Review: Faction La Machine 2, The “Mini”

Intro Faction, the athlete-driven ski collective born in Verbier, Switzerland, has had a cult following behind their Agent ski for several years. The Agent, a freeride backcountry offering, never tempted me, as it clocked in several weight classes above my interests. I knew from skiing their alpine skis at resorts in Utah that Faction could make a fun freeride ski when weight wasn’t a consideration, but these days, who can’t? Enter the La Machine series: a five-ski lineup from 91 to 126 mm underfoot, pitched as an ‘ultra-light’ ski for free touring. I came by a pair of these skis for a song as online retailer Curated.com went out of business, and I have been nothing but impressed. Of the past seven winters, I spent five touring in the snowy perfection of the Wasatch and then transplanted for the last two winters to the variable maritime snowpack of the Pacific Northwest. In Utah, I skied very light skis, favoring the Movement Alp Tracks 94 and 106, skis with piddling weights around 1100 grams. But skiing 8% pow is easy, and it’s fun on almost anything. When matched against the more variable and demanding skiing of full-season Oregon volcanoes, the truly light skis become a liability, deflecting, hooking, and chattering their way to a bad time. In the La Machine Mini, I’ve found a daily driver that delivers excellent skiing characteristics and a fully-featured design at a very respectable weight (1390g). Design Highlights Construction With a full-length sidewall and full-thickness edge that wraps the tip, the Mini looks more like an alpine ski on a diet than a weight-scrimping upsize of a race ski. The topsheet is glossy black and thick, sitting atop a purple sidewall that tapers to almost nothing at the tip and tail. On the inside, two full size carbon layers sandwich a lightweight paulownia wood core. The tail is protected by a composite bumper and features a small notch to keep a skin clip in place. Shape The Mini is a play on the ever-popular “fun shape” ski, with a bit of traditional camber underfoot paired with tip and tail rocker. Unlike models with more freeride flavor, the Mini has a flatter tail, though it retains a generous tip rocker. Moderately stiff underfoot, the tips and tails are soft. Decambering the ski gives an appreciation of the rocker in the tips… …and less but still plenty at the tails. Durability With a thick edge, full sidewall, and solid topsheet, the Mini is designed to be more durable than your typical light touring ski, a feature that Faction touts as part of their sustainability efforts. The tip is fully wrapped with edge, and the tip also sports an invisible layer of extra topsheet material to protect the ski where ski-to-ski contact and chipping is most common. After 40-50 days on the skis, they still look great. I’ve had only glancing meetings with rocks, but haven’t sustained any edge compressions or core shots. Full edge wrap on the tips. […]