2023 Faction Dancer 1

As one of the more directional and front sided skis in the Faction lineup, the Dancer 1 is a solid carver and a fun-loving ski that works well for intermediate through expert skiers who like some power and stability to their all-mountain and directional personalities. At 86 mm underfoot, the Dancer 1 is the narrowest, and most front-side oriented of the group, allowing skiers the quickness and agility of a slenderer ski to go along with the higher performance and all-mountain capabilities of an all-mountain ski. Built with a lightweight poplar wood core and two sheets of metal, the Dancer 1 has that upper-level build that works great for aggressive skiers who love the dampness and stability of titanal in their skis. Ideally suited for bumps, tight trees, and quick carves, the Faction Dancer 1 is ready for your all-mountain needs. In the 178, the skis produce an 18-meter turn radius and are pretty light at 1720 grams per ski. These are some middle-road numbers that help out a ton when intermediate and advanced skiers are trying to improve and progress with an all-mountain ski like this.

Benny Wax was on the 178, noting that it “felt longer than it should!” The long effective edge, especially in the tail, could have something to do with this impression for sure. He gave it 4’s out of 5 for flotation, stability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. On the other end, he gave a 2 for playfulness, and mid-range 3’s for quickness, maneuverability, forgiveness, versatility, and overall impression. Benny notes that the stiffness of the ski kind of stood out, stating that Faction “missed the boat on the playfulness factor. It’s a stable ski that wants to stay on the snow!” Good news for Faction skiers, though, the Dancer 1 is just one of many skis that they make, and there are a lot more playful Faction skis out there.

Michael Rooney found his 178 to be true to size, scoring it 5’s out of 5 for torsional stiffness, edge hold, stability, and flotation. Overall impression, versatility, quickness, and maneuverability all got 4’s while playfulness, like Benny, was a low score of 3. That’s a lot of 5’s for a ski, and we’re stoked that Michael had these nice impressions of the Dancer 1. He states that “The Dancer is an easy-going carving ski that is also happy being flat and sliding. Its stability is always there backing you up.” The stiffness of the ski certainly left an impression on both of our testers, and that’s great to see from a mid-80's all-mountain ski.

If you’re an intermediate to advanced skier looking for something mid-width to handle a wide variety of snow conditions and terrain, make sure to check out the Faction Dancer 1. It’s tough to know just yet if this is going to be an overlooked ski or not, but for the moment, it seems like it has a lot of stiffness and on-piste character for having an all-mountain personality, so for those who spend most of their time on groomed and smooth terrain, this ski is a fantastic option.