Review: 2012-2013 Faction Thirteen - 194 Guest Review: Brady Newton Ski: 2012-2013 Faction Thirteen - 194cm Dimensions (mm): 135-112-132 Early Rise Tip, Flat Tail, Zero Camber, VERY STIFF FLEX Turn Radius: 46m Test Location: Snowbird Days Skied: 100+ How do I describe the best ski I've ever skied? Where do I start? ... Fast. That's where I'll start. If you like a no-speed-limit-turn-only-when-something-you-can't-stomp-gets-in-your-way ski, then read on. The recommended mounting point is as 828mm from the tail. As I tend to prefer, I mounted ~1 cm back at 819mm. Even though they have been my everyday ski for about a year, I still remember my first run. It wasn't love at first slide, but rather a nexus of what I wanted a ski to do and what the ski was capable of doing. The more I demanded, the more it performed. Coming off of the Dynastar XXL I thought it didn't get any better. I was wrong. Faction really nailed it when they built this ski. They built it for a resort like Snowbird, Jackson, or... well, Verbier. Somewhere you can really open it up and let the ski free, like it is in our dreams. One of the best features of the Thirteen is its ability, nay, its willingness to flick sideways at mach 7 and scrub speed to something more reasonable without even a hint of hooking up the tips. That being said, you have to work on them a bit in tight spots; tell them where to go in the trees rather than sitting back on your tails and following your tips. Not that it's difficult, just takes a little more effort. Carving leaves a little to be desired, but with a 46 m sidecut it is what it is. Tilt your ankles, bend your knees, and brace yourself against the slope like a Downhill racer. Feel the Gs. All you need is the space to do so and you'll be amazed at the stability and control. The edges are thick and burly. I even landed on/scraped a rock face and the edges held. If there's a kryptonite to this super-ski, it lies in its bases. Unfortunately, Faction lacks the Dynastar tough as nails, fast as hell base. So I spend a little more time waxing and caring for the bases than I did with my XXLs. (That being said, Faction used a new die-cut base on it's 2011 skis which reportedly have helped this weakness). Love the stiff straight tail (a rarity among skis nowadays) and burly thick edges. Bottom line: If you love the way skis used to be skied (without wheeling after every stomp) and want to feel like the Herminator when you're arcing turns at 70, whilst still being able to plane out in the pow and shuffle around in tight spots, then look no further. |
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