Gear Review: 4FRNT Raven with Patented 4-Lock Technology

Designed by legendary freeskier Eric “Hoji” Hjorleifson, the Raven is created to maximize uphill efficiency while still providing full-charging capabilities on the ski down. The ski is ridiculously light and shreds hard. From gladed tree terrain to the high alpine, the Raven is the perfect balance of a lightweight ski with maximum stability.

The Raven is equipped with 4FRNT’s Reflect Tech rocker profile, allowing the tips of the ski to naturally rise to the surface of the snow, making breaking trail on the skin track and shredding powder or variable conditions easy. Lean the ski over on its edge and the sidecut geometry works in conjunction with the pre-bent rocker shape to carve turns on firm snow like a cambered ski. It’s the best of both worlds.

I was able to test these skis over the course of the past two months in the Utah backcountry and found that you don’t have to work hard to ski hard with these. They’re as light as a ski mountaineering ski and feel like nothing when strapped to your pack or slung over your shoulder. They are fairly stiff with a long turn radius giving you all the power you need to charge big, long, steep lines—and hard. There’s a reason that Hoji, one of the hardest charging backcountry skiers in the industry, skis the Raven.

4-Lock System 

Built with the innovative 4-Lock System, this collab with climbing skins company Pomoca features a shorter length version of the amazing Free Pro 2.0 skins that clip into what 4FRNT calls the “Hoji Hole,” a cutout 20 cm from the tail of the ski designed for fast transitions and eliminating tail clip failure for good. I love personally love this technology, and I hate that all my other touring setups don’t have it. Because of this hole in the back of the ski, the tail clips on my skins never come off—ever. I never have to worry about making sloppy kick turns or asking my touring partner to clip back on my skins because it’s literally impossible for them to fall off with this patented tech. It’s easily one of my favorite parts of the ski. Oh, and did I mention that 4FRNT included a pair of Pomoca climbing skins, machine-trimmed to the dimensions of the ski, with the purchase of the Raven with the 4-Lock tech? Yeah…

Because of its reverse camber profile, The Raven floats in powder and is my go-to backcountry powder set up, especially for longer missions. The lightweight aspect makes a huge difference without sacrificing much on the way down as the ski is fairly stiff. So long as it’s not pure crust or 20+ inches of new snow, these skis will always be my first choice. The other day, I took them down Little Pine Couloir in the Wasatch and skied Spring corn conditions and they did phenomenally well there, too. The skis feel pretty versatile given any conditions that aren’t purely terrible or insanely deep. I’ll be taking them on lots of big missions this Spring, no question about it.

Check out the Raven on 4frnt.com (MSRP: $699)

RAVEN GEOMETRY