Faction Agent 1

The Faction Agent 1 is an 86mm-waist alpine touring ski built around one priority: doing more with less. The Karuba woodcore is lighter than the poplar you'd find in most resort sticks, and Faction reinforces it with 8–12 unidirectional carbon strips woven into the fiberglass — no titanal here, which keeps the weight down to around 1,490 grams per ski in a 178. The profile is rocker/camber/rocker: generous tip rocker for easy entry and float, real camber underfoot for edge hold and rebound through the turn, and a measured tail rocker that lets you pivot out when the line gets tight. On the way down, the 86mm waist is narrow enough to rail a clean carved arc on packed snow and narrow enough that you're not fighting the ski in couloirs or on approach ridges — the elliptical sidecut gives you quicker pivots than the radius numbers suggest. This is a flat ski; pair it with your own AT or frame binding.

The Agent 1 is built for skiers who spend real time skinning and treat the descent as the reward, not the whole point — think high-vert days, long approaches, and ridge lines where you want agility over float. Intermediate-to-expert ability, but it rewards people who can drive a ski rather than beginners looking for forgiveness. If powder days are your main event and you want a dedicated big-mountain or deep-snow tool, the 86mm waist will feel limiting when the snow gets deep — step up to the Agent 2 at 96mm for a ski that handles everyday resort powder and soft groomers with more ease, or the Agent 3 at 106mm if you're primarily chasing deeper lines. The Agent 1 is for the person who already knows where they're going: fast, high, and light.