22/23 4FRNT MSP 91

Charlie Schayer (6’3”, 190 lbs / 190 cm, 86 kg): Crested Butte has had a great start to the season, and the consistent snowfall and terrain openings have mostly kept the narrower skis safe and warm inside Blister HQ over the past few weeks. But recently the clouds finally broke and the conditions have firmed up, meaning we have perfect testing conditions for our narrower all-mountain skis. The 4FRNT MSP 91 is a ski that I have been eager to try. I have not (yet) had the pleasure of spending much time on 4FRNT skis but I know several very credible skiers who swear by the MSP 91’s wider siblings. A 91 mm underfoot, it’s a ski that is going to be spending a lot of time on groomed terrain. However, 4FRNT’s heritage has deep roots in building skis for the freeride community, and the MSP 91 still falls under their “all-mountain” designation. Given that, my curiosity surrounding this model was focused on what concessions 4FRNT would make in balancing on-piste and off-piste performance.

The MSP 91’s shovels and tails are relatively soft when flexing by hand, but on snow, I felt this translated to a ski with a very agreeable personality. It only took a few quick turns to feel acquainted with the MSP 91; this was the first indicator of the intuitive nature of this ski. I was a little concerned that the MSP 91’s softer flex pattern would compromise its stability and on-piste precision. Firm snow conditions and a bitterly cold Thursday morning kept the crowds away, and empty steep groomers were a perfect venue to test the MSP 91’s mettle. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this ski maintains a high level of composure when arcing long and deep carves on Crested Butte’s relatively vacant slopes. The construction of this ski does a very nice job of filtering out vibration and its rounded flex pattern makes it initiate and exit turns beautifully. Some of the groomed terrain was borderline icy and the MSP 91 demonstrated excellent edge hold.

Having established how the MSP 91 performs on groomers, I was gung-ho to test the ski’s off-piste performance. The cold cycle we experienced over the past week began to make the snow feel really abrasive, but I was hopeful that the light dusting we received would be enough to lubricate the top layer of grabby chalk. When I was able to find undisturbed new snow, the MSP 91 was responsive in steep and tight terrain. This ski allows for an impressive amount of finesse; it can creatively change turn shape and size to meet the flow of the terrain. The MSP 91 is a quick ski that is going to be particularly rewarding to a dynamic skier. However, if the snow had been skied through, the exposed layer felt like skiing on sandpaper, which was distorting my impressions of the ski.

In order to make the most of testing (or maybe in an effort to get warm) I ended up chasing the sun, looking for a mix of bumps and groomers. The MSP 91’s quick and lively nature makes it a really fun bump ski and I found its softer flex (for a metal-laminate, directional ski in this class) to be forgiving when the bump line became illogical. This ski really shines when transitioning between groomers and bumps; mixing up terrain really showcases the borderline playful nature and versatility of this ski. It’s worth noting that the 181 cm length we have is shorter than what I would prefer to ski but I found that the MSP 91 felt longer than expected. At no point did I really ever encounter a moment when I felt like I needed a longer ski. I really look forward to spending more time skiing the MSP 91 as the conditions soften up, and we’ll have more reviewers chiming in, too.

Luke Koppa (5’8”, 155 lbs / 173 cm, 70 kg): I’ve also now spent a day on the MSP 91, and I agree with much of what Charlie said above. It’s a really intuitive, predictable, and versatile carver, but it has the potential to work well off piste for certain people, too.

I don’t have much to add other than that I didn’t find the ski to feel quite as forgiving in tight, awkward bump lines as Charlie did. I wouldn’t call it punishing, but the tail of the MSP 91 felt like it occasionally hooked up more than I wanted, which meant I had to ski it with more precision, forethought, and finesse than I might on, say, a pretty rockered, ~100mm-wide all-mountain ski (including the MSP 99). The more you prefer a precise ski over a very loose one, the more I think you’ll get along with it off piste. And I think a whole bunch of people will get along with it on groomed slopes — it’s pretty easy to bend and get arcing across the fall line, but I also rarely found myself thinking it was getting sketchy at speed or like I was overwhelming the front of the ski.