Faction Agent 3 Review: The Touring Ski That Skis Down Properly

The Faction Agent 3 is a 106 mm freetouring ski that weighs between 1,580 g and 1,810 g per ski depending on length, which is light enough to earn turns on and substantial enough to ski hard on the way down. It uses a karuba and fiberglass core with a full carbon weave, an elliptical sidecut, and a flat-tail progressive shape. If you are touring out of Berthoud Pass or skinning at Eldora before the lifts spin, this is the category, and the Agent 3 is one of the better answers in it.

In this article

• Faction Agent 3 specs
• The weight question
• Karuba and carbon
• What an elliptical sidecut does
• How it skis down
• What length should you get?
• Mount point and bindings
• FAQ

Faction Agent 3 specs

Handmade in Austria. Karuba and fiberglass core, 8 to 12 unidirectional carbon strips per side woven into the fiberglass, tip and tail rocker with traditional camber, flat tail, sintered base.

Two colorways, five lengths

Faction Agent 3

164 through 188 cm in Ice Blue and Orange. The deepest size run we stock in a touring ski.

$899.00 See lengths →

The weight question

Touring skis live and die on a trade between uphill weight and downhill capability, and most of them pick a side. At 1,730 g at 178 cm the Agent 3 sits deliberately in the middle.

For comparison, a dedicated skimo ski can be under 1,200 g and skis like it. A resort freeride ski at this width is commonly 2,000 g or more. The Agent 3 gives up some of the descent composure of the heavy ski to save several hundred grams per foot, which over a few thousand feet of vertical is a real difference to your legs.

The honest framing: if you tour twice a season, buy a resort ski and suffer on the skin track. If you tour regularly and still want to ski the descent properly rather than survive it, this is the compromise worth paying for.

Karuba and carbon

Karuba is a very light hardwood with a good strength to weight ratio, which is why it turns up in touring skis where poplar or ash would be too heavy. On its own it would be too soft, so Faction sandwiches it between fiberglass layers and runs 8 to 12 unidirectional carbon strips down each side, woven into the glass rather than laid on top of it.

Carbon adds stiffness without much mass, which is exactly what a light core needs. The weaving matters: carbon laid in a separate layer can delaminate or create a dead spot, while woven strips distribute load along the length of the ski.

What an elliptical sidecut does

Faction runs a longer radius underfoot and shorter radii toward the tip and tail. That is backwards from how most people assume a sidecut works, and it is the right call for a touring ski.

A long radius underfoot means the ski pivots easily, which is what you want in a tight kick turn on a skin track or when you need to slash a quick turn in variable snow. The shorter radii at the ends still initiate a turn readily when you tip the ski over. The result is a ski that is easy to steer at low speed without feeling vague when you commit to an edge.

How it skis down

Composed for its weight. The flat tail gives you something to push against, which light skis often lack, and the carbon keeps the ski from folding when you load the shovel. Faction calls the flex pattern Mustache Flex: firm underfoot for edge hold, progressively softer in the tip and tail so it absorbs chunder rather than deflecting off it.

At 106 mm it floats well in the kind of snow you actually find in the backcountry, which is usually not bottomless. On a firm skin track descent or a wind-scoured traverse it holds an edge better than most skis this light.

What length should you get?

Faction's own size guide splits by riding style, which is more useful than height alone. A 5 ft 9 in skier is on a 172 relaxed or active, and a 178 aggressive. A 5 ft 11 in skier is on a 178 or a 183.

• 164 cm: smaller skiers, or anyone prioritising weight and manoeuvrability
• 172 cm: around 5 ft 7 in to 5 ft 9 in
• 178 cm: around 5 ft 9 in to 5 ft 11 in, the most common length
• 183 cm: around 5 ft 11 in to 6 ft 3 in
• 188 cm: tall or aggressive skiers

Touring skis are one case where sizing down has a real argument behind it: every centimetre is weight you carry uphill, and shorter skis are easier in tight kick turns.

Mount point and bindings

This is the part to get right, and it is why we would rather talk before we drill. A touring ski can take a tech binding, a hybrid, or a full alpine binding, and the choice changes the ski completely. Faction's elliptical sidecut is designed to tolerate a range of mount positions, which gives you real latitude, but latitude only helps if someone asks you what you actually want first.

Tech bindings save the most weight and give up downhill performance and release consistency. Hybrids split the difference at a weight penalty. Tell us how you tour and we will tell you honestly which one fits.

Mount point matters here

Binding Mount and Test

Drilled, mounted and release-tested on the bench. We will talk through mount point before we drill.

$90 Book a mount →

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Faction Agent 3 weigh?

From 1,580 g per ski at 164 cm up to 1,810 g at 188 cm. The 178 cm is 1,730 g.

Is the Faction Agent 3 good for resort skiing?

It works, but it is built for touring. At this weight it gets knocked around more in cut-up afternoon resort snow than a heavier ski would. If you ski resort most days, buy a resort ski.

What binding should I put on the Agent 3?

It depends entirely on how you tour. Tech bindings for weight, hybrids for a balance, alpine bindings if it is mostly a resort ski with occasional skinning. Come talk to us before mounting, because it is not a reversible decision.

Is the Agent 3 a beginner ski?

No. Faction rates it intermediate through expert, and backcountry skiing has its own prerequisites well beyond ski choice.

Where is the Faction Agent 3 made?

Handmade in Austria, per Faction.

Related reading: What Size Skis Do I Need? and Bindings Are Safety Equipment, Not Just Hardware. Specs sourced from Faction.