Non Blister Faction La Machine takes

[GoSlowGoFar]

Awesome. So that should be like 12cm back from center. Compared to a lot of modern skis that is quite far back - obviously it's the classic mount...

I measured straight pull so I'm tempted to say it's closer to -10.5 from center or along those lines. The Blister Review says Paul mounted just behind the new school line which is -8cm according to them.

[Dromond]

I measured straight pull so I'm tempted to say it's closer to -10.5 from center or along those lines. The Blister Review says Paul mounted just behind the new school line which is -8cm according to them.

Got it. Thanks

[SnowMachine]

Just posted my 186 Max's in gear swap if anybody is interested. I think these would make a killer soft snow touring ski. I picked them up cheap planning for motorized back country and a heli trip last year. I ended up staying close to home since conditions were so good. I have duplicate skis in the quiver with touring binders.

[mr_pretzel]

Anyone have time on the megas? Not sure I love paying this much for a faction, but these would be a good option for me

[altacoup]

I have a pair mounted with marker alpinist and they’re great. Feel similar to hoji designed skis, albeit not tapered as much. And they’re impressively light for such a wide ski yet don’t have that nervous feeling of a light ski.


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[GoSlowGoFar]

Digging my pair so far. Have only gotten them out in soft snow from 6-12” here in the Wasatch and they float well and feel like they have enough backbone if I hit a firmer bump. Quick to change directions. I have them mounted on the new school line fwiw.

[Corin]

I have maybe 10-12 days on the Max, probably 15 days on the Mega, and a couple days on the Mini and Micro respectively.

La Machine Mega is one of my favorite skis ever. I used it mainly with Salomon MTN for below treeline touring. Light on the up and fun and super easy to ski on the down. Floats incredibly well and handles tight trees like nothing else I've tried. I for sure recommend it if you can find it for a good deal. If touring for good snow is all you do, then I recommend it even if you can't find a good deal.

As far as the Max goes, it was obviously super fun in deep pow, but I loved it in like 15 cm of soft snow. As long as it was fairly even, the Max made just a smaller amount if soft snow feel bottomless. I played around with mount points and settled on just in from of Newschool actually. We used to mount all our demos on the progressive line but I actually made the call to go forward on the Mega.

The smaller skis are great too, I'd probably pick a Mini as a steep skiing tool if didn't already have two options in my quiver. I used the Micro in a 170 length mounted with Dynafit Race 115 in a skimo race and that was phenomenal. Wasn't as fast as the people on race skis going up, but I go ski as fast as I wanted on the way down and rest at the same time.

All of them definitely need some sort of softer snow though. They're not made for hardback at all, and that's where I feel they start to make a little less sense. Especially the skinnier ones. But as longs as the snow is what I like to call "3D", you'll be alright.

The camber on all models was adjusted between pre-production and production if I remember correctly.

Edit: should probably say I used to work at Faction

[Dromond]

Do the production models have more camber? The mega, designed for primarily touring in soft snow is what interests me most.

[GoSlowGoFar]

Do the production models have more camber? The mega, designed for primarily touring in soft snow is what interests me most.

The mega has 1-2mm of camber.

[Corin]

A tiny bit more. But yeah, soft snow touring is exactly what it's for.

[GoSlowGoFar]

Shameless plug - might be parting ways with my setup (184s w/Zeds) once I get my HL BC110s mounted up.

No complaints at all with the Megas aside from the factory skins not gliding as well as Pomocas. I'm a sucker for full reverse skis and like trying out new stuff.

[abcdethan]

What’s the straight tape pull of the mega?


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[CaliBrit]

Anyone know who makes faction skis?

Edit: family owned factories in Poland and Czech Republic.

[mr_pretzel]

Bummed to hear that the max now comes with camber as well.
I thought the Mega skied well, but I just prefer reverse camber in my bc skis in this width class.

[CaliBrit]

Bummed to hear that the max now comes with camber as well.
I thought the Mega skied well, but I just prefer reverse camber in my bc skis in this width class.

It’s pretty damn minimal.

[mr_pretzel]

It’s pretty damn minimal.

The pair I skied had a bunch of camber, 5-6mm

[Steve1080]

Any one got time on both the La Machines and K2 Dipatches (either 3 vs 110 or 4 vs 120) able to share some comparison thoughts?

[altacoup]

I have the 126 under foot la machine and 120 dispatch. Pin bindings on the faction and duke pt on the dispatch. I mounted both of them forward of the line. The faction is easier to ski and feels like a hoji design. The dispatch has a very stout section behind the tail and needs bottomless snow to feel effortless otherwise the stiff tail is punishing. If I was to only have one I’d go with the faction especially since it’s lighter and has a better track record of not exploding. I skied with A pollard when he was skiing on la machine and he had them mounted almost center. Kid was skiing them at crazy speeds, but there’s a reason they weren’t his ski of choice for the fwt.

[CaliBrit]

So excited to get on these. Mounted a couple mm back from the new school line at minus nine.

[Rg2flp]

Anyone have experience with both the cambered and camberless Max? Camber on newer max seems very minimul but curious how that affected it. Also someone probably already has written about it but how do these compare to Renegades? And how would the Massives compare to Hyper V8s?

[Benneke10]

I haven't skied the La Machine Massive, but I have a lot of mileage on the Hyper V8 and I've skied several other full rocker/low camber, long radius touring skis like the Dynafit Beast 108 and Volkl BMT 109. The Hyper V8 is a unique ski, they are significantly lighter and softer with a relatively skinny tail that helps them float incredibly well, better than other skis in their width class. The Hyper V8s are powder specific skis and some of the worst skis you can have on firm icy conditions, their edgehold is horrible. I think this is partially because Voile Hyper skis are torsionally very soft. I've owned the Objective as well and even at 82mm underfoot they didn't have great edge grip, and the problem is exascerbated on their wider skis. The Hyper V8 are not versetile but when you want a powder specific touring ski that can go fast and long uphill they are awesome. The La Machine is probably a better choice in anything but light powder.

[Blaster]

Anyone have experience with both the cambered and camberless Max? Camber on newer max seems very minimul but curious how that affected it. Also someone probably already has written about it but how do these compare to Renegades? And how would the Massives compare to Hyper V8s?

A friend has the camber la machine 109 underfoot ski. He liked the rens, katanas, and bmt109s and is happy with the camber la machines. “Intuitive and handles a range of conditions well”.

A pretty different ski from the hyper v8’s.

[Skip Dooley]

I have a pair of cambered megas*. Before skiing I was disappointed with the camber. But it has settled quite a bit. They are pivoty and fun. Not quite the same as the BMT 109 (my all time favorite touring ski). But if the BMT is a 10/10. I’d give the max an 8.6.

They’re super fun in soft snow. The poppiness is great compared to the BMT. They require slower skiing on firm compared to the BMT.

Favorite currently produced option out there right now. Though, I have a pair of HLBC113s to mount… those could take the cake..


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[Skaramanga]

Bumping this thread this to see if anyone got time on the current La Machine Max (126mm underfoot). Been on my radar for a while since I’ve got a gap in the quiver, looking for a proper deep pow touring ski.I was interested in the OG because of the reverse camber with that long-ish flat section underfoot. But it looks like the new one has a good bit of camber now, and I don't like that.

Not a ton of info out there, only the 192cm initial impressions from Paul Forward at Ulcer Review (I'm not a member, so I can’t read the full thing). From the pics, the camber looks substantial: https://blisterreview.com/gear-revie...-machine-5-max

I think the WNDR Reason 120 might be a similar ride. I had them in hand at Evo and liked the feel. Renegades don’t really do it for me. Any other similar options out there?

[altacoup]

I have the OG La machine max and love them, although I had to mount them like +[emoji640] of recommended. No idea why they added camber, it’s not like a ski that’s [emoji637][emoji638][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]] underfoot and made to tour with needs hard pack grip. The wndr is considerably heavier, and the company just went out of business. Line vision [emoji637][emoji637][emoji640] is worth having on the radar as the line optic [emoji637][emoji637][emoji640] is the best floating ski of that width I’ve ever skied, but it is very center mounted. The heritage lab UT [emoji637][emoji638][emoji638] is another option.


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