2027 Faction Dancer 89

With a lighter core and a lively feel the new 2027 Faction Dancer 89 is a great addition to the all-mountain lineup. We get all new Dancers for this year and the 89 is very well rounded and suits the needs of a variety of skiers and skier types. The edge grip, mobility, and ease of use are all right there, but then there’s a high end here too that makes sense for skiers who are being more aggressive and assertive on the hill. Whether you’re spending most of your time on groomers or in search of adventure, the Dancer 89 is a fun-loving and peppy ski that’ll be glad to take you there.

Built with a light poplar wood core, this ski doesn’t have a whole lot of surprises from an engineering standpoint. That said, it does use XL 2.5 mm edges which are thicker than average, leading to increased edge grip on firmer snow and ice. We see these thicker edges used a lot on park skis within Faction’s lineup but when added to Dancer, it increases durability and the amount of metal on snow, giving you more confidence on groomers and in carved turns. This is especially important since the skis don’t have metal laminates in its construction. Tester Emily Sampson notes that “This feels like a super versatile ski as it’s light weight and could be floaty on a deeper day but ready to hold on the ice. The non-metal version had a little more play and not as stiff torsionally. As an aggressive skier, I appreciated the TI version more but think this is a solid ski for anyone and loved the pink top sheet. Pretty versatile! I would have loved to try it on a more packed pow day because I think it really would have come alive. Can handle most conditions based on today.” With a weight of 1750 g/ski in the 179, it’s certainly light enough to handle high mobility and agility levels.

At 89 mm underfoot, there’s not a whole lot holding this ski back from all-mountain versatility. The skis use an 18-meter turn radius in the 179 but can easily go shorter or longer than that. We found that in the Ti version, longer was easier, but in this one, going shorter with skidded turns is more in this ski’s wheelhouse. There’s some rocker and taper here, but overall, it’s a fairly traditional shape for a ski in the ~90 mm range. Tester Ben Reilly states that “This is a really fun ski. I was impressed with the edge control even though there is no metal in the skis. It’s wicked fast edge to edge and really snappy. Groomers and moguls are probably where this ski is most at home. This was one of my favorite skis of the test. It just made all shapes of turns really well. And it’s so lively and snappy edge to edge that it makes skiing really fun!”

The variety of turn shapes and styles, combined with the lighter weight and high energy should make this a very well-rounded and respected ski for the advanced skier range. We do think that intermediates will find success here as well, and experts looking for more manageability with their all-mountain skis will also find a home here on the Faction Dancer 89.