New Faction ski lacks durability

The Faction CT 3.0 2020 is a recent installation in professional skier Candide Thovex’s signature ski line. It is an amazing ski, but I was only able to ski six days before the top sheet of my left ski separated from the weak wood core.

I rode the CT 3.0s in a 190-centimeter length. The ski has a width of 112 millimeters underfoot, making it a powder/all-mountain ski. The ski performed surprisingly well on groomed slopes, and I was able to slash through chopped up snow very well. They did a great job in powder and they took landings very well because of the wide base. The ski is very playful and poppy, so combined with its twin-tip profile, it is a great ski to take into the terrain park. A notable ski that I would compare it to would be the Atomic Bent Chetler 100s. The Bent Chetler is an all-mountain twin-tip ski that can still ride in the park. The main difference would be the powder capabilities of the ski. While the 100 millimeter wide Bent Chetlers are able to handle power very well, the extra 12 millimeters of width on the Candide 3.0s go a long way.

Even though the ski preforms very well, it has a few major setbacks, the largest being the durability. I was able to ski around six days before I bent and broke one of my skis. I was not the only person who had this problem. I have talked to about six or seven other skiers who have had nearly the exact same tear/bend in the ski that I did. Faction does have a great two year warranty for all of their skis, so I was able to apply and get an updated pair of the skis. In the email I received from a Faction representative, they state that, “This type of delamination is indeed the result of a manufacturing defect due to a weak wood core in the CT 3.0. The good news is that we have updated the wood core in this model for 20/21, so you should not have an issue with a new pair of the 20/21 model.”

I would not suggest purchasing these skis. For the six days I was able to ski on them, they were everything I wanted a ski to be. Light, but able to handle speeds, great powder capability and great landing support, but the weak wood core of the ski is able to break very easily. Although the skis are relatively cheap, in my case, I did not get my money’s worth. If you would like to take the risk and buy the skis, Faction has a great two year warranty and they will send you an updated model of the ski if yours do end up breaking. Even though they are some of the most fun skis I have ever ridden, I would not purchase them again because of their durability issues.