For fans of twin tips in the upper 90’s (like us), the 2024 Faction Prodigy 2 makes a whole lot of sense. For years, we’ve been touting the benefits of skis like this not only for park and freestyle performance, but also for all-mountain versatility. While 98 can still be considered wide, especially in the park world, for accomplished freeride skiers, this is the ultimate shape when it comes to well-rounded and fun-loving versatility. Faction, as a company, is easily recognized for its commitment to freestyle and park skiing. The Prodigy 2 is one of the skis that has helped Faction along the way, and since it returns unchanged but for graphics in 2024, we’re looking ahead to a new crop of freestyle and creative skiers who love to mix it up between the park, powder, trees, bumps, and natural hits.

It's simplistic to think that a ski with just a poplar wood core is basic construction, and while you can certainly argue that this ski is on the easier side of the spectrum in terms of build specs, it’s the little things that make the Prodigy 2 stand out. Firstly, poplar is a great wood for a ski core. It’s light, energetic, and stable. The durability is great and the rebound doesn’t back down over time. By adding a full-strength sidewall to the mix, we get added toughness by Faction’s implementation of a protective layer that falls between the inside of the sidewall and the outside of the core. This insulates the core from damage and keeps the ski stronger and stiffer in a longitudinal format. The topsheet gets a bit of a boost as well, with their anti-chip micro-cap build. This durable cap extends over the sidewalls just a little in order to mitigate chipping and peeling of the topsheet laminate. Whenever any material is curved or offered in a 3-dimensional shape, it boosts stiffness in the ski. In the end, the 183 sits on the scale at 1860 grams, which is pretty light for how rugged the ski feels and for how durable it is.

To reiterate, we’ve loved the 98 mm twin tip for a while now. Whenever a company comes out with a wider ski like this, we’re dying to get on it. The Prodigy 2 is one of those skis that’s simply easy to ski, has a wide range of versatility, and allows for both creative and progressive skiing in a variety of conditions and terrain. The 183 produces a 20-meter turn radius, and the 98 mm waist is bookended by 127 mm tips and 119 mm tails. This is an even drop in taper and a well-rounded radius that stands up to a bunch of different things. It won’t yank you into the turn, but it doesn’t just go straight. The combination of the arc of the turn and the twin tip shape make the Prodigy 2 a wonderful ski for slashy, smeary, and surfy turns while keeping the on-trail performance squarely in mind.

The versatility of this ski, especially from a freestyle standpoint, certainly sticks out. There’s a lot of real-world applications here, and many skiers will benefit from the blend of on and off-trail performance. With a wide range of sizes, spanning from 159 to 189, there’s a big audience here, and the fact that it’s a fun-loving and easy to use ski is all the better, giving more of a potential for success in the ski choice realm.