The 2024 Faction La Machine 3 is a wide-bodied ski that falls into the freeride touring category. With a bunch of rocker, minimal camber, tons of taper, and a light yet responsive build, the La Machine 3 is an awesome choice for adventurous skiers who are pushing the boundaries of the sport. As opposed to the Agent series of skis in Faction’s line which uses the Dancer shape as a foundation, the La Machine skis stand on their own. By doing so, Faction creates an interesting blend of flotation, freeride playfulness, and lightweight touring capabilities. The nice thing about a company like Faction is that they can use whatever platform they want to create a specific character, and with La Machine 3, this presents as a unique and modern freeride ski that allows for efficient uphill travel. There’s a lot to like about the shape and build of this ski, as it opens up a wealth of possibilities for advanced and expert skiers who are spending most of their time in the backcountry seeking out the deepest snow and most playful lines.

As we see with most skis that fall into the touring category, most of it starts with a lightweight paulownia wood core. This is a great place to begin because it has a nice mix of lightness and stiffness. It’s a surprisingly reactive ski due to the paulownia, but then they take it a step further with full carbon layers that add a new dimension of pop and energy. This blend of materials makes for an excellent combination of stability, flex, and playfulness. In the 184 cm length, the ski lands on the scale at 1610 grams per ski, so while there are certainly other touring specific skis out there that are lighter, the sturdiness of this ski stands out among the competition.

From a shaping perspective, the La Machine 3 boasts a 109 mm waist width to go along with 132 mm tips and 124 mm tails. There’s not a huge drop in taper from tip to tail, resulting in a somewhat longer 21-meter turn radius. This increases the playfulness and agility of the ski, and when we look at the longer rocker profile and rounder taper shape, it all adds up to a wonderfully drifty and smeary ski, especially for the stiffness. With the stiffer flex throughout the ski, La Machine 3 is able to power through crud and chop while still staying on top of deep and fresh snow. There’s not a whole lot of camber here at all, and that’s adding to the fun-loving and soft snow focus of the ski. It’s round overall, from tip to tail, and that leads to rounder turns without being hooky or grabby.

Modern freeride and touring have come together lately, and Faction has been at the forefront of this movement with skis like La Machine 3. By using a build that falls on the rugged side, and a shape that falls on the playful side, they’ve got a winning combination here with this ski. While dedicated tourers may find it to be too wide or too heavy, the new wave of skier who values downhill performance as much, if not more, than uphill efficiency, will certainly find a whole lot to like about the 2024 Faction la Machine 3.