2023 Faction Dancer 1X

There’s a lot of room for good skis in the mid-80's underfoot range, and these can span from legit front side skis to pure all-mountain and freestyle boards. The Faction Dancer 1x kind of mixes them all together, and that’s great news for intermediate and advanced skiers who want the stability and dampness of a ski with two full sheets of metal in it that’s not overpowering at the same time. Skiers can certainly get outmatched by a ski with a lot of heavy metal to it, but since Faction uses very thin laminates, it doesn’t turn out to be so bad at all. In fact, the 162 cm length weighs in at 1550 grams per ski and produces a 14-meter turn radius. This is on the light and quick side of the spectrum for most any ski, and especially one with a full poplar core and two metal laminates. As a result, skiers are getting a lot of dampness and stability while keeping the ski maneuverable and agile. At 86 mm underfoot, you’re getting a lot of versatility as well, allowing you to keep this thing on-trail all the time, or set off on some off-piste adventures. Either way you look at it, the Faction Dancer 1x is a great option for that mid-range skier who is looking for something quiet, damp, and stable without losing the fun factor.

Allison Kozar was on the 162 and called it a great length for her. She gave the Dancer 1x top marks of 4 out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and flotation. Torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability all got 3’s, so we are seeing a nice spread of scores here for this lighter metallic ski. As a directional ski, it’s nice to see that it has a full poplar wood core, but Allison and her aggressive style seem to be looking for a little bit extra: “I Wish the core had more to it for fast speeds, but handled well going Mach 1000000 on Nosedive. A little chatter but not the worst.” Good thing, because that sounds really fast. Also on the 162, Kristy Brown notes that Faction is “Winning w the Pinkious graphics! Definitely will be a key selling point & highlight as girls & women will flock! Fun ski for the intermediate to play around on and not be over powdered. Dancer 1 Happy (Tiny Dancer 😉) Turns - it’s a Go Have Fun Girl Ski - everyone will be jelly ~ doughnut you know it. It def can be overpowered & does not perform if in backseat.” If you can’t tell by the language, Kristi has a few teenage girls in the house...

Kerry Douglas Pearce found the 162 to be perfect for her, and she scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for stability, playfulness, torsional stiffness, edge hold, versatility, and overall impression. Flotation, quickness, maneuverability, and forgiveness all got 4’s. Kerry states that her “favorite skis allow me to dance with the mountain and these lived right up to their namesake. Super stable, responsive and energetic; from firm to frozen granular conditions from the top of the run down to the corn snow at the bottom. These would also hold up well in fresh powder and their edge-to-edge capability would make them easy to maneuver in the bumps and trees. On top of their functionality, I'd be remiss not to mention their gorgeous pink ombre graphics.” That’s another vote for best dressed for sure.

It’s all about having fun out there on the hill, and a ski like the Faction Dancer 1x has a lot to do with that equation. If you can build a ski that’s light quick, stable, and yet still contains two sheets of metal, it’s certainly worth a look by intermediate through expert skiers. It can turn on a dime, but at the same time, it’s a whole lot of fun because it’s so quick and strong. There’s a good mix of attributes to be found in the 2023 Faction Dancer 1x.