Curated Skiing Expert Hayden Wright got his hands on the 2024 Faction Prodigy 2 this spring. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every skier is different; if you have any questions about the Prodigy 2 or need recommendations on which ski would be best for you, reach out to a Skiing Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Faction claim about this ski? Faction claims that this is their all mountain shred tool. It doesn't matter where you're at on the mountain, Faction designs the Prodigy 2 to have your back.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of the ski? My overall impression was that it is spot on with what Faction is claiming. We had these in the park, in the trees, and a little bit of pow; and they were a true pleasure to ride. The full poplar core on the Prodigy 2s is different from the Prodigy 1s, but it still provides a pretty similar ride flex, at least in my opinion. Faction claims that it’s about a 6 out of 10 for the manufacturer’s flex. It was pretty much right in the middle for what I prefer.

How does the shape of the ski affect the way it rides? The Prodigy 2, slightly wider than the Prodigy 1 and skinnier than the Prodigy 3, comes in at 98mm in the waist. You're going to have some early rise, plenty of camber underfoot, and then some early rise in the tail. This is really going to help this 98mm waist ski float in a little bit of powder.

Carving

How does the ski turn? Carving on the Faction Prodigy 2 is super easy. We’re still under 100mm underfoot here, so getting them from edge to edge wasn't too hard.

What about dampness? Any chatter in the skis? We skied them mainly on soft tracked power and a little bit of corduroy groomer. I didn't really experience too much chatter. If you were skiing on pure ice and you were a little bit heavier than me, you may see a little bit of chatter. But again, we didn't notice any chatter skiing in testing.

Freestyle

How is it for freestyle skiing? In regards to freestyle for the Faction Prodigy 2, they have a good amount of camber underfoot, so the pop was definitely there. They weren't the most soft, playful skis we've tested, but they're definitely not racer skis that other companies are designing.

Is it good for skiing switch? As far as skiing switch, the skis have a twin tip with an early rise in the tail. So skiing switch is a breeze. These things ski backwards just about as well as they ski forwards.

How is the ski with jumps? They were a breeze spinning, and we did some flips. They have a real low swing weight for all the park skiers out there.

Freeride

How is it for freeride skiing? So as far as freeride goes, we actually had one of the perfect days to test these skis because it was a little bit of a POW day, and then towards the end of the day, it became tracked. These did amazing. The Faction Prodigy 2s were great freeriding all over the resort.

How is it in powder? These were great in the fresh stuff, and in the pockets we found in the trees.

How is it in uneven terrain and chunder? They absolutely crushed it in the tracked pow that we rode. These skis also ski really well in moguls due to the early rise in the tail they release from turns with zero effort.

How is it skiing in the trees? How is its maneuverability? These were great in the fresh stuff in the pockets we found in the trees. I think it has a lot to do with the early rise and the shovel width paired with that 98mm underfoot. A lot of other skis are just really wide underfoot and they don't have as much early rise in the tip. So instead of floating on top of the powder, they’re kind of just bashing through it.

What terrain is this ski good for? The Faction Prodigy 2s absolutely crushed it in the POW and tracked POW that we rode. That being said, it was only about a 6 to 8 inch POW Day. Anything more you want to go up to the Faction Prodigy 3s.

What terrain should skiers avoid with it? Where these skis wouldn’t shine is if you're just skiing on the groomers and you're not exploring off trail, in the trees, or maybe you're in the Midwest and you don't get as many of those powder days. The Prodigy 2s aren't going to be bad; they're just not going to be the best ski for you.

If you could pack these skis for anywhere in the world, where would you take them?

If I was only bringing one ski on a trip, these would cover a lot of places: If you're skiing in Alaska, if you're skiing in Colorado, Utah, maybe even in Canada. Again, the Prodigy 2 is a super versatile ski.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend these skis to? The Prodigy 2s I think cater to a lot of different skiers. If you are a freestyle freerider, then 100% consider the Faction Prodigy 2. Let's say if you're more of a groomer guy or gal and you want to maybe start experiencing a little bit of hang time, getting in the air, hitting those jumps, the Faction Prodigy 2s would get you there.

Who should avoid these skis, there are better options out there for them? If you're a beginner skier or you're only staying on the groomed trails, there are just other better skis out there for you. I know they have a cool graphic, but there’s just other better skis out there.

Skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you are wondering whether the Prodigy 2 is the right ski for you, chat with Hayden or any other Skiing Experts here on Curated, and they’ll put together free, personalized ski recommendations on the best skis for your needs.