Quick review: Faction Prime 3.0

[filthyfrenchbum]

After spotting a few pairs around the alps this season, I got to play around with these for a few runs around Verbier last week.

182cm, mounted with demo Radical 2.0's, skied with Lange freetours. I normally ski on a Blizzard Cochise 186 mounted with kingpins.

First impression: Very light, very nimble... but stable too!

Coming from my current setup, this was like putting on a pair of souped up snowblades. I find my cochise/kingpin setup rather tiring and demanding for bigger touring days, so I happily opted for the 182 instead of the 189.

Skied in some good quality corn, the agility of these planks struck me right away. Pivoting the ankles is all it takes to make turns. This is likely due to the fact that there is slightly more tail rocker than tip rocker, with a small cambered section underfoot, allowing for tail-ditching on a dime. Jump-turning was also as if I had feathers strapped to my feet, SO much easier than on my current setup.

Light, carbon (a thick-looking weave called textreme on these) skis often come with chatter at speed and a lack of stability; skiing fast over some hard suncups, bumpy corn and slush, this was not an issue at all. They felt stiff enough underfoot to really be "driveable", even in vary variable conditions (they do have a wood core), and were confidence-inspiring. The tails were playful and poppy, much more forgiving than on the cochise (maybe due to the the tail-rocker rather than the stiffness?), and the light weight makes them extremely easy to manage in the air.

Overall, this seems like it will make a great quiver-killing touring ski. I'm not sure what durability is like, but a friend has been skiing them all season with no issues. At 108mm at the waist, I believe this fits the multi-purposefulness that touring requires, with the added benefits of weight savings and agility to make it great for long missions and ski mountaineering.

I liked them enough after a few laps that I will try and snag a pair asap, so hopefully I can update this review after more time on them.

[smooth operator]

cool, good to hear. But ' more tail rocker than tip rocker' still sounds weird, although https://issuu.com/actionsportagency/...18_dealer_work confirms this.

[filthyfrenchbum]

Got a few more days on these, with not much to add. Nimble and stable as f*ck over some heavy spring pow! The stiff bit underfoot is right on the money for holding that edge at speed...

[galibier_numero_un]

That looks like a bad ass ski. 1740g for a 182 that's 108 underfoot. If it's as burly as your initial experiences of it, that's quite the sweet spot. The ski isn't on their website. I'm guessing that link (above) is an internal marketing brochure?

Faction has been a bit below my radar, but the Agent 100 recently caught my attention. If a new pair of Nanuqs didn't swim by at a price to low to pass up, I would have hunted down a pair of the 100's. I wonder if the Prime 2.0 is the Agent's replacement?

... Thom