SEASON  2014-2015  UPDATE

As for this next 2014-2015 season, the Vist Super Front Four has been superseded by the new Vist R Rocker. You can find the Test / Review for this model here.

The Vist Super Front Four is a very special Race Carver. And that has always meant a GS ski adapted for civil use. A ski designed for long wide turns, high speed and beyond. The Vist Super Front Four complies with that essential premise in this category, but fortunately it does so along with some more things.

Vist Super Front Four – © Vist

If the Vist Super Front Two tested in 2011 revealed it could be fitted in this category, it also made clear that it was perfectly able to shorten the turn to minimal radius effortlessly while showing very noble reactions. Not a single extravagance such as unwanted bouncing, tip or tail tremors nor brutal launching after a hard push.

The Vist Super Front Four fits perfectly in between the gap left by the extinct Vist Super Front One (a brilliant, superb GS ski) and the Super Front Two. Being the former SF4 the more Giant Slalom-like ski inside the Vist’s 13-14 catalogue, it doesn’t have a bad behaviour in short turns, it performs quite good but a Super Front Two will do that better and it will feel easier. If we compare the SF4 with the SFOne (I own one in 180cm height), the Visr Super Front Four is easier in the short turns while being just 4cm shorter.

From my point of view, the Vist Super Front Four has a better compromise in all turn radius than the Super Front Two. You can ski faster with the 4 than you can with the 2. It’s flotation is better and its behaviour in the short turns is good too, easy and without fanfare. The Vist Super Front Four is a ski that won’t betray us in any way if we decide to step in to a bump line or irregular terrain. Rather the opposite.

Put in its playing field -long wide and fast turns-, it is a very stable ski that allows the skier to start the turn at will, and the same when exiting. It even forgives minor mistakes. The footprint feels solid under any circumstance, although we should remind its nature. Side-sliding this ski is also easy and possible at almost any time. For example, in the middle of a fast and powerful turn while changing direction, or if we decide to suddenly go back in time and practice some wedeln turns. These features score hight if we like the bumps or skiing on non-groomed terrain.

Testing the Vist SF4 – © SkiReviewer

I have skied several times with the brand’s distributor for Spain, a friend of mine since I took my skiing instructor courses. The day I tested the Vist Super Front Four we did it in an almost empty ski area on a Monday’s morning. We faced all kind of runs and one thing I will remember for a long time is how we skied on a quite steep and long “wall” (not as huge as those in the Alps but quite similar). We skied down at full speed, even though the snow was quite melted (it was late spring). In fact, it was so soft that there were some big rails engraved on the snow. The snow was at that point where, you know, half an hour later it will start to get dangerous. And I was very surprised of how the SF4 behaved. It moved along without a hassle, transmitting good stability and being well composed. It was an invitation to push harder and accelerate a bit more.

More than half an hour before, we had been skiing in the highest point of the mountain, an area facing north and well protected from the sun rays. The snow was still a bit hard and flat. In those conditions the sensation of being on rails was extraordinary.

Finally, the Vist Super Front Four, not being intended as a GS ski, can well be an excellent option for very experienced skiers, such as ski instructors or highly skilled skiers looking for something beyond the SL turns and explosive reactivity. The SF4 will be an excellent partner when skiing at full throtle, whatever the conditions may be. We will be able to shortten the turns as much as desired without exhausting ourselves unnecessarily, as well as to face complicated scenarios like bumps, irregular terrain or difficult snow conditions of quite deep powder. A tool that will help us with no extra efforts.

Technical Specifications

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