We pretend that backcountry skiing in Colorado is all powder all the time. I’d be lying if I said my ski acquisitions over the last decade didn’t reflect that fantasy, too.

　　So when I scraped down a wind-scoured slope, thrashed through breakable crust, and gasped for air in a cloud of deep powder all within the span of one backcountry run, I was happy that my ski choice for the day — 4FRNT’s new Nevar ($799) — actually reflected the day-to-day reality of backcountry skiing.

　　The 2024/25 Nevars are special. They’re the sibling, or maybe a cousin, to a long line of fully reverse-cambered powder-romping skis that 4FRNT is known for. The twist is that they feature some traditional camber underfoot — gasp!

　　I love reverse-cambered skis in powder. But given that I’ve harbored some skepticism due to their lackluster hard snow performance, I was pretty eager to hit the skin track when the Nevars landed.

　　On paper, they tick a lot of my boxes for a quiver-of-one backcountry ski: light enough, wide enough, and stable enough. Its when I hit the snow that their modest dimensions and interesting shape really knocked my ski socks off.

　　In short: The innovative 4FRNT Nevar ski tinkerers have the soft snow DNA of its reverse-cambered siblings. But this ski employs a modest camber underfoot. That camber makes a world of difference when the powder snow disappears. The Nevars felt intuitive, fun, and versatile across snow conditions in the backcountry. I was having such a good time slicing through the fluffy stuff that I couldn’t help but ask myself, could these be the best quiver-of-one touring skis on the market?

　　4FRNT NEVAR check price at 4FRNT

　　Specifications Weight per ski: 1,820g (@ 184cm) Lengths: 170, 177, 184, 190cm Radius: 22m Dimensions: 130-104-120mm (@ 184cm) Core: Aspen and maple with carbon stringers Profile: Rocker-camber-rocker Pros Versatile across snow conditions Floaty and nimble in powder 4-Lock skin system is stellar Cons Heavy for dedicated touring skis Forward mount point requires adjustment for traditional skiers Bergen Tjossem 4FRNT Nevar Review 4FRNT and Eric “Hoji” Hjofliefsen put reverse-cambered skis on the map with their backcountry ski lineup. But the people have been asking for a cambered version with better hard snow performance. This season, 4FRNT delivered and launched the Nevar.

　　I’m no stranger to 4FRNT skis and lap after backcountry lap aboard the Nevars, that distinctive 4FRNT character shined through.

　　Ski Dimensions and Build

　　The Nevar’s aspen and maple core with carbon stringers provides a lively yet stable feel in the backcountry; (photo/Bergen Tjossem) 4FRNT doesn’t cut corners when it comes to stuffing wood into its skis. The Nevars are made from Canadian aspen and maple, and they arent shy about showing off that beautiful wood with a clear topsheet.

　　Maple is damp, stiff, and durable, and aspen brings skis to life with pop and liveliness — a true freeride pairing. That’s all topped with five carbon stringers that run from tip to tail to add some additional stability and pop.

　　Dimensions shift slightly with each size. But the 184cm length Nevars I’ve been ripping around on land at a modest 130-104-120mm. There’s nothing gigantic about the shape. They’re manageable underfoot and just wide enough in the tip and tail to help them float. The numbers suggest a backcountry all-rounder with a bend toward soft snow.

　　It’s the Nevar’s profile that’s most interesting. Its 4FRNT contemporaries — the ski lineup that includes the Raven, Hoji, and Renegade — are all reverse-cambered or shaped like the bottom of a boat. That makes them phenomenally fun in powder. But as I noted in my review of the Hoji, fully reverse-cambered skis come with a learning curve and can feel downright sketchy in hard snow.

　　So the boss, Eric “Hoji” Hjorliefson, did what we thought he wouldn’t. He took the Raven and flipped it, both in name and camber, and added a little bit of sidecut. The 184cm Nevar sports 140 cm of camber underfoot, a first for 4FRNT’s touring lineup.

　　Don’t get too fired up, though, reverse camber diehards. It’s a modest 3mm tall. It’s closer to a big flat section of ski rather than a big powerful camber that you’d find in a race ski for biting ice. That little bit of camber’s effect on the Nevar’s versatility is profound, though.

　　Weight and Setup

　　The Nevar weighs 1,820g per ski in the 184cm length, offering stability over lightweight touring skis; (photo/Bergen Tjossem) The Nevars, like the rest of the 4FRNT’s touring lineup, are no featherweights. Each ski clocks in at 1,820 g in the 184cm length. That’s on the heavy side of dedicated touring skis. But my experience with the Nevars was similar to the Hoji in that regard. That added heft keeps them from feeling squirrely with all that rocker under the tip and tail, even if I felt the weight on the skin track.

　　For reference, my light-but-powerful Fischer Transalp 98 CTIs weigh 1,500 g per ski in the 183cm length — more than a pound and a half lighter per pair. Those skis don’t need heft to feel powerful; their energetic camber bites like Austrian skis do.

　　I mitigated the weight by pairing the Nevars with lightweight Marker Alpinist 12 bindings sans brakes. Those are some of the lightest bindings on the market, with heel elasticity at 270g each. The pairing made a lot of sense for a pure backcountry setup. But folks heading inbounds might consider something beefier.

　　The freeride-oriented Nevars interestingly didn’t demand ultra-stiff boots to drive them, and that’s a big deal. I paired the Nevars with a bunch of differentboots, starting with the backcountry benchmark for light-but-stiff, the 1,369g Tecnica Zero G Pro Tour. The pairing worked well, especially at high speeds in chunky snow. If anything, those powerful boots were overkill.

　　I subbed in the slightly less powerful but better touring Scarpa Maestrale RS next. That pairing felt spot on. Those boots’ class-leading heel hold was in harmony with the Nevars ski-from-the-center attitude. I even managed to swap in the insanely light 1,141g La Sportiva Kilo, which worked surprisingly well, but I won’t pretend it was a perfect match for every snow condition I encountered.

　　The point is that the Nevars can match with a wide variety of touring boots depending on skier style, preference, and conditions. The option to swap in a super-light boot to drive a ski this beefy is unique.

　　Skiing the Nevars

　　The Nevar felt nimble and easy to pivot in soft snow, making turns effortless; (photo/Bergen Tjossem) It’s tough not to have an unreasonable amount of fun when the fluffy snow keeps piling up day after day. Spurts of that in Colorado this season had me landing at trailheads at the crack of dawn to harvest the untouched cold smoke until my legs burst into flames.

　　The powder prowess of its bigger siblings trickled down to the Nevars without a doubt. All that rocker keeps them afloat better than the widths would suggest. They are not like huge powder skis, mind you — they hover lower in the snow than dedicated chowder boards. But they aspire to the surface and ride high with a little bit of speed.

　　More so than floating on top, the big rocker front and back and relatively short effective edge keep them nimble in deep snow. They’re remarkably easy to pivot and smear. Changing directions with a flick of the heels felt effortless.

　　Soft, choppy snow in the more heavily traveled backcountry zones felt fun and easy aboard the Nevars. The poppiness derived from the core was most noticeable here. Flex, like their other dimension, was a balanced “medium” throughout. Like a playful freeride ski, they could bounce and jump between features and bumps with a quick yet stable character.

　　The tapered tips and tails helped them slice through mounds of heavier snow without deflecting all over the place like lighter skis do. When I pointed it straight, the Nevars were there with me. Being so willing to pivot, it was easy to dump speed with a quick sideways slash without the skis biting. They were confidence-inspiring in that way.

　　The Nevar inspired confidence with its ability to slice through choppy snow and maintain stability; (photo/Bergen Tjossem) Hard snow and ice are where the Nevars departed from their reverse-cambered brethren. That modest camber makes a big difference. Again, these skis don’t scream “CAMBER!” Its more like “camber” with an inside voice. Rather than sliding nervously around on the ice, they were able to bite and grip for a more controlled experience.

　　They weren’t exactly champing at the bit to rip big GS turns in hard snow with all that rocker, but there was at least a trustworthy edge to lean into. And with that full aspen and maple core, the torsional stiffness was rock solid. These skis don’t twist like some lightweight touring skis can.

　　The formulaic 22m turn radius is on the longer side for soft snow skis like these. That minimal sidecut prevented them from feeling twitchy when I pointed them straight or arced big, long turns. Many of my turns in the backcountry incorporated some kind of pivot or smear, depending on the snow and terrain.

　　In that arena, they thrived. You wouldn’t think it based on that 22m radius, but they can turn on a dime in variable and soft snow, which I deeply welcomed in the early part of the season when low-angled tree skiing was the safest option. They made mellow terrain fun.

　　Like any reverse- or nearly reverse-cambered ski, the Nevars required me to adjust my skiing stance backward toward the center of the skis. The relatively forward mount point may feel foreign to more traditional directional skiers. At first, I was leaning too far forward — my normal forward aggressive style — and kept getting that “over the bars” feeling.

　　And yeah, I did go fully over the bars once, and my friends laughed at me. We clicked when I started skiing these skis from the center. At that point, they felt intuitive and easy to ski, embodying most of the adjectives I want from a backcountry all-rounder: nimble, easy, stable, surfy, and versatile.

　　4-Lock Skin Attachment

　　The innovative tail design made it easy to lock skins in place and keep them there all day; (photo/Bergen Tjossem) The Nevar thankfully received the 4-Lock treatment that graces the Raven, Hoji, and Renegades. It’s an innovative skin attachment system utilizing a dime-sized hole in the tail of each ski. Instead of attaching to the end of the ski’s tail with a hook like most climbing skin systems, the tail of 4-Lock skins passes through the hole in the ski and locks in place using the 4-Lock block.

　　The system is super-effective. I have yet to drop a skin between two seasons on the Hoji and half a season on the NEVAR. It’s virtually impossible to kick the tail clip off while kick-turning or with a clumsy touring technique. Even when my skins got iced up after many transitions on a powder day, they stayed locked to the ski fore and aft, even if they slid around a little bit underfoot.

　　New for winter 24/25, 4FRNT is now offering a second skin option from Pomoca in the yellow Climb Pro 2.0, which is what I’ve been slapping on the Nevars this season. It’s a welcome addition to the lineup. The pink Free Pro 2.0 could be the best-performing touring skins on the market, but the almost pure mohair construction isn’t particularly durable.

　　The yellow Climb Pro 2.0 offers a grippier and more durable mixture of mohair and nylon. The tradeoff is that the formula doesn’t glide as frictionlessly as the pink version. This tradeoff will make sense to many skiers. Regardless, two options are better than one, and it’s hard to go wrong with POMOCA skins.

　　4FRNT Nevar Backcountry Ski: Conclusion

　　The Nevar handled varied snow conditions with ease, proving to be a versatile backcountry ski; (photo/Bergen Tjossem) 4FRNT’s reverse-cambered touring ski lineup enjoys a cult-like following. They’re also an acquired taste (a taste that I certainly acquired with the Hoji). With the Nevar, they broke out of that mold and delivered what some diehard fans have been asking for: a similarly flavored touring ski with a little more backbone on hard snow.

　　With just a hint of camber underfoot, the Nevars are exceptionally versatile across the snow spectrum yet, at their heart, soft snow crushers. When the storms didn’t line up, and I found myself lapping wind buff, ice, and breakable crust, they were dependable, lively, and just plain easy to ski. Frankly, they suit my skiing style and local day-to-day snow conditions better than reverse-cambered skis ever have.

　　I was having such a good time on the Nevars, regardless of snow conditions, that I couldn’t help but ask myself: are these the best all-around backcountry skis out there right now? I haven’t skied every all-around backcountry ski on the market, and there are a lot of them. Many of them are great. But still, the Nevars do what many skis can only aspire to. They float, pivot, and bite. There’s a lot to like here.

　　I have skis in my roof box that float better, are significantly lighter, and feel much more secure on steep ice. Yet, I keep reaching for the Nevars when the snow is trending toward soft or when I have no idea what to expect. So far, despite them being a tiny bit heavy for dedicated uphill boards, I have yet to regret bringing them into the backcountry over something else.

　　The new 4FRNT Nevars are excellent all-around backcountry skis, especially for skiers looking for one pair of touring skis to do it all — powder, corn, and junk snow alike. As for the 4Lock skin system, I was a convert before I even clicked into the Nevars. 4FRNT, can you punch holes in all my skis?

　　The Best All-Mountain Skis of 2025The right ski can make your day, and not every all-mountain ski is created equal. We hit the slopes and put them to the test from Vermont to Colorado to find the best options. Read more