For light/progressive touring, turning the entire mountain into a park, and making every outing fun. While keeping the weight to a minimum
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Buyer’s Guide reviews
The charts show our impressions from testing
Product info
Category average
In words
Intro
Take a soft flex and lightweight construction, use plenty of paulownia and carbon laminate, add in a generous rocker, and you get this fun, progressive ski from Verbier's Faction skis. Weighing in at 200 g less than the Agent, Faction's hallmark touring ski, it's designed for fast & light fun. The La Machine series also includes models measuring 88, 99, 109, 117 and 126 mm underfoot. Even though the weight played a big factor in the performance of the ski, the true novelty of this model is its shape. With three different mount points, it’s all about freestyle attitude. The widest in the light category, we were able to use it in places where other models would have fallen short.
On the snow
This ski turns the mountain into your own personal playground. Its progressive, forward mount point, early-rise tip and rockered tail make it a fun, versatile ski. It easily enters and exits turns, isn't fazed by hard terrain, slithers like an eel between moguls, has plenty of pop and floats over powder regardless of how tracked out it is. Faction markets it as a soft ski, but it's actually nicely firm where necessary, and soft where it counts. And it's also light, the kind of light that doesn't compromise downhill performance, it actively enhances it; it isn't excessively twitchy, but doesn't lack responsiveness, you just need to know how to find it. What's it for? Classic touring, including clocking up vertical, but for young/progressive skiers with a devil-may-care style and attitude, and more demanding ones, despite not being a difficult ski to handle. You might even manage the odd couloir or steep section, despite it not being built for that. A favorite with our testers for its forgiveness and control.
Lab
Slightly concave along the length of the ski, which improves after 10 passes through the machine. An attempt at applying structure has been made. Waxed with good edges 2.2 x 1.8 mm at 88.5°, base edge 0.8°. Rudimentary finish, rust, too aggressive at the tip. Tuning is essential.
Technical specifications
Construction
sidewall
Materials
paulownia, carbon fiber
Base
sintered polyethylene
Available sizes
156, 163, 170, 177, 182
Released in
2023
Made in
Europe
Price
799 €
Declared specsMeasured by us
We measured the length 177 to get all the details
177 cm
Length
XXXXX
120 cm
Tip width
XXXXX
111 cm
Tail width
XXXXX
91 cm
Waist width
XXXXX
N/A
Edge contact
XXXXX
N/A
Camber
XXXXX
N/A
Tip rocker
XXXXX
N/A
Tail rocker
XXXXX
1.290 g
Individual weight
XXXXX
N/A
Left weight
XXXXX
N/A
Right weight
XXXXX
18 m
Sidecut radius
XXXXX
N/A
Load-bearing surface
XXXXX
N/A
Tip torsion
XXXXX
N/A
Center torsion
XXXXX
N/A
Tail torsion
XXXXX
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