2020-2021 Faction Candide 5.0

Ski: 2020-2021 Faction Candide 5.0, 183 cm

Available Lengths: 183, 190 cm

Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length: 180.7 cm

Stated Weight per Ski: 1920 grams

Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2081 & 2115 grams

Stated Dimensions: 152-122-140 mm

Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 152.7-122.3-140.8 mm

Stated Sidecut Radius (183 cm): 25 meters

Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 66 mm / 59 mm

Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: 0 mm

Core: Balsa/Poplar/Pachaco + Fiberglass Laminate

Base: Sintered

Factory Recommended Mount Points:

  • “Candide” Line: -4.35 cm from center; 83.0 cm from tail
  • “All-Mountain” Line: -7.35 cm from center; 86.0 cm from tail
[Note: Our review was conducted on the 19/20 Candide 5.0, which was not changed for 20/21, apart from graphics.]
Luke Koppa reviews the Faction Candide 5.0 for Blister
Faction Candide 5.0, 19/20 Graphic
Review Navigation:  Specs //  First Look //  Bottom Line //  Rocker Pics

Intro

If you’ve watched any of Candide Thovex’s absurdly entertaining and impressive edits over the past ~5 years, there’s a very good chance he was on some iteration of the ski we’re talking about today.

Originally released as the Candide 4.0 back in 2013, the 122mm-wide ski in Faction’s freestyle lineup returned as the Candide 5.0 for the 18/19 season, and gets some tweaks for 19/20.

Given the ridiculous things Candide does on this ski, let’s take a closer look to see what makes it so special.

What Faction says about the Candide 5.0

“The CT 5.0 brings the original Candide 4.0 back to life, revived and updated. As a playful, poppy, and easy to pivot as the first legendary ski we developed with Candide, with an updated core, rocker curves and construction to polish up the ride and add extra durability.”

Faction’s description of the new CT 5.0 isn’t super long, and they’re choosing to emphasize the CT 5.0’s playfulness over other traits. But their talk of the updates to the ski warrants a bit more explanation:

Differences: 13/14 Candide 4.0 vs. 18/19 Candide 5.0 vs. 19/20 Candide 5.0

The shape of this ski hasn’t changed since it was released in 2013 — all three iterations of the ski have stated dimensions of 152-122-140 mm.

The rocker profile of the ski has also stayed pretty similar, with all generations having a reverse-camber profile. But when they brought back the ski as the CT 5.0 for 18/19, Faction reportedly made the tip and tail rocker lines about a 10 cm deeper. The 19/20 CT 5.0 shares the same rocker profile as the 18/19 version.

The main update for 19/20 is the switch from a balsa /poplar / flax core to a balsa / pachaco / poplar core. As we mentioned in our First Look of the 19/20 CT 4.0, the addition of the pachaco hardwood to the cores of the 19/20 CT 4.0 and CT 5.0 is designed to increase durability and stability without adding too much weight. The last noteworthy update for the 19/20 Candide 5.0 is that it will be available in a 190 cm length, while the 18/19 CT 5.0 was only available in Candide’s personal size of 183 cm.

Shape / Rocker Profile

Looking at the Candide 5.0’s shape, it’s not hard to believe that it hasn’t really been changed for around six years. And actually, the original 122mm-wide CT 4.0 was based on the shape of the Faction Royale, which was released almost a decade ago.

Unlike most modern skis that are this wide, the CT 5.0 has almost no tip and tail taper. The Rossignol Black Ops 118 is one of the only other current freestyle pow skis I can think of that comes close to the CT 5.0 in terms of how little taper it has. Essentially, the CT 5.0 looks like a really fat park ski.

While it hasn’t changed much since the original release of the Royal, the CT 5.0’s rocker profile is still less traditional than its shape. It features deep tip and tail rocker lines and a flat section underfoot, rather than having any camber. Looking at the CT 5.0’s rocker profile, Faction’s claims about it being easy to pivot seem reasonable.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Candide 5.0:

Tips: 7
Shovels: 7-8
In Front of Toe Piece: 8.5-9.5
Underfoot: 9.5
Behind the Heel Piece: 9.5-9
Tails: 8-7.5

Given how Candide skis, it’s not particularly surprising that his signature ski is quite strong. Compared to the 19/20 Candide 4.0, the Candide 5.0 is notably stiffer in the tips and tails and behind the heel piece (and the CT 4.0 is still a pretty strong ski by freestyle-pow-ski standards).

While the CT 5.0 isn’t quite as stiff as the Prior CBC in its tips and tails, the CT 5.0 is stiffer than most other skis that fall into the playful pow ski category. We have little reason to think that the CT 5.0 will feel like some jibby noodle.

Mount Point

Our pair of the CT 5.0 has two recommended mount points: a “Candide” line that’s around -4.3 cm from center and an “All-Mountain” line that’s around -7.3 cm from center.

The CT 5.0’s “Candide” line is in line with other freestyle-oriented skis like the ON3P Kartel 116, Prior CBC, Volkl Revolt 121, and Line Outline. The CT 5.0’s “All-Mountain” line is more in line with more directional skis like the Liberty Origin Pro, Icelantic Nomad 115, and Dynastar Proto.

We’ll be skiing the CT 5.0 at both mount points to see how it responds.

Weight

Like the other skis in Faction’s Candide series, the Candide 5.0 is pretty light for its size. The 183 cm CT 5.0 comes in at around 2100 grams per ski which, considering that it’s 122 mm wide, is quite light.

For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples-to-apples.

1710 & 1744 Atomic Bent Chetler 120, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
1808 & 1809 Line Pescado, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
1910 & 1941 Scott Scrapper 115, 189 cm (17/18–19/20)
1931 & 1959 Volkl BMT 122, 186 cm (17/18–18/19)
2013 & 2099 Moment Wildcat / Blister Pro, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
2019 & 2051 K2 Mindbender 116C, 186 cm (19/20)
2024 & 2031 Line Outline, 186 cm (19/20)
2034 & 2052 Blizzard Rustler 11, 188 cm (17/18–19/20)
2043 & 2046 4FRNT Inthayne, 188 cm (18/19-19/20)
2081 & 2115 Faction Candide 5.0, 183 cm (19/20)
2102 & 2137 Line Sick Day 114, 190 cm (17/18–19/20)
2126 & 2173 Rossignol Super 7 RD, 190 cm (17/18–19/20)
2130 & 2213 Faction Candide 4.0, 188 cm (19/20)
2133 & 2133 Salomon QST 118, 192 cm (17/18–18/19)
2174 & 2187 Moment Wildcat / Blister Pro, 190 cm (18/19–19/20)
2183 & 2190 Black Crows Anima, 188.4 cm (17/18–19/20)
2196 & 2199 Icelantic Nomad 115, 191 cm (17/18–18/19)
2220 & 2252 Faction Prodigy 4.0, 186 cm (17/18–19/20)
2212 & 2215 Armada ARV 116 JJ, 185 cm (17/18–19/20)
2222 & 2278 Prior CBC, 184 cm (17/18–19/20)
2228 & 2231 Blizzard Spur, 192 cm (17/18–19/20)
2230 & 2250 Black Diamond Boundary Pro 115, 185 cm (17/18–19/20)
2240 & 2250 Volkl Revolt 121, 184 cm (19/20)
2246 & 2265 Fischer Ranger 115 FR, 188 cm (17/18–18/19)
2262 & 2236 J Skis Friend, 183 cm (18/19)
2267 & 2270 Whitedot Ragnarok 118, 190 cm (16/17–18/19)
2296 & 2309 Liberty Origin Pro, 192 cm (17/18–19/20)
2297 & 2317 K2 Catamaran, 184 cm (17/18–19/20)
2341 & 2357 Dynastar PR-OTO Factory, 189 cm (18/19–19/20)
2343 & 2360 J Skis Friend, 189 cm (18/19)
2346 & 2351 Nordica Enforcer Pro, 191 cm (17/18–19/20)
2382 & 2395 ON3P Billy Goat, 184 cm (17/18–19/20)
2408 & 2421 ON3P Kartel 116, 186 cm (17/18–19/20)
2429 & 2437 Kingswood SMB, 188 cm (16/17–18/19)
2438 & 2480 DPS Foundation Koala 119, 189 cm (19/20)
2438 & 2492 Rossignol Black Ops 118, 186 cm (16/17–19/20)
2490 & 2529 K2 Catamaran, 191 cm (17/18–19/20)

Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About

(1) The Candide 5.0 has an interesting combination of a nearly symmetrical shape and rocker profile and a very strong flex pattern. So will it feel more like an ultra-playful freestyle ski, a stable big-mountain ski, or something in between?

(2) The CT 5.0’s shape looks like it’ll offer a lot of effective edge, but its reverse-camber profile suggests otherwise. So how loose and surfy vs. locked-in and strong on edge will the Candide 5.0 feel? Could it offer the best of both worlds?

(3) The wider skis in Faction’s Candide lineup are all pretty light, and the CT 5.0 is no exception. So how will it perform when conditions aren’t very deep, and instead are firm, rough, and challenging?

(4) Given its two recommended mount points, should the CT 5.0 only be considered by freestyle-oriented skiers like Candide himself, or will directional skiers also like it?

Bottom Line (For Now)

Candide Thovex hasn’t changed his style all that much over the years — at 36 years old, he’s somehow still skiing harder and better than just about anyone else out there. Like the man behind the ski, the Faction Candide 5.0 hasn’t changed all that much, either. So, what about this ski makes it worth keeping around? We’ll be getting it on snow as soon as we can to find out. Oh, and might as well throw in another video of Candide because, well … just because.

Flash Review

Blister Members can now check out our Flash Review of the Candide 5.0 for our initial impressions. Become a Blister member now to check out this and all of our Flash Reviews, plus get exclusive deals and discounts on skis, and personalized gear recommendations from us.

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2020-2021 Faction Candide 5.0, BLISTER
2020-2021 Faction Candide 5.0, BLISTER

13 comments on “2020-2021 Faction Candide 5.0”

  1. Strangely it has nearly identical dimensions, shape, radius, and rocker profile to the original K2 Hellbent (150-122-141) from around ’08. I’m assuming it’s stiffer and lighter though which makes it sound also very much like a ski which I own and love, the Surface Balance (151-122-151, originally called New Life). Would love to hear any comparisons to the 5.0 if you’ve happened to be on either of those. Thanks!

  2. “Compared to the 19/20 Candide 4.0, the Candide 5.0 is significantly stiffer throughout”, however, the flex pattern numbers don’t quite seem to convey this (“significantly… throughout”). Sure, there seems to be easily noticeable difference both in the tips and the tails, and a little bit of difference in the shovels and behind the heel piece, but… the rest seems to flex the same (as told by the numbers).

    Could you perhaps elaborate a little?

    • Fair question — the most noticeable differences between the two skis are outside of the bindings. Between the bindings, most skis feel pretty similar when hand-flexing them, so it’s often difficult to notice differences around that area. I’ve just updated the wording to be more specific.

  3. Did you guys get a chance to see the 190 cm version? I ask because one of my old fat pow skis is the Royale, and in the 190 cm length , it has a flatter tail and is more directional than the shorter lengths. It was the best pow stick I’ve ever owned until I bought my DPS Lotus 124 Alc. I still have the Royales and I keep them for days when I do a lot of tree skiing with junk snow.

  4. We haven’t skied the 190 yet, but we’re hoping to get a pair during the coming season. As far as we know, the 190 CT 5.0 is the same as the 183 in terms of construction (we’ve been told it has the same rocker profile and is not a more directional version), but hopefully we can get on a pair to talk about on-snow performance. We’ll update this post if we’re able to get the 190.

  5. I just bought a pair of these and my set seem to have quite a bit of camber underfoot… is there any way I can know for sure? I even put a level on the base of each ski and it looks like there is camber. I’ve never owned a pair of reverse camber or flat skis so I don’t know if I’m seeing it correctly or what?

    • It would be a bit odd if there was several mm of camber underfoot, but if it’s only a mm or two on each ski, there’s a good chance the ski will “flatten out” after skiing it for a little bit.

  6. Greetings, did you get a chance to see the 190 cm length? I ask because I wonder if it is more directional with a flatter tail than the 183cm size.
    The old Royale had this feature and was substantially stiffer in the tail than the shorter 183cm. Cheers.
    DHJ

    • I have seen a pair of the 190 and it looked basically identical to the 183 — still a fully twinned tail, and I haven’t heard anything about the CT 5.0 being notably different between lengths.

  7. Hi. Have you guys skied the latest versions of the Prodigy 2.0 or Candide 2.0? How do they compare to each other? Cheers Nick.

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