Studio grom fs review

Overview

The Studio Grom FS is new for 26/27 and brings Faction's Studio park series down to junior sizes. Faction describes it as a premium twin tip for young freestyle skiers who are ready to progress, built with the same process as the adult skis. It comes in 136, 144 and 152 cm, measures 113-83-109 mm at 144 cm and weighs 1,550 g per ski at that length. On Faction's French storefront it costs €379 as a flat ski, without a binding. Its wider sibling, the Faction Studio grom fr, takes the same build in a freeride direction.

On-snow performance

Faction scores the FS 8/10 for park and freestyle, 8/10 for all-mountain and carving and 6/10 for freeride and powder, with a 6/10 flex. On paper that is a park ski that is meant to work on the whole mountain, not a soft noodle. The elliptical sidecut has a longer radius underfoot and shorter radii at the ends, so the ski should pivot easily for spins and butters yet still pull into a turn on the groomer. Faction's "Boat Flex" keeps the tips and tails stiffer and the middle a bit softer, which helps on landings and lets the ski load up for an ollie. The generous rocker and modest camber point to a catch-free, playful ride; the trade-off is that a young skier who mostly wants to carve hard on piste gets less grip than from a cambered junior piste ski.

Construction & specs explained

• Core: lightweight poplar with integrated paulownia, set between two layers of fiberglass.
• Base: sintered. Edges: 2.2 mm "XL" edges. Full-strength sidewalls and reinforced tip and tail caps.
• Stomp pad: carbon and rubber.
• Shape: directional twin; the tip is slightly wider than the tail, tip and tail height are the same for switch skiing.
• Sidecut: elliptical. Flex: Boat Flex, rated 6/10.
• Dimensions: 111-81-107 mm (136), 113-83-109 mm (144), 115-85-111 mm (152).
• Radius: 10 m (136), 12 m (144), 14 m (152).
• Weight per ski: 1,500 g (136), 1,550 g (144), 1,610 g (152).

Who it's for & comparisons

The FS suits teens and older kids of roughly 130 to 150+ cm who spend their days in the park and want a ski that keeps up when they follow friends around the rest of the resort. Faction's size guide puts a 145-150 cm skier on 136, 144 or 152 cm depending on how aggressively they ski. Within Faction, the Faction Prodigy jr is the step for younger and smaller kids (103-143 cm) and the Faction Studio 0 is the adult 83 mm park ski that the FS grows into. Against the Head Oblivion jr junior, which also sits around 80-82 mm and runs 131-161 cm, the Faction has the stiffer Studio flex and wider dimensions at each length. The Fischer Nightstick team (80 mm, 135-155 cm) is the lighter alternative for skiers who value low weight over a burlier build.

Pros, cons and verdict

Pros

• Adult Studio build in junior lengths, with full sidewalls and 2.2 mm edges.
• Elliptical sidecut and rocker make it easy to pivot and hard to catch an edge.
• Twin shape with equal tip and tail height for riding switch.
• Rated 8/10 for both park and all-mountain use.

Cons

• At 1,500-1,610 g per ski it is not a light junior ski.
• Only three lengths, from 136 to 152 cm.
• The 6/10 flex may be too firm for small or timid beginners.
• Rocker-heavy profile gives less piste grip than a cambered junior carver.

Verdict: The Studio Grom FS is a properly built junior park ski for kids who already ski confidently and want one twin tip for the park and the rest of the mountain. Lighter, softer skiers are better served by the Prodigy Grom range.