Faction Candide 5.0 2020 – 2021 | Review - Mpora

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Faction Candide 5.0 2020 – 2021 | Review

The Candide 5.0 is Candide’s go-to ski, and for good reason

Why we chose the Faction Candide 5.0: Playful, gutsy, French style 

Lengths (cm): 175, 183, 190
Sidecut (mm): 152 / 122 / 140
Radius: 25m (183 cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Flat-Rocker
Weight (per ski): 1900g
Price: £730

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Candide Thovex. Heard of the guy? You know, lazy threes, La Clusaz side hits and pond skims to heli-pickups. The man is one of the godfathers of freeskiing – and his Candide (CT) line from Verbier-based Faction Skis is certainly one of the most deserving ‘pro’ lines out there.

There was no way we could omit including this style master’s ski line in a skiing buyer’s guide. The CT 5.0 brings the original Candide 4.0 back to life, revived, updated, and raring to go.

Faction Candide 5.0 Build

So, how do you build a ski that can hold its own through sketchy straight lines yet remain playful and poppy when you fancy opening up the freestyle taps? Well, Faction has constructed the CT 5.0 from a hybrid core consisting of balsa, pachaco and poplar. This keeps this ski lightweight enough to spin without turning it into a soft noodle when you put the pedal down.

“These are the skis the man himself is said to reach for most days in La Clusaz”

The Candide 5.0 remains the stiffest in the Candide lineup of skis, which is understandable given that these are the skis the man himself is said to reach for most days in La Clusaz. This stiff flex throughout the ski, combined with the wide 122 mm waist width, means that you’re going to need to be a pretty capable pilot to steer these.

The construction is sandwiched together in a micro cap construction, which polishes this build up nicely and reaffirms the ski’s desire to remain playful. It also keeps things on the durable side, in case you’re partial to knocking into a tree or two.

 

Faction Candide 5.0 Shaping

In an effort to further boost the freestyle / chargeable credentials of the Candide 5.0, Faction has built the CT 5.0 with a directional twin tip. Slimmed down in places, there’s a really nice blend of stability when charging and playfulness when mixing it up here. Like we’ve said already, the spirit of Thovex is strong in this one. 

Being a Candide number, the mount point is, of course, pretty central. Faction have provided a ‘Candide Line’, and a slightly more setback all-mountain line. The Candide Line is just a few centimetres back from the true centre. Again, showcasing the soul of this ski as a charger that’s more than happy to have a little fun.

“This is the perfect weapon for those that love to mix their butter with their meat – just like the man Candide himself”

One more point about that Candide soul coursing through this thing. Faction have pressed deep rocker in both the tips and tails (it’s a twin, after all) into the CT 5.0. With a totally (0 mm camber) flat section underfoot, that’s said to improve manoeuvrability for “quick pivots and slashes”, we can confirm once and for all that this is most definitely Candide’s ski.

As if all the above hadn’t made it obvious enough, this is the perfect weapon for those that love to mix their butter with their meat – just like the man Candide himself. The Candide series has always been a Faction fan favourite, and we can see the 2020 – 2021 Candide 5.0 maintaining that state of affairs for the foreseeable. 

Faction has introduced a short (175 cm) length, compared to the single 183 length of previous iterations of the CT 5.0. We’d recommend this ski for strong advanced to intermediate shredders, looking for an extremely capable powder ski. If you’re caught in the backseat of this ski, those stiff tails aren’t going to play nicely. On the right feet, however, these skis will open up a playground of side-hit madness and, who knows, possibly the next One Of Those Days?

What Is The Candide 5.0 Good At?

Soft Snow: 7/10
Playfulness: 9/10
Chargeability: 8/10

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