Faction Candide 3.0, on3p Kartel 108, lib tech wrecreate 110

First off, you will probably be happy with any of them they are all great skis. I have never skied faction or libtech so I am not gonna say those are good or bad. The only thing I can compare between the three is that ON3P is the most durable of the three. It sounds like you ski a wide variety of terrain so that could be helpful for you.

I have a Kartel 108 2016-2017 and ski very similar to you. I used to race and I now compete in big mountain so I need the exact same thing out of my ski. I love to butter, spin, and boost natural features but still need to be able to carve and charge. After skiing the Kartel 108 for a full season and using no other ski, I could not be happier. The first day I skied it I was not sure what to expect as I had never owned a ski over 98 width, and 98 to 108 is a big jump. After the first day, I was in love.

The Kartel 108 seriously does it all. I could not be more impressed by the ski. It does extremely well in powder and floats very well. The deepest I skied this year was about 2.5 feet and it handled great, very surfy. If you have a designated pow ski that won't matter much anyway, but it doesn't hurt. The ski also rips on the hardpack. As I mentioned, I am a former ski racer and have had no problem laying these on edge even when it's not ideal conditions. The skis absolutely bomb through crud and I never have to worry about straightlining it or getting unexpectedly bucked. Additionally, the ski is very poppy and can launch you off small hits and side jumps when you want to. The Kartel 108 is also very buttery for its size. If you are a fan of tail butters and nosebutters you will have no problem doing so. They are very buttery and have lots of pop off anything from park rollers to natural berms. The ski feels very light in air too. I don't do crazy rotations but your average spins, flips, and grabs are perfectly fine on the ski. The only conditions the ski did not perform great in was rock hard ice, and even race skis struggle with that so really no complaint there. Like all ON3P's the skis are extremely durable and will last you no matter how much you batter them. I had a few runs this year I was sure I was gonna have a core shot when I got to the bottom and was impressed to see basically nothing. The graphics are also sweet.Overall, I would be perfectly comfortable bringing the Kartel 108 for any day. Not to mention its built in 'MERICA.

LMK what you end up doing. Based on what you described I would be shocked if you did not love the Kartel 108

**This post was edited on Sep 9th 2017 at 1:57:02pm

Scratch that and either get the on3p billygoats or the 4frnt col. I used to ski on a pair of the 3.0 s I loved the playfulness but I broke 3 pairs. When looking for new sticks I demoed a ton of on3ps at crested butte. I loved the cartel, it shredded everything, but then I tried the Billy goat. The billygoats are what I find to be the most fun versatile, and still remained playful, a lot of people say 114 is to wide but the ski felt quick edge to edge. Now the col (previously named kye 110, which I have) the col is probably the best ski I've ever been on. It reminds me of the 3.0, but it's better at conquering some big lines/cliffs and spinning them without the durability issues. Just speaking after my time on the col its a much better ski.

4frnt devastors

Lonely4frnt devastors

The devastators are great, but I'm not a fan of the full rocker :/

Fuck the others, stick with Faction all day long

jmckay7Fuck the others, stick with Faction all day long

Factions r great skis, but for being one of the most expensive brands out there they are not durable enough.

if you have a problem with factions durability then talk to them about it. Theyre super helpful and hooked me up with a new pair after i had problems with my 1.0's durability

Haven't skied the liberty's, but previous libs that I've tried have been mediocre. I've skied the Kartel and the CT 3 though, and both were great but I preferred the Kartel. The CT was great for charging fast, big loose turns with nice snappy butters, but it didn't finish the turn in tight bumps very well. The Kartel just does it all really well. Both are fun though, there are things the CT did better than the Kartel but I just found the Kartel more versatile

Stein2424Trying to figure out what to get for this season. Last year I had the 3.0(the ones with no titinal under foot) and absolutely loved them. I'm 185 6' 2", used to compete in racing and big mountain so I want a ski that can spin, butter, charge, stomp, carve, and haul ass(I know it's a lot to ask for). I don't ski anything under a 190, I'll punch front or over drive the tips with the amount of rocker in these skis. My pow skis are faction chapter 116(16/17 made stiffer than other years) and Icelandic nomad 95 for park.

Kartel - probably more durable than 3.0 still very playful

3.0 - super playful responsive and likes to speed, so light that can almost be knocked around on firmer stuff at times but not too bad. Durability issues

Lib tech- maybe stiffer less playful? Never seen them don't know much

If you are DEAD set on buying one of these three skis I would go for the kartel 108, however I am biased. I own last years kartel 108 and skid it a ton last year and love it, it does everything.

However for what you want i would recommend the on3p billy goat. A little stiffer than the kartel and wider. The billy goat is a harder charging ski but still on a similar level of the kartel. I have the same background experience in skiing as you do and after demoing the billy goats I would definetly recommend them. You could also look at the cease and decist.

yurtyif you have a problem with factions durability then talk to them about it. Theyre super helpful and hooked me up with a new pair after i had problems with my 1.0's durability

I'm glad to hear they hooked you up. Most indies have great customer service so that's great to hear. I honestly have never owned Factions, however, I have seen/heard many instances of Factions being beaten up very quickly.

*DOGIf you are DEAD set on buying one of these three skis I would go for the kartel 108, however I am biased. I own last years kartel 108 and skid it a ton last year and love it, it does everything.

However for what you want i would recommend the on3p billy goat. A little stiffer than the kartel and wider. The billy goat is a harder charging ski but still on a similar level of the kartel. I have the same background experience in skiing as you do and after demoing the billy goats I would definetly recommend them. You could also look at the cease and decist.

You're the second person to mention the Billygoat. If op is looking for a 108 that can charge more than the Kartel, I would go for the wrenegade. The billygoat's could be too big for an all mountain ski depending on where op skis. But it sounds like op is looking for playfulness too, so Kartel is better. Now that I read the op again, for the Kartel. I went looking for a ski exactly like ur describing and love the Kartel 108.

Another ski that may be worth a look is the blizzard Rustler 11 in a 192. It's the evolved form of the gunsmoke and has a reletively playful shape, but was still burly enough for guys to be skiing them in the freeride world tour.