Faction Skis

Chapter 106 Ski

Reading between the lines is cool when you're trying to decipher mysterious love notes or trying to translate cryptic clues in a hunt for long-buried treasure, but that kind of thoughtfulness is usually absent from skis. Instead, most skip straight past subtlety in favor of line-bashing bluntness. If you're someone who favors finesse over brute force, Faction's Chapter 106 Ski is a board you should take a look at. More fine tool than blunt instrument, the Chapter 106 will shimmy through trees, carve up groomers, and zip down bump lines in the morning, then slay powder and big lines for the afternoon.

At 106mm underfoot, it falls squarely in the "versatile freeride" sweet spot, and boasts a rocker-camber-rocker profile that's fairly traditional these days. The tip and tail float through pow and roll over chunder, while the camber bites on hardpack and gives you the ability to bang urgent Larrys and Randys before you send that cliff you just saw. Faction also beefs up the ski's powerful sandwich construction by wrapping a micro-cap over the top of it to improve durability when you encounter a surprise boulder lurking under early season snow.

Though capable on hard snow, the Chapter's also an affable soft-snow performer. The rockered tips and tails enjoy being thrown sideways for big pow slashes, and the five-point sidecut and Transition Zone profile make it easy to lay down smooth, fast turns without the ski hooking up and sending you flying. New this year, the wood core blends the damp, weight-saving qualities of poplar with the snappy energy of beech to give you a lively ski that won't get skittish in choppier snow. Faction hooked it up with a fiberglass laminate to provide some extra zip and stability, and a sintered base that keeps you ripping around the mountain and flying into takeoffs.