The story behind Faction
Faction started as a small rebel. A group of passionate skiers prototyped and tested new ideas in the grand alpine playground of Verbier, Switzerland, challenging the traditional perception of classic alpine skiing. Faction Collective emerged as a creative union of brands that innovatively brought that passionate sense of freedom to skiing. Faction's rethinking of lightweight hybrid cores, rocker and recycled materials has put them among the world's elite manufacturers making skis and contributing to the evolution of freestyle skiing culture. Today, Faction's leading skis are designed and tested on the legendary mountains of the Swiss Alps, ensuring the best quality. When you buy Faction, you buy quality with a guarantee of performance. Faction skis are made to start life's adventures and with durability in mind.
Faction's range of skis
Faction has a wide range of skis, and has at least one ski that can perform in any freeski discipline, whether you're into touring, freeride, half pipe or rails in the park, Faction has the perfect ski for you. The collection consists of 6 families, with up to 5 different models in each family. It should be quickly understood that although Faction divides their skis into women's and men's, like many other brands they have moved away from making specific skis for each gender, but instead make a different graphic design and different lengths regarding the gender. But let's dive in and divide the skis into different categories to make it easier for you to tell them apart, and at the end of each category, we'll pit two models against each other and explain the major differences.
Prodigy
Prodigy represents everything Faction stands for, progression, and the highest quality construction from topsheet to base. A responsive wood core, directional twin-tip shape and a versatile camber provide performance of the highest caliber. Fast to react to your inputs and easy to control, Prodigy skis are designed to elevate your skills.
Dancer
The Dancer is the skier's dream ski: the core is made from sustainable wood and is supported by two metal plates that provide the ideal balance of weight saving, quick response with stability and edge grip at high speeds. The twin-tip rocker also allows for improved crud-busting and float in powder. So whether you're hitting the wildest powder line or getting ready for the piste, this ski is guaranteed to rise to the challenge.
Agent
The Agent series is Faction's take on the modern, lightweight touring ski that's highly efficient on the way up the mountain and epic on the way down. With a Karuba wood core for a responsive, rebounding flex and a carbon weave for increased stiffness and stability, the Agent models are your best friend whether you're looking for early-season backcountry gold mines or have your eyes set on the spring couloir mission. Escape the crowds and earn your way to the pristine lines.
Mana
The next generation of premium, lightweight twintip skis is here: Faction introduces the Mana series. Moving between backcountry and all-mountain performance, the Mana is made in a lightweight construction to keep your legs fresh all day long, yet reinforced in the important areas, including durable edges and a Stomp Pad underfoot. With the highest quality materials and eco-conscious construction, the ski is handmade in Austria using 100% green energy.
La Machine
Fuck the piste. It's time to find powder. La Machine is the ultimate in freeride/touring, Faction's best offer for the true backcountry enthusiasts. With two carbon layers, La Machine is an ultralight ski. The flex and rocker give you the float you've been dreaming of all season long for when the powder days come.
Studio
Designed for the freestyle skier, the Faction Studio series includes both halfpipe and park-oriented models. Created in collaboration with Faction team riders, the Studio series delivers precision when you need to perform. Skiers of this caliber demand precision because the perfect trick is often a matter of centimeters or millimeters. The skis are built with a reinforced wood core, stomp pads for your heavy landings, carbon to give stiffness to the ski but still keep the weight down.
Factions Categories
If we were to divide Faction's range of skis into different categories like Freeride, All-Mountain, Touring and Freestyle/Park, we end up with versions of the same model crossing across different categories, which at first can seem very confusing, but it's an easy system that Faction has divided their skis by. Their models have a number between 0-5 after them, the number indicates the width of the ski, a lower number means it's among the narrower ones in the series, while a higher number means the ski will be wider. The models start numbers are slightly different, but we'll get to that as we go.
All Mountain
Prodigy
The Prodigy 0 is the ideal starting point for someone who wants to move into the world of freeskiing. A new core has been introduced for the 2023/24 model compared to previous years' models, but the ski retains its shape.
The Prodigy 1 2 is made on the same shape, with the same technical features, however, the Prodigy 1 is 10mm narrower across the foot. The skis are equipped with Faction's renowned "Mustache Flex", the flex gives you stability underfoot to give you a good edge grip, with a progressive flex in the nose and tail, making it easy for the ski to absorb bumps and impacts the ski will get on the mountain. As a result, it makes it easier to start and finish your turns.
The Prodigy 3 is probably the perfect all-mountain ski, with 106mm underfoot you can ride it both in powder and on the piste. The combination of camber and rocker gives you the perfect conditions to switch from carving turns to butters. Like the Prodigy 1 2, the ski is equipped with Faction's "Mustache Flex", which supports the Prodigy 3 in being one of the best All-Mountain skis you can get.
Mana
Mana 2 is the ideal ski if you need a ski that can be used as an all-mountain ski, but also has some park performance. The high quality and demanding construction of the ski make Mana a top of the line All-Mountain ski. Faction has reinforced the core by sandwiching strips of carbon on each side of the wood core, which gives stability and stiffness to the ski. The boat flex in the ski makes the nose and tail stiffer than the center of the ski, giving you just the pop you want.
Dancer
The Dancer 1 is built with a primary focus on the piste, but can also be taken out for some powder. Two thin metal plates compliment the wood core, providing the stability and stiffness you need. The ski has the same flex as the Prodigy series, with Faction's "Mustache Flex". The Dancer series is hand-built at Faction's factories in Austria.
The Dancer 2 has 10mm more underfoot than the Dancer 1, giving you the perfect ski for dancing through powder, but still not too wide to not work on the piste. A wood core and two layers of metal give you the perfect combination of stability, speed and lightweight. The 96mm width is versatile and can handle any conditions you want to throw the ski into.
Which ski is best for you
Prodigy and Dancer have their clear differences. The Dancer comes with titanal, which has the primary purpose of providing stability and acting as a shock absorber, making the ski better on the piste when it's a bit icy or there's slush in the late afternoon. The other major difference is the shape of the rocker and tail, the Prodigy is a Twin Tip ski, and thus has more rocker in both the tail and nose making it more suitable for switch skiing, and the Prodigy has slightly more rocker in both tip and tail for more float in powder. The extra rocker is great for those who want to hit the park or love to play in the off-piste.
In short, the Dancer provides stability while the Prodigy opens the door for a more freestyle-oriented style.
If you spend most of your time on the slopes, we recommend choosing Dancer 1 or Prodigy 1. If you want a ski that is versatile and can be used all over the mountain and taken out into deeper snow, take a look at the Dancer 2 or Prodigy 2. If you want to spend more time off-piste and in powder, take a look at the Dancer 3 and Prodigy 3. If you want a ski built for the deepest days, check out the Dancer 4 or Prodigy 4.
Freeride
Mana
The Mana 3 is Faction's freestyle oriented freeride ski. A poplar core complimented by a rocker and a touch of camber gives you a ski you can push without sacrificing edge grip or stability at high speeds. Carbon is built in a sandwich construction around the wood core for extra stability and torsional flex. The ski is equipped with Factions "Boat Flex" which makes the nose and tail stiffer and the ski softer underfoot, giving you the perfect pop when you want it.
The Mana 4 is the thickest ski in the family, 119mm underfoot, and you get the dream ski for the dream day. The poplar core is composed of carbon in a sandwich construction, which helps keep the weight down, keeping your legs fresh throughout a long day. For the Mana 4, Faction has removed the camber found in the smaller models, but has a greater focus on lightweight, making the ski lighter than the equivalent length of the Mana 3. The ski has the same "Boat Flex" as the other Mana skis.
Prodigy
The Prodigy 4 has all the same features as its narrower family members, but has a wider base for optimal float in powder. 116mm underfoot is your guarantee for hours in powder and a smile on your face when it starts to snow. The Mustache flex provides a solid edge grip, with a progressive flex in the nose and tail that absorbs everything you can throw at the ski on the mountain.
Dancer
The Dancer 3 is for the freerider who chases big lines but still needs a ski that can perform in all conditions. The combination of rocker and camber gives you float in powder and lets you cut through the deep ski. But still have the edge hold to carve on the piste. Two layers of titanal provide stability without adding too much weight. The ski features Faction's renowned "Mustache Flex", which provides stability and edge hold, but with a softer flex in the nose and tail.
The Dancer 4 is made for those who want an agile thick ski that can handle the worst conditions you can find on the mountain. The ski has 116mm underfoot, giving you plenty of float through powder and choppy snow. Two layers of Titanal stiffen the ski and provide stability without adding unnecessary weight. The ski has as much camber as the other Dancer models, giving you the perfect mix of edge grip and float in deep snow. Like the other skis in the series, the Dancer 4 has "Mustache Flex" factions, due to its size the ski will be a tad stiffer than the Dancer 3.
The perfect freeride ski for you
What is the difference between Mana and Prodigy? Model for model, the Mana will always be slightly wider than the Prodigy, which gives a little more float in powder. The Mana is slightly stiffer in the nose and tail, with a longer sidecut, which will give you more stability at higher speeds and in different snow conditions. The Prodigy has a lower radius due to taper in the nose and tail, which makes it easier to turn at lower speeds. Prodigy also has a softer nose and tail, making it more forgiving. The Prodigy will give you more flex, while the Mana will give you more pop.
If you want a versatile ski that you can use all over the mountain, look for the Mana 2 or Prodigy 2. If the ski is better for powder and back country, we recommend you look for the Mana 3 or Prodigy 3. If you're going out on the deepest days and chasing the perfect line, we recommend you look at the Mana 4 and Prodigy 4.
Touring
Agent
Agent 1 is the narrowest ski in Faction's touring setup. The ski is built on the principles of being as light as possible, with a weight between 1310-1540 gr. per ski, you get a light touring ski. The ski is built with a lightweight Karuba wood core, which has had carbon inlaid along it for stability, but keeps the weight down to make it easier to go up, but still fun to go down. Again, the ski utilizes Faction "Mustache Flex" and the ski is hand-built in Austria with the best construction there is.
Agent 2 has been born with 96mm underfoot. The ski is at its best when you're going for a three-run or going out on a couloir that's some distance away from the lift. A lightweight Karuba wood core supported by carbon, the width underfoot that you'll find on most all-mountain skis gives you a great experience and a ski that does a bit of everything. With a similar flex to the Agent 1, you get great edge grip and a nose or tail that can absorb the bumps you can hit.
Agent 3 is the ski that has it all, a lightweight wood core, progressive shape, high-tech carbon insert, balanced flex and the perfect rocker. This makes the ski easy to climb with, and the 106mm underfoot makes it easy to get down through the powder. Faction's "Mustache Flex" provides the perfect balance for most skiers.
Agent 4 is the widest ski in the Agent series. The ski is perfect for those days when the snow is at its best and the equipment should not be what limits your ability. The ski is equipped with a lightweight Karuba wood core that provides a perfect flex and is the ideal wood core for a touring ski that performs both uphill and downhill. The ski comes with 116mm underfoot.
La Machine
La Machine 1 takes the key areas of the La Machine series and offers it in a compact micro package. The extremely lightweight ski with a touch of carbon is a wet dream for touring skiers, the ski is softer and 200 grams lighter than the corresponding Agent ski, so you can easily go through the snow in the off-piste. The extreme rocker provides all the float you need. The ski is made with Faction's "Mustache Flex" and is just a tad softer than Agent.
La Machine 2 is filled with carbon and is a touring ski that is light as a feather, ideal for those long or long days when touring is at the top of the program. The rocker is designed 100% for off-piste skiing and is for the skier who loves to ski through all conditions. The ski continues to be 200 grams below the corresponding model in the Agent series with a weight of 1230-1450 grams per ski depending on the length. The 99mm underfoot gives you the float you'll need on good days, but if you're touring in Japan or Canada we'd recommend going for a wider model.
The La Machine series focuses on lightweight, which is emphasized by the use of Carbon, and La Machine 3 is no exception, with 109mm underfoot, you get a ski that can be used for both freeride but also for the longer touring missions. The ski offers more or less the same degree of float compared to the wider part of the family, but in a more versatile and friendly package. The ski is made in a sandwich construction where Faction has placed two strips of carbon along the core for the full length of the ski. La Machine 3 utilizes Faction's "Mustache Flex" and the ski is in the softer end of Faction's range.
La Machine 4 is the bridge between 3 and 5. The construction is based on the same principles as La Machine 3, but with 117mm underfoot you get a ski that is perfect as a free-touring ski and for those long hours in the powder. La Machine 4 has two carbon strips laid along the core to reduce the weight of the ski. As with the previous ski, we use Faction's "Mustache Flex" and are at the softer end of their skis.
La Machine 5 is the widest ski Faction has to offer. The ski was created in 2020. Extremely lightweight and packed with all the carbon you can dream of, this ski is the perfect dream for those who want to chase the wildest powder lines. A progressive shape with a huge rocker will make you float through the snow and you'll be able to make the deepest powder turns you can dream of. 126mm underfoot is your guarantee that the off-piste will always be a success.
The perfect touring ski
The main difference between La Machine and Agent is the rocker and camber profile. The Agent has a special combination of camber underfoot, and rocker in the nose and tail with a mix of carbon to stiffen the ski. Take a look at the Agent's sidecut and the softer flex in the nose and tail and you'll get a forgiving yet stable ski in bad conditions. La Machine's extended rocker and taper gives you a fun ski and a surfy ride, with the ability to make different turns depending on the conditions. Both skis contain carbon, but the difference is that on Agent it's the length of the ski while La Machine has a different structure of its carbon.
If the most important thing for you is weight when going uphill, we would recommend La Machine 1 and 2 or Agent 1 and 2, they are also great if you know the line down and know that it doesn't get deeper than your ankles. If you're looking for powder or don't know what conditions to expect on the way down, we recommend La Machine 3 and 4 or Agent 3 and 4. If you don't know which ski to get, we recommend looking at the Agent, which has traditional camber and rocker, making them more predictable in all conditions. If you want a lighter ski for uphill but sacrifice a little downhill, we recommend La Machine. The more powder you're looking for, the wider the model we recommend.
Freestyle/Park
