Faction Skis CT 1.0 2022 Review

Specs and Tech

The first thing I think any of us do when we pick up a set of Faction CT 1.0 is hand flex them to test the poppiness and assess the difference in flex across the ski. The 1.0s are stupidly stiff in hand, they take some serious force to get them bending at all. But this means they rebound like crazy! These skis are full sidecut and nearly full camber except for a tiny bit of early rise in the tip and tail. Full sidewall, a Titinal plate underfoot and rubber in the tips and tails combined with the uber stiff in-hand flex make these skis feel very solid, durable and able to charge.

At 92mm underfoot these skis sit just below my preferred width of a park ski (around 95-105mm) although their big brother, the 2.0, has that covered. This ski is not quite a true twin, with a 2mm difference in tip and tail and recommended mounting at the narrowest part of the sidecut. I felt these fit the bill of a specialised park ski with the waist width, flex and camber profile and would have liked to see them stay fully symmetrical myself.

On-snow and park review

I found the ski responsive, fast edge to edge and an absolute joy to carve on. While the 18m radius is not tight by any measure I found them more than capable of sharp fast turns. These skis charged through everything I put in front of them and I was up a few notches on the speed gun compared with days I spent on my softer, more rockered ARV 96s (17/18 model), which I find to be much less stable at higher speeds. The rubber in the tip and tails acts to dampen that chattery effect you experience at higher speeds on harder, cruddier snow and I must say in my experience this did the job. These skis go FAST. The Candides also blew me away with their ability to jib and pop around the mountain which I had not anticipated. I was not expecting much playfulness from such a stiff ski, but they do offer some. They felt light around the hill with a minimal swing weight which made small spins and shiftys while ripping around a joy

I found these skis very balanced on rails and the narrow width underfoot made them easy to lock into slides. The Candides performed well spinning, having a light swingweight and a snappy feel. I found spins on and off rails came around with relative ease. I did find, however, that the ski did feel 'heavy' on my feet when getting onto higher rails and when the speed on the glacier had slowed, probably due to the stiffness.
One of the main positive point, is that the skis excel due to the stability. For those who like to ride fast and go big, these sticks are unlikely to let you down.

Durability

As someone who doesn’t crack many edges, because I detune pretty heavily, I feel it doesn’t do much to say that in 10 days of riding the edges were intact. It’s definitely not as much a sign of good durability as cracking an edge in 10 days would be of bad durability. That said, I like big disasters and transfers onto rails; and rails is where these skis spent most of their days. In this time the edges held up well. Most of what I saw in terms of damage to the ski was cosmetic; top sheet beginning to peel off where it meets the sidewall on the back of one ski. I filled this with some Araldite to prevent it worsening, and carried on with little further issues.

Base

Click here to read our full review of the 2022 Faction CT 1.0 | The Roofbox Reviews

The 2022 Faction CT 1.0 is a true grade A freestyle tool. It features the Candide Thovex Signature Shape, adapted proportionally for a near-symmetrical build. The mounting point is at the narrowest part of the ski, providing intuitive pivoting. The Signature Flex emphasizes stiffer tips, helping the ski to blast through crud and stomp landings, without sacrificing the ability to butter and smear. We’ve also added Titanal and rubber for a bomber construction that will stand up to hard hit after hard hit. As a cherry on top, our newschool design expertise is now complemented by one of the oldest factories in the business, delivering a robust build with the smoothest finish you’ve ever tasted.