2025 Faction Studio 2 Ski Review

Faction skis have had to go through a lot lately. For years, they had one of the biggest aces up their sleeve with Candide Thovex lending his name, skills, and input to their signature line. When he went his own way, and started his ski company, Faction had to pivot an all-time pivot. At least until now, they’ve done so with grace and aplomb. By taking the old Candide shape and style, and putting their own spin on it, the pro model skis have undergone mainly image transitions, moving through Mana and into the structurally unchanged Studio. Currently, the ski Jeff has been on, the 2025 Faction Studio 2, is a very close replica of the Candide 2.0 from years ago, bringing forward the positive and symmetrical aspects of that ski and putting Faction’s own signature style to the mix.

By blending park and freestyle prowess with freeride versatility, the Faction Studio 2 brings a balanced attitude, allowing a cohesive feel that spans slopestyle runs with powder days. At 102 mm underfoot, these skis have the width and the shape to be creative, useful, and well-rounded in any type of off-piste and freeride realm while the more symmetrical shape and twin tip style fits seamlessly in any terrain park. Constructed with a light poplar wood core, carbon stringers that run lengthwise, a rubber/carbon stomp pad underfoot, thicker, full-strength sidewalls, and with thick XL edges, the Studio 2 can handle some serious and rugged use. Faction states a weight of 1800 grams per ski in the 178 cm length, the one Jeff’s been on, and with the balanced shape, it feels very even and consistent throughout in terms of flex and power.

Faction notes that the Studio has a Progressive Twin shape, with a slight difference in tip and tail shape. This allows for greater downhill performance. Bringing it back to park and freestyle worlds, the tip and tail height are the same, and on the lower side, providing smooth and predictable switch skiing characteristics. Featuring a decent amount of rocker but only a bit of camber keeps the ski smooth and shifty when you’re looking to be more playful on snow and in the park. The sidecut measurements of 131/102/127 create a 19-meter turn radius overall, but Faction does boast of their elliptical sidecut, allowing for multi-shaped turns and a more intuitive feel in the carving and on-piste realm.

At a Glance:

2025 Faction Studio 2 Skis

Thanks to Bob for taking us through the construction, shape, and overall design of the Studio 2. Jeff here taking over for the remainder of this article. Over the years, I’ve skied a good amount of Faction skis, including the Mana 2 that was the predecessor to this Studio 2. That said, I was very excited about spending more time on the Studio 2. We ski a lot of different skis in a single season. For every review, we spend a considerable amount of time on each ski, enough to form a solid understanding of what it can do. These longer-term reviews, however, provide a unique opportunity to really get to know a ski. I started skiing the Studio 2 way back in early December and since then I’ve logged a lot of runs on these super fun skis. I’ve coached on them, skied in the park, skied groomers, trees, powder, and basically anything you can think of. At this point, I think it’s time to share my experiences.

Starting with on-piste scenarios, the Studio 2 has surpassed my expectations quite significantly. There are definitely twin tips in this width range that I prefer on a groomer, but really there aren’t that many. The Nordica Unleashed 98 still feels, in my opinion, like the best carving twin tip on the market, but the Studio 2 isn’t actually that far behind. I have my pair mounted at the furthest forward line, which is labeled “Newschool” and is 3.5 cm back from true center. Considering the mount point and the fact that the ski only has a 4 mm difference between tip and tail width, groomer performance just didn’t seem to be at the forefront of the ski’s intention. And honestly, I think that’s true, but the resulting performance is pretty impressive. One thing that helps tremendously is the fact that the Studio 2 is quite stiff, especially for a twin tip. That helps it stay really composed at higher speeds and at higher edge angles. The other thing that helps a lot is Factions’ eliptical radius. The tip shape, although not particularly wide or bulbous, does a very good job initiating a turn. It’s not the most lively or the most dynamic ski on a groomer, but I think it’s fair to say it punches above its weight in a carving format.

Making shorter, more skidded turns on the Studio 2 is somewhat interesting. In certain snow conditions, it’s awesome. On firmer snow, with the mount point I chose, at times it can feel a little bit grabby behind you, but I really don’t think too many skiers are choosing the Studio 2 to make slower speed, short swing turns on the sides of the trail. If you’re not in the park, its preference is speed and power. Interestingly, as soon as you get it into softer snow conditions, it really comes alive making those same shorter turns. This is, quite possibly, the thing about it that has impressed me the most. At 102 mm underfoot, it’s wide, but it’s not the widest ski in the world by any means. Its performance in powder is jaw-droppingly good. Again, I’ve been skiing a 178 cm ski mounted 3.5 cm back from true center, not exactly what I would consider a powder ski length or mount point. One of my first days on the Studio 2was on a relatively heavy snow day in about 8-10 inches. The way it cut through that heavy snow left me pretty speechless in the moment. I was coaching on that day, and those were the skis I had with me. I expected to be pretty dissappointed, but the ski’s performance in deeper snow conditions drastically surpassed my expectations. An important note here, which rings true through the Studio 2 in just about every application, is it’s not particularly forgiving. Because of the stiffer flex, you really do have to be committed to what you’re doing, and that’s something that was immediately noticeable in deep snow. As long as you’re driving the ski and telling it where to go, rather than just going along for the ride, it’s great. In this light, however, I don’t think it would be a good choice for someone still developing their technique, especially in softer snow. A softer flexing ski would almost definitely be more helpful for skiers like that.

It’s a similar story in the park, in my opinion. The Studio 2 is an awesome, awesome park ski, but it’s not going to be a great choice for a beginner or intermediate in the park. Honestly, even the Prodigy line would be a bit better as those skis have a softer flex overall and a little more taper in the tips and tails. Both in soft snow and in the park, those elements provide a lot of forgiveness. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a really high level park ski on the wider side of the spectrum, it’s awesome, and there’s really not anything out there that’s better in this width range. There are other great options, of course. Just to name a few, Armada ARV 100, Elan Playmaker 101, K2 Reckoner 102, or even the new Rossignol Sender Free 100, these are all incredible skis. For me, as a 39 year old park skier, many of them work better for me in the park than the Studio 2 with their softer flex patterns and increased forgiveness. Still, I fully appreciate the performance and potential of the Studio 2. There are so many park skiers that are younger, stronger, and go bigger than me. That’s where this ski really shines. If you’re going massive, you want something on the wider side, and you want some versatility, it’s a no brainer.

Sometimes manufacturers have excellent descriptions of their skis. Surprisingly, that’s not always the case. Whether it’s a translation thing or just some amount of oversight, I often read descriptions straight from the brand and think, “what?” Faction, on the other hand, has an excellent description of the Studio collection that absolutely perfectly matches their performance. “Step into the Studio with creativity and performance. Premium twin-tip skis co-designed with our athletes that merge all-mountain speed with freestyle flair. Reinforced with carbon, they offer the perfect balance of power and play.” There are so many little tidbits in there that perfectly describe this ski. Creativity and performance, for starters. You can be incredibly creative on this ski, but it hits high performance metrics too. Premium twin tip also caught my eye. That’s not something many manufacturers hang their hat on. More often, twin tips are intended to be affordable and words like “premium” just aren’t used. It’s refreshing to see Faction really lean into the fact these are premium, extremely well-made skis. Then there are the two phrases of “all-mountain speed with freestyle flair” and “perfect balance of power and play.” Those really hit the nail on the head. Speed and power are important elements here. If you’re not skiing fast and you’re not a particularly aggressive skier, there may be, and honestly very likely are, better choices for you. If you’re a ripper and you need a ski that can support high speeds and aggressive skiing while promotion playfulness and creativity, this is one of the best I can think of in today’s market.

Is the Studio 2 for everyone? Certainly not. It’s not even for every park skier, or every ~100 mm twin tip skier. If anything, it carves out its own little mini niche in this world. There are SO many ~100 mm twin tips now. It’s a tremendous time to be a skier, at least if you’re a skier like me that loves 100 mm twin tips. With the vast amount of choices, it can be hard to pick what’s right for you or just hard to differentiate skis from each other. I think Faction does a nice job of that, however. The Studio 2 has an incredibly high performance ceiling and is an absolute weapon for a strong, powerful, and creative skier.

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