It’s fair, yet somehow still an understatement, to say that Candide is on top of the game right now. His latest edit with Audi has nearly 50 million views on facebook and today sees the limited edition launch of a 5th ski in his pro model series with Faction. The new ski is (somewhat unsurprisingly) called the Candide 5.0 and what makes this one special is it’s the actual ski the man himself rides day in day. For everything from hitting grass kickers, to riding on the great wall of china and bonkers lines around his hometown of Balme, this is what he's on. Every pair of the limited release, available direct and in select stores only, comes with a unique metal plate underfoot indicating its number out of 200. We’ve been lucky enough to spend a little time on the ski so here’s our two cents.

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CT 5.0 SPECS

152 / 122 / 140

25m Radius

1920g per Ski

8/10 Flex

Rocker/Flat Camber/Rocker (420mm nose rocker /400mm tail)

Balsa/Flax/Poplar woodcore

Based on the footprint of the first ski Faction and Candide developed together (previously the 4.0 before that was redeveloped into a slightly easier to manage ski), the new model boasts some tweaks to the construction that bring it right up-to-date. There’s a new balsa/flax core which is strengthened by poplar stringers, a smoother rocker profile and and an anti-chip micro cap topsheet. Yes, it might be the same footprint but it’s certainly an improved ski.

I’ve spent time on a few iterations of this shape and while, like the man itself, they rip, the 5.0 is also not for the faint hearted. With a 25m radius and stiff flex, this ski likes to go straight… fast. Yes, the Candide 5.0s are light, weighing in around 1900g per ski, but don’t let that fool you. At 122mm underfoot, over 150mm in the tips and with a stiff flex throughout, these skis are designed for charging hard. Like Sam Turner in his Roofbox Review of the old 4.0, I found them a bit difficult to handle when I first got on them. I don’t think I’d choose to ski them day to day because I’m much more of a low-speed jibby kind of guy. But once I got used to the long radius and solid flex, they provided a solid landing platform like nothing else I’ve skied (that I could also comfortably land switch on). I’ve never been more tempted to just gun it and send.

They carve really nicely for long turns and also pivot pretty happily thanks to the rocker/flat/rocker profile and relatively centered mounting point. What they don’t feel particularly comfortable for is shorter turns on edge and they can also be a bit of a handful at low speed in deeper snow. Here I had some issues forcing the ski around because I wasn’t really flexing it. Thanks to the low weight they are very manageable in the air, though, so you can still have a lot of fun on them and they definitely give you the support you need if landing a bit off-center.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdiL0IGDa5V/?hl=en&taken-by=candidethovex

Essentially they are designed for Candide, so they’d best suit someone who skis like him. Ok, so nobody skis quite like him but they’d suit someone who charges hard and still wants to do tricks. They’re an awesome ski but definitely a bit of a beast.

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The Candide 5.0 is out now. It’s available HERE, and in store only at select locations including Evo, Blue Tomato and Freeze Pro Shop.