What a remarkable and surprising treat of a ski. The 2024 Liberty Evolv 84 is a shining example of a front side ski with a wider bodied frame for some added versatility and leverage. The Evolv series has certainly turned a lot of skiers on to Liberty as a brand, especially skiers who wouldn’t normally think of them as capable of producing excellent carving skis. We saw this coming a few years ago with the addition of their V-Series of carving skis. They had the forethought to use somewhat unconventional materials like bamboo and polyurethane sidewalls and vertical metal struts for power. These methods created insanely smooth and quiet skis that could really hold an edge and carve a turn. Liberty was a company that was once known exclusively for twin tips and freeride skis, and now they’ve completely turned that notion around. The best part is that they still hold true to their roots, they just make more great skis.

Built with Liberty’s VMT 3.0 core, the skis have a very sophisticated construction. The use of bamboo, poplar, and paulownia adds a perfect blend of light weight, high energy, and excellent responsiveness to the mix. They then take three vertical metal stringers and run them vertically through the ski. In this manner, they use less overall metal than in a normal horizontal laminate format, but it’s in no way less effective. In fact, the vertical placement of the metal stringer boosts the stiffness and damping properties of the metal quite a bit, and by using less material overall. The dampness of the ski is furthered by the use of polyurethane sidewalls which are slightly softer than the more traditional ABS material. This makes the Evolv 84 more flexible and able to be carved at high edge angles even by more intermediate level skiers. At 1710 grams in the 179, it’s on the light side for a pure carver, but that just makes it more fun to be used in off-trail formats as well.

Thanks to a lack of rocker and taper, the 2024 Liberty Evolv 84 is a wonderful choice for skiers who spend most of their time on groomed terrain. It carves clean turns across the fall line and boasts a mid to long radius of 17.5-meters in the 179. The tail is pretty flat, and that makes for a long effective edge. The longer the edge is in contact with the snow, the smoother the personality of the ski. This opens up a lot of possibilities in terms of turn shape and style, but it’s mainly at home in the mid-range of speed and duration. The overall footprint of the ski is decidedly more front-side oriented than all-mountain, creating a fun and playful carver with a lighter weight and a silent feel. While there’s not a whole lot of rocker to speak of, especially in the tail, the small amount of tip rocker does assist with turn initiation and smoothness more than in flotation or playfulness.

Thanks to Liberty’s ability to zag and create a more front side oriented carver, they’re opening up their company and line to a whole host of new skiers. While some may feel like a more traditional front side ski is better for them, they should not overlook the Evolv 84, as it delivers an uncommon amount of smooth feel and silent nature. Intermediates and advanced skiers will be able to harness the power of the ski, and while it’s more demanding in an off-trail format, it’s still a fun-loving carver that can handle a lot of different things.