The Never-Ending Faction Discussion

[ThomasH]

Love my Dancer 2 98s-whether Snowbird pow or Catskill bumps they're the closest thing to a 1 ski quiver I believe I'll ever find.

 

[GregK]

Posting this here as he will also be a Faction skier to me! Latest insane Candide Thovex video.

 

[BennoH]

Wow. That is ridiculously good. Quiet now after watching this.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Wow. That is ridiculously good. Quiet now after watching this.

Well…he is not human you know…

 

[no edge]

Does he do bump clinics. i would sign up

 

[GregK]

Candide actually started by skiing moguls in comps till he realized he like the jumping part better and when into slope style/jumping comps instead.

Had my CT 1.0 out to start yesterday followed by my Sender Free 110 and Blackops 118 in heavy Spring Crud by 11am. They all make a great team in those conditions and had a buddy who has the latest Kendo 88, Kore 93, Fisher 102 FR skis and a bunch on narrower carvers. Had him on the CT 1.0 and SF 110 and he especially loved the CT 1.0 but thought both were incredible. Best I think I’ve seen him ski was on the CT 1.0. Was going to try for a run or so but kept wanting to keep them for “one or two more runs”…….lol

 

[Mendieta]

I took my Agent 3 out twice now. Last time (Sunday), conditions were a mix. Deep and wet in places, some crust , some chopped up, some crud. In the deep snow, there is no question that they are my best ski for the conditions. But these are touring skis, and even though they are stiff, what they don't do is absorption of the terrain/bumps. Everything that you hit comes back to your legs, so it's harder to keep a confident steady path. As a daily driver, I much prefer the CT 1.0 for Tahoe.

The other thing is mount point. I wish I had these at the "candide" spot (new school mount line). I have them one notch behind, at "progressive". I will probably write a long term user review, but I'm still adjusting to them. And I'll see if I remount the shift bindings 1.5 cm forward. That would take some work, but might be worthwhile for my preference/limitations as a skier.

Edit: you do expect a resort ski to do better downhill, and particularly, in resort conditions (lots of skier created crud). These skis are designed to sacrifice some of the stability/dampness/suspension in favor of lightness, and not designed for a resort daily driver. I actually bought them so I can start venturing into the Touring/BC world.

Conditions below.

 

[GregK]

Rode the CT 1.0 all day in gorgeous sunshine and Spring like conditions. Skis were amazing as always!
Definitely taking these out West for the daily driver.

 

[BennoH]

Hi all. I am new to this group, so I will do a quick introduction. I am Benno, 46 years old, 40 years skiing experience, and recently bought my first pair of wide skis. After reading 107 pages in this thread I decided the Candide 3.0 would be a good choice since my normals skis are slalom FIS skis. And boy, they do not disappoint! Really happy with these bad boys :

 

[Tony Storaro]

Hi all. I am new to this group, so I will do a quick introduction. I am Benno, 46 years old, 40 years skiing experience, and recently bought my first pair of wide skis. After reading 107 pages in this thread I decided the Candide 3.0 would be a good choice since my normals skis are slalom FIS skis. And boy, they do not disappoint! Really happy with these bad boys :

Faction CT 21 and FIS SL, eh?

 

[Mendieta]

Hi all. I am new to this group, so I will do a quick introduction. I am Benno, 46 years old, 40 years skiing experience, and recently bought my first pair of wide skis. After reading 107 pages in this thread I decided the Candide 3.0 would be a good choice since my normals skis are slalom FIS skis. And boy, they do not disappoint! Really happy with these bad boys :

Nice, welcome home! Where do you ski?

 

[BennoH]

Nice, welcome home! Where do you ski?

I live in the Netherlands, I ski mostly in the French alps.

 

[BennoH]

Faction CT 21 and FIS SL, eh?


View attachment 226468



View attachment 226469

Yes, Faction CT 3.0 and Salomon SL FIS ‍

 

[GregK]

First day of the trip on the “daily driver” CT 1.0 and they were experiencing the same slow bases that I had on the Blackops 118 so definitely a wax temp issue but solved after a few groomer runs.
These skis are so fucking awesome and glad I brought these as they come alive quicker than my CT 2.0 which I usually bring out west.

Ran into some other Faction lovers the 2nd chairlift of the day.

 

[Landez]

Don't sleep on the Mana 3s, stiffer, poppier and lighter than the CT 3. 190 cm mounted -3 from center. For Sunday skiers -4 or maybe as far back as progressive (-5,75) could work. Further back, just get another ski.

 

[GregK]

Imagine sitting at the top of a run and it’s Candide about to drop in while you have your camera out.

https://x.com/CandideThovex/status/1766873951592972323?s=20

 

[Mendieta]

I keep getting used to the Agents 3. Took them out yesterday with the Touring boots, which are definitely a better match for the skis, for a few morning hours. It was hard frozen at Sierra at Tahoe. It later softened up a "little", Meaning, some of the higher elevation was a bit chalkie instead of flat out hard.

Anyways, it was a good chance to do some groomers on a 106 (I am rarely on a groomer, and if I am, it will be a civilian SL ski). But anyways, good way to keep getting used to the mount (further rear than my preference) and the skis (with little absorption which means you either "bend ze knees" or you're gonna have a bad time).

The skis are light as a feather. And faction definitely did a great job making them more than useable at the resort. Would I choose my CT's 1.0 instead, for a day like yesterday (and really, any non-powder day). Yes, of course. Still fun, and with, four days I think, on them, I feel at home by now.

 

[ARL67]

Imagine sitting at the top of a run and it’s Candide about to drop in while you have your camera out.

https://x.com/CandideThovex/status/1766873951592972323?s=20

I see Candide was on his new White skis. In St. Anton a few shops had his 3 new skis -> Black, Blue, and White. I should have taken some pics, but I recall the widest White ones had no camber and very deep rocker lines, and minimal topsheets graphics as you can see in the video Greg posted

 

[4ster]

Tell me about the Faction Prodigy 4.0...

 

[GregK]

Tell me about the Faction Prodigy 4.0...
View attachment 229117

More tapered than the CT/Mana line and traditional soft tip/tails and stiffer underfoot like most skis. Decent weight and longer radius but a softer flex pattern overall.

Blackops 118 a more similar, less tapered shape to a CT but with more weight and damping than the Prodigy 4. Sender Free 110 another option that’s great in this range if you wanted a very precise, wider ski similar to the narrower 21 CT skis in feel.