OVERVIEW
Ten years ago, a ragtag bunch of self-described ski bums from Australia, Canada, England and America who had traveled the IFSA circuit together formed The Faction Collective in Verbier, Switzerland. As freeride competitors, they were dissatisfied with the tools at their disposal, deeming the skis of the era too narrow, too stuck on making square-tailed skis with cap constructions meant for on-piste skiing.
So they spent some time making prototypes, familiarizing themselves with modern production technology and quality control measures. Eventually they formed a partnership with family-owned production facilities in eastern Europe that were able to source materials from around the EU. Product design and testing remained, then as now, in Verbier.
Considering its origins, it shouldn’t surprise that the Faction collection is heavily weighted towards wide-bodies, deploying a multiplicity of core constructions with a variety of lightweight components. One of its most innovative concoctions is a balsa-flax laminate found in the surprisingly stout CT 3.0, although most cores in the 2017 collection use more conventional poplar/ash or poplar/beech cores.
With most of its models concentrated in the Big Mountain and All-Mountain West genres, the Faction line can be confusing to sort out. The most traditional collection is the Standard Series, headlined by the relatively narrow Nine.5. All 3 models are wood core, glass laminates embellished with a sheet of Titanal, with minimally rockered, square tails. A dual radius sidecut helps the skis’ on-piste carving control.
Faction has been making a Signature Series for Candide Thovex for a few seasons. This often center-mounted quartet offers different degrees of rocker elevation and soft-snow flotation. We find the CT 3.0 maximizes the versatility and in-resort applicability of Candide’s featherweight, twin-tip design.
In contrast to Candide’s signature series, the baseline and sidecuts of the twin-tip Foundation Series – home to the popular Prodigy – are decisively directional. In terms of snow connection the Foundation models lie between the more traditional Standard Series and the looser CT Signature Series.
The 2017 Season
While no new SKU’s were added to the line in 2017, so many models received significant updates that it’s easier to list the few who didn’t change shape and/or construction. The Standard Series was refashioned across the board, all models infused with a sheet of Titanal, a major performance upgrade for all-terrain skis.
The only one of Candide’s Signature Series that didn’t endure a change in baseline or sidecut radius was the collection’s already perfect cornerstone ski, the 3.0. In the Foundation Series, the Prodigy underwent a substantial renovation while the Chapter 106 and Chapter 116 hit the “Replay” button.