2020-2021 Liberty evolv 100

Intro

A couple of weeks ago we posted a First Look of the brand-new Liberty evolv 90. The evolv series is a completely new line from Liberty, essentially designed to fill the void between their piste-oriented “V” series and their more off-piste-oriented Origin series.

In addition to the evolv 90, the series also includes the evolv 100. Like the 90, the evolv 100 falls into a diverse category of skis that now vary more than ever in terms of their designs and where on the mountain they excel. So where does the evolv 100’s design slot?

What Liberty says about the evolv 100

“Are you looking for a ski profile and construction that does it all? The NEW evolv100, with integrated VMT technology, positions itself perfectly for the adventurous, all-terrain skier. Whether looking for a good bump line, a little tree skiing, or laying down beautiful arcs on the groomed, the evolv100 has you covered.”

Liberty also describes the evolv 100’s target skier as an “experienced skier who needs a one-ski solution to meet their performance goals, regardless of conditions or terrain.”

One thing that’s clear here is that Liberty is positioning the evolv 100 in the “1-ski-quiver” category. It’s supposed to do everything well, and Liberty also throws the words “adventurous,” “all-terrain,” and “experienced” to describe the target skier for the evolv 100.

Plenty of skis today claim similar things, so how does the evolv 100’s design set itself apart?

Shape / Rocker Profile

Like the evolv 90, the evolv 100’s shape looks more similar to Liberty’s V skis than their Origin skis. The evolv 100 has pretty minimal tip and tail taper, though it does have more taper than the Liberty V92. Overall, the evolv 100’s shape looks pretty similar to more traditionally shaped skis like the Volkl Mantra 102, Blizzard Bonafide, and Armada Invictus 99 Ti, and less like more tapered skis like the Liberty Origin 96, K2 Mindbender 99Ti, Salomon QST 99, and Fischer Ranger 99Ti.

The evolv 100’s rocker profile is very conservative for a modern ~100mm-wide ski. It has very shallow tip and tail rocker lines, very low tip splay, and a lot of camber. The evolv 100’s rocker profile is fairly similar to the Volkl Mantra M5 & 102, Blizzard Bonafide, and Atomic Vantage 97 Ti, though all of those skis still have slightly deeper rocker lines and higher tip splay. The evolv 100’s rocker profile looks very different than other skis in its class like the Fischer Ranger 99Ti, Salomon QST 99, and ON3P Wrenegade 96, all of which have significantly deeper rocker lines and more tip splay.

We expect the evolv 100’s subtle taper lines and conservative rocker lines to equate to a lot of effective edge on firm snow, and we’re curious to see how well that long effective edge works on more variable off-piste snow where you’re often slarving / sliding your turns, rather than carving them.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the evolv 100:

Tips: 6
Shovels: 6-6.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 7-9
Underfoot: 9.5
Behind the Heel Piece: 9-8.5
Tails: 8

The 179 cm evolv 100’s flex pattern is very similar to the 186 cm evolv 90’s, though the evolv 100 stiffens up a bit quicker through the shovel. Both evolv skis have very soft front halves, and quite strong back halves.

While most skis start soft in their tips (e.g., Bonafide, QST 99, Nordica Enforcer 100), few skis in this class that we’ve used stay soft as long as the evolv skis. So, as we noted in our First Look of the evolv 90, we expect the evolv 100 to be easy to bend into tighter turns, and we’ll see how well its softer section in front of the bindings holds up to aggressive skiing.

It’s also worth noting that the evolv 100’s flex pattern doesn’t feel like it has any noticeable hinge points, and it’s surprisingly snappy during a hand flex. (Many skis that are as soft as the evolv 100 in the shovel don’t have much “rebound” to their flex pattern in the softer sections.)

Weight

The evolv 100, like most of Liberty’s skis, falls around the middle of the pack when it comes to weight. It’s a bit lighter than many of the traditional metal-laminate skis in this class (e.g., Bonafide, Enforcer 100, and Mantra 102), but the difference isn’t huge.

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.

1629 & 1684 Elan Ripstick 96, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
1734 & 1750 Renoun Endurance 98, 184 cm (18/19)
1758 & 1774 Moment Commander 98, 178 cm (18/19)
1800 & 1824 Luke Koppa’s Romp Skis 100, 183 cm (18/19)
1807 & 1833 Fischer Ranger 98Ti, 180 cm (16/17–18/19)
1807 & 1840 Atomic Bent Chetler 100, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
1855 & 1877 Liberty evolv 90, 186 cm (19/20)
1863 & 1894 Blizzard Rustler 9, 180 cm (18/19–19/20)
1894 & 1980 Black Crows Daemon, 183.6 cm (17/18–19/20)
1896 & 1919 Dynastar Legend X96, 186 cm (18/19–19/20)
1921 & 1968 Head Kore 99, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
1925 & 1937 Liberty Helix 98, 186 cm (18/19–19/20)
1931 & 1932 DPS Foundation Cassiar 94, 185 cm (18/19–19/20)
1937 & 1945 Fischer Ranger 94 FR, 184 cm (19/20)
1947 & 2009 Liberty evolv 100, 179 cm (19/20)
1966 & 1973 Liberty Origin 96, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
1985 & 2006 Parlor Cardinal 100, 185 cm (16/17–18/19)
1994 & 2011 Fischer Ranger 99 Ti, 181 cm (19/20)
1998 & 2044 4FRNT MSP 99, 181 cm (17/18–18/19)
2007 & 2029 Armada Invictus 99 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
2024 & 2029 Salomon QST 99, 188 cm (16/17–17/18)
2049 & 2065 Volkl Mantra M5, 177 cm (18/19–19/20)
2050 & 2080 ON3P Wrenegade 96, 184 cm (18/19)
2053 & 2057 Atomic Vantage 97 Ti, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
2055 & 2080 Salomon QST 99, 181 cm (19/20)
2062 & 2063 Rossignol Experience 94 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
2085 & 2096 Dynastar Menace 98, 181 cm (19/20)
2101 & 2104 Fischer Ranger 102 FR, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
2114 & 2133 Nordica Enforcer 93, 185 cm (16/17–19/20)
2115 & 2149 J Skis Masterblaster, 181 cm (16/17–18/19)
2124 & 2137 Blizzard Bonafide, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
2131 & 2189 Nordica Enforcer 100, 185 cm (15/16–19/20)
2218 & 2244 Volkl Mantra 102, 184 cm (19/20)
2233 & 2255 Nordica Enforcer 104 Free, 186 cm (19/20)
2311 & 2342 K2 Mindbender 99Ti, 184 cm (19/20)

Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About

(1) The evolv 100 has less taper and rocker than many of the current ~100mm-wide skis on the market, so how well will it do in softer, deeper, and more variable off-piste conditions?

(2) The potential upside to the evolv 100’s shape and rocker profile seems like it could be above-average groomer performance, so will that be true?

(2) Will larger or more aggressive skiers find themselves overpowering the evolv 100’s softer shovels?

(3) On the flipside, should less experienced skiers consider the evolv 100 as an easier alternative to stiffer, heavier skis like the Volkl Mantra 102, Blizzard Bonafide, etc.?