kc's post pretty much nailed it, but I wanted to put in another vote in for this ski. I am 5'8" 160 lbs and have about 20 days on the 181's. I have a full arsenal of pow skis and needed something more resort hard snow oriented. I owned the original MSP around 10 years ago and remembered how much fun it was so I bought the recent version at the beginning of the season. I left the tune OG as the sidecut is sharpish but they seem to have detuned the tips and tails at the factory nicely. They are mounted on the recommended line (-8ish I believe).
Groomers: Absolutely RAIL! They grab and rip a mix of sl and gs style turns. With only 3 mil of camber they aren't exactly poppy, but they have this fun little acceleration into the next turn.
Crud: Damp as fuck. They eat inconsistent snow with ease and you find yourself ripping imperfect snow way faster than you think is prudent. No hookyness what so ever.
Pow: They are great in anything up to about 6 inches. Anything deeper and I start thinking I should be on another ski in my quiver but they still work.
Steeps: Most of my skis are either fully rockered or have a lot of tip and tail splay so I was worried the tails may hook up more than I'm used to. This ski releases nicely and allows for great control of the tail in the steeps.
Other thoughts: I would say that the MSP works best with a bit of shin pressure, but you can drive em or ride centered and they work well. If you get back seat they will take you for a ride like any ski with a flat tail. These things are not light, which I think is a great attribute in a front side ski and have become my resort ski of choice on any day with less than 6 in of fresh. I have devastators and while I love that ski, the MSP's are getting the nod more often. Also, I know there is a lot of concern regarding the direction and construction of 4FRNT skis this year, and I can say that the fit, finish, and durability of the MSP's is consistent with previous years.
I know these haven't gotten much play here, but even though I have a bunch of cool fat ass boutique skis, I grab the MSP for most resort days because they just plain work better.

[altacoup]

^^^

Agree with almost all of this. I tend to prefer the devestators on most mixed conditions days. But 2 days after the storm love the msp. Easy to ski but can charge. This model is made in Slovenia by Elan. I’ve never skied Elan’s, but the skis they’ve made for 4frnt have always been top notch build quality. I wish 4frnt would stay with them.


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[Best Mexican Skier from Da South]

^^^

Agree with almost all of this. I tend to prefer the devestators on most mixed conditions days. But 2 days after the storm love the msp. Easy to ski but can charge. This model is made in Slovenia by Elan. I’ve never skied Elan’s, but the skis they’ve made for 4frnt have always been top notch build quality. I wish 4frnt would stay with them.


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Agree with you on the Elan build. Disagree in relation to the Dev vs MSP. It really depends on the steepness and variety of turns necessary for a full day.

I too have the Dev’s in 194 and the 187 MSP’s. If I’m going to be hitting steep and narrow like some lines in Diamond bowl in Spanky’s (Blackcomb), I’d take the MSP’s even on a 12” powder day (Also better on cat tracks for point A to point B). But if I’m gonna be hitting wide open runs off Chair 23 at Mammoth, than it’s the Dev’s. Or if the terrain is more mellow with 12” of fresh, yes, the Dev’s.

Really depends on the terrain you wanna hit.

[monkeywrenchMoose]

Currently debating between this and the Line Supernatural 100.

Anyone know how these feel in the air and spinning?

Everything else about them sounds like exactly what I want.

[kc_7777]

Currently debating between this and the Line Supernatural 100.

Anyone know how these feel in the air and spinning?

Everything else about them sounds like exactly what I want.

I don’t do many threes (did first one at 47 when my sons were learning them), and haven’t three’d the MSPs yet.

I’ve skied my son’s 179cm Supernatural 108s last year......From memory I was not that pumped on the SN, like I was first day on the MSPs. The MSPs ski better I think.

[kc_7777]

Took the MSPs up to Whistler yesterday with low expectations of super cold and dust on crust. It was cold (-20C, -4F) which sucked all the moisture out of the snow and it snowed more than I thought....got nice and blower. Deep in places.

Skied all over Whistler and Blackcomb.

More MSP 99 thoughts....

Pow: They surprisingly rip 6”-12” of pow? Loved sinking into the snow for a change instead of surfing on top like on my 117mm waisted skis. The MSP 99’s tip is 133mm and mounted at rec (-8) the tip doesn’t dive at all was easy to keep speed in deeper sections. The MSP 107 would be super fun I bet but the 99 handled deep stuff really well.

Packed pow: Absolutely shines. Ripping big turns down GS....I blew through piles of chunder with ease. You ski fearless as the MSPs are solid. I skied faster in mixed snow. Way faster than I would on my Icelantic Nomads or 4FRNT InThaynes in the chopped up. Just didn’t care enough about the piles to slow down.

Steep, rocky sketchy: my friend’s son led us into Turkey chutes and it was bony where we ended up on a ledge above a tiny chute. Had to launch to avoid scraping the crap out of these on rocks, only option was to straight line 20’ into a pow field and these made me feel 20 yrs younger.

Groomers: Loved the end of day ski out down to Base 2. So solid at speed. Damp. Great edge hold on man made snow at the bottom.

Re length. I’m happy I got the 176cm. These don’t ski short at recommended. You must stay on top of them, and when you do you rip. But they can get away from you in bumps/tight trees if you don’t watch out. Though I was getting the tails to slide more as the day went on. by end of day.

[kc_7777]

Just had another good day on the 4FRNT MSP 99s at Baker. Conditions were groomed and some packed pow. Snow was really good. Cold and crisp.

These things ripped all over the mountain. Nimble on chalky steeps, rippers in packed pow and so good on groomers.

[Best Mexican Skier from Da South]

Just had another good day on the 4FRNT MSP 99s at Baker. Conditions were groomed and some packed pow. Snow was really good. Cold and crisp.

These things ripped all over the mountain. Nimble on chalky steeps, rippers in packed pow and so good on groomers.

Sweet photo!

[porkroll]

Not BOGO like the earlier deal, but 187’s are $399 at check out right.

[kc_7777]

Skied mine again last weekend in a couple of surprise pow days at Whistler. The 99 is surprisingly good in 6-8” of pow for me (160 lbs). Also very good in variable crap. Motors through anything. From ice to slush.

[f=ma]

How's it compared your Metals?

[kc_7777]

How's it compared your Metals?

Funny you should ask cause I really like the Metals too.

Metals feel to me like a Dev + MSP had a love child.

Or it could just be I like (and am more used to) skiing minimal cambered skis at -6 (eg. the Metal) vs a more traditional cambered ski at -8 (eg. MSP). But both are fun to rip in spring crud. With their flat tail the MSPs can take you for a ride if you get too back seat on them. I’ve now had 10+ days on my MSP 99s, and think I had to “relearn” how to ski a more traditional ski like the MSPs, as you need to drive them more in a turn, and edge/lean harder on your outside ski, versus the J Ski Metals that you can ski more upright and centered, sliding your tails and weighting both skis more evenly? I’ve spent too many years on skis that you ski in neutral stance (Devs, Nomads, Opus, Bacon, PBJ, InThayne, Ren, Hoji, Kyle 110, YLE to name a few).

Keeping them both in the quiver as they do ski a bit differently. And I like skis. Loving having metal in my skis for late season variable snow.

Quiver pretty complete now...

180 Icelantic Nomad 125 (full rocker)
181 4FRNT Inthayne (full rocker)
181 Icelantic Nomad 105
180 J Ski The Metal
176 4FRNT MSP

Here’s the MSPs enjoying spring at Whistler:

K

[chaka]

bumping this thread as the MSP99 now on my short list for firm,old snow pnw dad ski.... Anyone skied both the 176 and 181? Initially I was thinking 181 as my other skis are 183 Scott Punisher 110, 183 OG Gotama and formerly 186 BG. But reading kc_7777 experiences has me thinking 176 would be the way to go. I want to avoid "too much ski" for this spot in my quiver, and am wary of overly stiff tails. 5'8" 150ish, 'advanced' skier. thanks

[t-the-east]

bumping this thread as the MSP99 now on my short list for firm,old snow pnw dad ski.... Anyone skied both the 176 and 181? Initially I was thinking 181 as my other skis are 183 Scott Punisher 110, 183 OG Gotama and formerly 186 BG. But reading kc_7777 experiences has me thinking 176 would be the way to go. I want to avoid "too much ski" for this spot in my quiver, and am wary of overly stiff tails. 5'8" 150ish, 'advanced' skier. thanks

I have some punisher 183s as well. And some MSP 99’s in a 176. The MSPs ski longer than you would think. I’m 5’9”, 165 lbs and I wouldn’t call the 176 an easy ski, super intuitive and comfortable, but you still gotta pay attention, I wouldn’t go 181. ( my favorite all time skis are 181 Scott p4s if that helps for reference )

ETA - thread bump from a year ago