Gear Faction Agent?

[Slim]

@Analisa , you mentioned in the Enforcer Unlimiced thread, that you thought the Agent skis were less forgiving?
Or did I mis understand you? Talking about the Faction Agent ski’s right?
I just got my oldest a pair of the (old) Agent 2.0, and was actually expecting/hoping for a fairly loose and forgiving ski, due to significant tip and tail taper, and more tail rocker than many AT skis in this width.

I’d love to hear your thoughts of these ski’s.

This is the little info I could find:

FREESKIER tester thoughts: “Light ski that was very efficient on the uphill. Pretty soft, but sturdy enough to make good turns on the down through steep corn.“

“Great for late spring corn, taking down big uphills and harrowing steeps.”

Skikitinfo:
“Take it into some chopped up snow off the sides and it’s really easy to handle, with enough rocker at each end to float nicely. This rocker and low weight keeps them nimble, so even when the snow’s lumpy and heavy they’re still a joy”

 

[Analisa]

By old, do you know the year? I'll assume you're talking about the current construction that's been on the market since 2019-2020. (Before that, they disappeared from the market for a bit, and prior to that, it was the Agent 90 W, which I owned briefly and was very happy to see put to pasture).

When I'm working with women finding skis, I start by narrowing on a weight class (race, ultralight, freetour, 50/50), and their goals so we see what widths and shapes we need to zero in on. From there, I break things down by mount point, turn radius, and weight/laminates. So for the Agent & some peers:

Agent 2.0 (163)
Mount: -10.6 from center
TR: 15m
Weight & laminates: 1410g, carbon laminates, 8-12 strips woven into fiberglass. Generally tends to be a stiffer ski than ones with just fiberglass.
Other notes: Tail is fairly flat, so I wouldn't count on it being super surfy. Blister reviewed the 3.0x, which doesn't have any drastic differences in design, and calls out that they're more accessible than the Dictator version in terms of flex, but they do require a forward stance. Adds that there are better options for a surfy or forgiving ski, and says it's a weightier option for someone who fits the Zero G or Backland 107 profile but finds those too light. I will say, Faction gets major kudos for listing tons of their own tech specs and they seem to make more scaling changes across sizing (For example, with the Pandora and Blaze, the 179 version has a 3m longer turn radius than the 164. With the Agent, the change is 4m). Men's reviews may be less reliable than they are for other unisex lines (shakes fist at data gap in women's review content).

Pandora 94 (165)
Mount: Around -9
TR: 14.5
Weight & laminates: 1491, a few carbon stringers running the length of the ski. High selling line for a reason: meets a progressing intermediate where they're at and has a solid runway for growth.

Blaze 94 (165)
Mount: Around -10
TR: 14
Weight & laminates: 1460, fiberglass only, which tends to be a bit softer than carbon (depending on the amount and layup). These are a twinge easier to ski than the Pandora.

Santa Ana Ultimate 93 (165) - assuming most stats are the same as the inbound version
Mount: -8.2
TR: 15.5
Weight & laminates: Supposedly 1310, but interestingly the Santa Ana model weights online are coming in heavier (by a full 7%) while the Enforcer weights seem accurate. (The only difference between the two is nixing the ABS plastic in the tip and extending the wood core on the Santa Ana version). Rocker lines are slightly deeper than the Agents.

Icelantic Mystic 97 (163)
Mount: A wee bit behind the Maiden 101 Lite. That's at -7.5, so I'd ballpark a little over -8
TR: 16
Weight & laminates: 1463g, balsa & flax core with fiberglass laminates.

Trace 98 (164)
Mount: -9.5
TR: 17
Weight & laminates: 1475 for pre-2022. Carbon mesh stringers. Little deeper rocker lines than the rest on this list.

Overall: I don't think the Agent is going to be significantly harder to ski than its peer set, but I do think it sits on the more demanding side from within this list. I think the review of the 3.0 will likely hold true here where they want a more forward stance. I think the really surfy-backcountry combo must be distinctly North American, because the main places I see progressive ski designs is the Maiden 101 Lite, Line Vision/Pandora 110 (same construction), Moment Sierra Tour or Bella Tour, and I think there’s a 4FRNT option as well.

I can definitely see how reviewers could call them friendly, especially if it’s the same reviewer team taking a few runs on the Katana or Cochise. As more brands switch to unisex lines, I think it’s important to get women on them, and to make direct comparisons against similar women’s skis.

 

[Slim]

I think 2020 model, 171cm. grey topsheet, green graphics and base.

 

[Analisa]

@Slim - gotcha, yep same design that's currently in production. The 171 steps up a bit more aggressively than the other lines between sizes. Which could be a good or bad thing depending on her style, ability level, and other skis she's used to.

 

[Slim]

@Slim - gotcha, yep same design that's currently in production. The 171 steps up a bit more aggressively than the other lines between sizes. Which could be a good or bad thing depending on her style, ability level, and other skis she's used to.

Well, everything she was used too last 2 seasons is too small for her now, so it’s all new gear this season: AT and Resort boots, touring, frontside and all mountain skis.
we didn’t ski out west last season, except for 4 days of pure backcountry skiing, so hard to guess how her skiing style and skill will be this year.

So it’s hard to say ‘what she is used to’. Her new all mountain ski will be the Rustler 9, 180cm, so that would be the most comparable in dimensions and terrain skied, but we won’t be putting that through it’s paces untill Christmas at the earliest.

I’ll try and get her out in some slightly more challenging terrain on the Agents as soon as possible, to see how that goes, but again, hard to find terrain and snow like that around here. Bought because they were cheap (see note about 3 new pairs skis and 2 pairs of boots above). If it turns out she can’t handle them, I can sell them and it won’t be a big loss.

 

[Decreed_It]

Bumping this one up, long story but I'm sourcing a touring hybrid setup in the next month - ran across these

Faction Skis Agent 4.0 Ski - 2022 - Ski

Buy the Faction Skis Agent 4.0 Ski - 2022 online or shop all Ski from Backcountry.com.

www.backcountry.com

Would love some impressions. This would be for deep pow touring - specifically NZ and Japan in 2022/23. I'll run Atomic Hawx XTDs and shift bindings.

 

[Slim]

@Decreed_It , well she skied them a few times this season, but none of it was very demanding, so hard to tell. She had a good time (see trip report and pics).
I did chat briefly to a woman at Brighton who was skiing the Agent 2.0 (inbounds that day), and she liked them.
not sure that any of that helps you though, I assume the 2.0 and 4.0 are pretty different.

 

[Mendieta]

but they do require a forward stance.

Resuscitating this thread, as I bought the current Agent 3 as my slack/side country ski as I delve into this, and I need to decide on a mounting point. I am thinking of choosing the "New School" mounting point, which is the most centered of the three options they mark on the ski. The difference between all three is 3cm. And I wonder if this resonates with you all (@Analisa , @Slim , @Decreed_It ).

Part of the reason I got the Agent is the fact that I absolutely love the Faction CT 1.0 for in-bounds off-piste in Tahoe. It can be playful and thrown around if needed, but also, it can bust through crud like a champ. I actually installed demo bindings, played with boot center position, found the optimal placing for me between being too far back, where the tails are harder to release, or too far forward, where you wash the tails constantly. At the optimal position, I can look into a turn if I want, or pivot at will (within my technical limitations, haha).

As it turns out, the optimal position for me is exactly where Candide marks it, which is the "New School". Now, the Agents will use fixed (shift) bindings, so I need to decide ahead. I am thinking of any reason why I wouldn't simply mount these also at the New School position, but I might be missing something, so I thought I would ask ...

Thanks much in advance!

 

[Slim]

Sorry, not much help here. I’’l check what we have them mounted at. I do remember the Outdoorgearlab review mentioned an issue with the mount point mark, but I assume that’s been resolved.

Does Blister have a review? They often try out various mount points.

 

[Mendieta]

Sorry, not much help here. I’’l check what we have them mounted at. I do remember the Outdoorgearlab review mentioned an issue with the mount point mark, but I assume that’s been resolved.

Does Blister have a review? They often try out various mount points.

Yeah I saw the outdoor gearlab comment and I found an early review/preview on Blister. Nothing too conclusive. I guess I'll go with my hunch. Thanks for checking in!

 

[Slim]

I checked, and our Agent 2.0 only have 1 mounting line marked

 

[Decreed_It]

@Mendieta what did you end up doing? Sorry missed this earlier but I doubt I could have contributed anything meaningful to your decision process. Been living down under and surfing mostly soooo . . . skiing, GASP, hasn't been top of mind! LOL

For my part went with Black Crowes Camox freebird 9.5 mounted factory w/ shifts - it's a solid, as in Toyota Camry, of skis. Zero complaints. I got fancy powderboards from Praxis for the bling days

 

[Mendieta]

@Mendieta what did you end up doing? Sorry missed this earlier but I doubt I could have contributed anything meaningful to your decision process. Been living down under and surfing mostly soooo . . . skiing, GASP, hasn't been top of mind! LOL

For my part went with Black Crowes Camox freebird 9.5 mounted factory w/ shifts - it's a solid, as in Toyota Camry, of skis. Zero complaints. I got fancy powderboards from Praxis for the bling days

So, I went into The Backcountry shop at Truckee thinking "New School mount". I spoke to the guy at the front desk, who clearly knew his stuff., I explained that I have the 92 CT's forward and I love how they pivot, etc, He looks at the skis and he goes "yeah nah, if you want to use them in powder, they will nose dive if you mount them forward". I then remembered that faction does recommend the progressive mount, and he agreed. So that's what I got. I am dying to try them out!

Thanks for coming back ... and we miss you! Once you are done with surfing ... you know where to find us

 

[Mendieta]

Ok, quick update, after taking them to the snow on a deep day. I am a bit torn about the mount point. On powder, they do really well in that Progressive mount position. Best powder skiing ever (and I am not used it, since I rarely find deep fresh snow for a number of reasons). On the other hand, on harder snow I do feel like I would prefer the "new school mount". It might be a matter of getting used to it, since my daily drivers are at the new school position.

Lovely skis btw, super, super versatile wide skis.

 

[Slim]

Have you checked the binding delta? That might be very different with other boots and bindings. It’s easier to fix than a small remount, just add a shim.


To measure foot angle, I put the ski on the bench, (on a 4’level, not just on the two wax bench supports) and I use an L square, put that inside my boot, then measure with a clinometer off that.

Compare your favorite set up to this one, to see if there is a difference there. If they are identical, that’s when I’d start looking at mount point.

And glad you got to use them in powder!