The 2023 Faction Agent 3 is a great choice for adventurous freeride skiers looking for a light multi-purpose ski for uphill, downhill, and lift-served applications. Hybrid skis are all the rage these days, and ski companies are doing a fantastic job at getting some of their existing technology and shaping into lighter skis that can handle the skin track as well as the wide-open bowls on the way down. Built with a light weight Karuba wood core, the skis also get a full carbon weave. The Karuba makes a lot of sense for this ski as it allows for fantastic energy and pop while keeping the weight to a minimum. The carbon application adds good stiffness and responsiveness while keeping the grams low. By weaving carbon stringers, it adds to the torsional and the longitudinal flex, boosting performance and confidence on the descents. In the 183, we’re seeing a 1750-gram per ski weight, so for a 106 mm underfoot ski with quite a bit of material, this is pretty light.
ROCKER PROFILE
Rocker / Camber / Rocker
CORE MATERIALS
XL 2.5 mm Edges
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Big Mountain, Touring, Powder
That 106 mm waist is wide enough to handle some really deep snow, and the 134 mm tip and 124 mm tail generate a 21-meter turn radius as a result. While it’s on the wide side to be used in an on-trail or groomer format, it certainly excels in the softer snow, giving it enough lift and flotation to stay atop the fresh. Additionally, the longer tip rocker stays up and off the snow, making the turns smooth and easy. With a bit less rocker in the tail, the uphill efficiency is increased because of the additional surface area on the skin track. Drastically rockered skis tend to slip more than flatter ones, so the Agent 3 strikes a nice balance here. Binding choice matters here, as you’re able to put a wide variety of bindings on it. To keep the weight down and the emphasis on touring, a full-on tech binding would work great, but we’d think most skiers are going to use some type of hybrid binding to get the best of both worlds on this ski.
Matt McGinnis skied the 183 and noted it was true to size for him. He gave the ski a top score of 5 out of 5 for playfulness, with 4’s for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, stability, and flotation. Torsional stiffness and edge hold got 3’s, showing that this ski is better suited for softer and non-resort conditions. Matt states that “Of all the Factions that I skied, the Agent 3 was probably the best match for my ski personality. A bit lighter weight, this ski was more willing to give into my sporadic ways. In other words, I naturally love holding long carves as well as dropping my speed in an instant via a hard slash. The Agent 3 gladly accommodated that, allowing me to do just about anything I wanted, whenever I wanted. While they didn’t exactly take best in show in any single category, my overall impression of these skis was excellent, particularly when considering that they’re designed to be used as touring skis. All told, I would recommend these for a range of skiers, particularly those that just want a ski that’s easy and fun to ski.”
Matt’s experience, combined with the ski’s intended application on paper, makes for an interesting choice. There are a lot of skiers out there who love the versatility of a lighter weight and wider ski for both in and out of bounds skiing. If you have the right boots, bindings, and skins, the Faction Agent 3 makes a whole lot of sense.
