2020-2021 Liberty evolv 90

Intro

Liberty is introducing a brand-new series of skis for the 19/20 season. The new evolv skis are designed to slot between Liberty’s frontside-oriented “V” series and their “freeride” Origin line.

So, what do you get when you blend the precision of on-piste carvers with the versatility of off-piste freeride skis? To find out, let’s take a closer look at the evolv 90.

What Liberty says about the evolv Series

“The NEW evolv90 and evolv100 are the offspring of the fun-seeking Origin line and the precise power of the V-series. Featuring VMT core construction, carbon stringers, and PE sidewalls in our most versatile shapes, the evolv line has the guts to go anywhere and the personality to enjoy whatever snow conditions you find there. A multi-radius sidecut, torsionally rigid layup, and a flat tail keep the carves coming while the slightly rockered tip and progressive flex make quick work of changing conditions. The NEW evolv line will change the trajectory of your skiing.”

What Liberty says about the evolv 90

“Do you demand a ski that is smooth while still being energetic? The VMT core, paired with a design combining the best attributes of the V and Origin series, allows the evolv90 to fit a wide range of skier abilities and snow conditions. If you want the best of carving precision and freeride fun, the NEW evolv90 is for you.”

Then they say that the target skier of the evolv 90 is “the all-mountain aficionado who demands frontside performance mixed with just the right amount of soft snow capability.”

So the first thing to touch on here is Liberty’s “VMT” construction. First debuted for the 18/19 season in their V skis, the VMT construction refers to the addition of vertical metal struts in the wood core of the skis. This is in contrast to traditional metal laminates, which are typically laminated horizontally above or below a ski’s wood core. Liberty says that using the vertically laminated struts helps increase the skis’ stability and strength without adding as much weight as traditional horizontal metal laminates. The evolv skis use two struts per ski, while the V skis have three.

Construction aside, I think Liberty’s last line about the evolv 90’s target demographic is important. ~90mm-wide skis can vary a lot — from skis that are basically wider versions of dedicated on-piste carvers, to others that look like skinnier all-mountain skis designed for a very wide range of conditions and terrain. Liberty seems to be emphasizing the evolv 90’s on-piste performance, but add that it can handle some off-piste duty as well.

Shape / Rocker Profile

Overall, I’d say that the evolv 90 looks much more similar to the V92, rather than the Origin 90 (which is not coming back for 19/20). The evolv 90 has pretty minimal tip and tail taper — a bit more than the V92, but a lot less than the Origin 90.

The evolv 90’s rocker profile is also very similar to the V skis. The evolv 90 has very low tip splay, a shallow tip rocker line, a shallow, fairly flat tail rocker line, and a lot of camber. Compared to several skis in its class (e.g., Blizzard Brahma, Folsom Spar 88, Nordica Enforcer 88), the evolv 90 has notably less tip splay and shallower rocker lines.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the evolv 90:

Tips: 6
Shovels: 6
In Front of Toe Piece: 6-9
Underfoot: 9.5
Behind the Heel Piece: 9-8.5
Tails: 8-7.5

The evolv 90 has a very directional flex pattern. The front half of the ski — not just the end of the tip — feels significantly softer than the back half. The evolv 90 stays pretty soft from the tip through the shovel, while it’s tail is much stiffer than the tip and, overall, the evolv 90’s midsection and back half are pretty strong.

The evolv 90’s flex pattern is pretty similar to the Liberty V skis. The V skis’ soft shovels made it very easy to initiate carved turns and bend the skis into tighter turns, so we’re curious to see how similar the evolv 90 is in this regard, and to see how its soft, subtly rockered tips / shovels will handle inconsistent off-piste snow.

Weight

The evolv 90 falls on the lighter end of the spectrum compared to many skis in its class. I wouldn’t call the evolv 90 extremely light, but there is a notable difference in weight between it and most metal-laminate skis in its class like the Blizzard Brahma, K2 Ikonic 84 Ti, and Nordica Enforcer 88.

For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples-to-apples.

1690 & 1707 Amplid Time Machine 90, 182 cm (19/20–20/21)
1790 & 1828 Black Crows Orb, 179.1 cm (19/20)
1790 & 1831 Salomon XDR 88 Ti, 186 cm (17/18–18/19)
1839 & 1842 Black Crows Orb, 178.3 cm (17/18–18/19)
1855 & 1877 Liberty evolv 90, 186 cm (19/20)
1864 & 1882 Armada Invictus 89 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
1869 & 1894 Atomic Vantage 90 Ti, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
1920 & 1940 Volkl Kendo, 177 cm (15/16–18/19)
1931 & 1932 DPS Foundation Cassiar 94, 185 cm (18/19–19/20)
1943 & 1968 Liberty V92, 186 cm (18/19)
1947 & 2009 Liberty evolv 100, 179 cm (19/20)
1959 & 1985 Renoun Z-Line 90, 180 cm (17/18–18/19)
1997 & 2001 Blizzard Brahma, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
2008 & 2015 Folsom Skis Spar 88, 182 cm (18/19–19/20)
2049 & 2065 Volkl Mantra M5, 177 cm (18/19–19/20)
2062 & 2063 Rossignol Experience 94 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
2077 & 2092 K2 Ikonic 84 Ti, 177 cm – weight includes binding plates (17/18–19/20)
2098 & 2105 Nordica Enforcer 88, 179 cm (19/20)
2114 & 2133 Nordica Enforcer 93, 185 cm (16/17–19/20)
2131 & 2194 Nordica Enforcer 88, 186 cm (19/20)
2171 & 2176 Head Monster 88 Ti, 184 cm (18/19)

Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About

(1) The evolv 90 is essentially a mix between the Liberty V92 and Origin 90. So — on snow — does the evolv 90 feel more like the V92 or the Origin 90? Or will it feel like an equal mix of both?

(2) Similarly, will the evolv 90 feel more like carving-oriented skis like the Renoun Z-Line 90, K2 Ikonic 84 Ti, etc., or like more versatile all-mountain skis like the Brahma, Spar 88, etc.?

(3) Given its low tip and narrow waist, how will the evolv 90 handle softer, more inconsistent off-piste snow?