ARV 96 vs ARV 86

B

bc4life

New member
Hi guys. I want to buy some new skis for the season and I'm between those two Armada's. I'm 90 percent ar the park, mostly rails but I get 2 days of the season in some "pow". I'm wondering if 96 is not to wide and heavy for rails? I'm pretty sure that 86 is to narrow for pow, but park is the most important and I can afford only for 1 pair. Help!

**This thread was edited on Oct 29th 2017 at 1:10:40am
 
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, I'm not a park skier. I recently purchased the ARV 96, but I live out west and ski mostly around Tahoe. When I bought my pair the 86 were significantly cheaper. I bought last years 96 for $352 or something. So if budget is a huge issue and as you said you're skiing mostly park in the east I'd think the 86 might fit the bill. Search hard and find a deal? Demo 96 with bindings somewhere might be the same price as new 86's?
 
tons of people use skis with 90-100 waist widths for pure park. you have nothing to worry about there. i suggest going 96 in this case
 
I have the 96 from last year, they aren't much heavier but you might have to take a few days to fully get used to the width. when you're used to the 96 waist it will be considerably more worth it, and youll be happy you got them. you can really actually ski power in them, especially if you're used to a skinnier ski, i was pleasantly surprised how well they floated when we got 1-2 feet one day, had my best run of the year on them, just makesure you dont centermount them. IMO worth the extra money, you don't sacrifice hard pack skiing, the ski is stiff enough. also i wouldnt worry about width for rails, people crush rails on the edollos and those are 99 wide
 
13850869:mystery3 said:
Where did you mount? They're marked with a -4.5 and -2.5 and sitting in my shed waiting to mount up.
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i mounted -2, the ones i had before were -3. most people mount -2.5 and i think this is the sweet spot. they design the ski around this mounting point and youll find it easier to carve and take it all over the place. centermounting is crazy imo, i dont like being so backseat while skiing pow and going faster on groomers
 
13851053:tdollo said:
If you're doing 90% park i would most certainly mount them dead center...
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13851498:OJulier said:
Was about to say the same. Definitely mount dead center.
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he wants a do-it-all ski for the season including some pow days. DO NOT center mount in this case
 
13851499:SofaKingSick said:
he wants a do-it-all ski for the season including some pow days. DO NOT center mount in this case
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Well according to op he does 10% do it all skiing. 90% park means you’re gonna want that shit dead center
 
13851500:tdollo said:
Well according to op he does 10% do it all skiing. 90% park means you’re gonna want that shit dead center
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he said he will use them in powder a little each year. in this case the pros do not outweigh the cons of centermounting by a good margin
 
13851503:SofaKingSick said:
he said he will use them in powder a little each year. in this case the pros do not outweigh the cons of centermounting by a good margin
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Then we just have different opinions... OP do what you think is the right thing regarding mounting position
 
or you could get marker schizos. I have them but don’t even move them. Then again my hill only got 17 inches of snow last year so my opinion is invalid.
 
13850861:Broseph_Stalin said:
I have the 96 from last year, they aren't much heavier but you might have to take a few days to fully get used to the width. when you're used to the 96 waist it will be considerably more worth it, and youll be happy you got them. you can really actually ski power in them, especially if you're used to a skinnier ski, i was pleasantly surprised how well they floated when we got 1-2 feet one day, had my best run of the year on them, just makesure you dont centermount them. IMO worth the extra money, you don't sacrifice hard pack skiing, the ski is stiff enough. also i wouldnt worry about width for rails, people crush rails on the edollos and those are 99 wide
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This is the right answer. I bought arv 96s last season and they Have become my one ski quiver. I will ride them in 2ft of pow and then rip a snappy park lap on them, such fun skis. I would not hesitate to go 96 underfoot. They are incredibly light skis to begin with (at least in comparison to the on3ps I was on before) so like stalin said, the pros of the extra width far outweigh the cons in this case
 
armada quality has changed... I was looking at both models in person and the 86 is held at significantly lower quality standards by their producers. One pair had the entire edge separated from the base, and the gap was filled in with spacer material. Not something I would want in a brand new ski. The 96 had flush base and edges on all the pairs I looked at, and they arent full cap.

Go with the 96 no doubt. Extra $$ is worth it in this situation imo.

And for where to mount, My friend mounted 122 underfoot pow skis dead center and loved them. If you get a ski to use in the park, then center mount. Ive done recommended for years and I regretted it in the park. The edges will be too fucked after a while to properly initiate the ski anyway so recommended is a waste because of that imo.
 
13852014:Park. said:
armada quality has changed... I was looking at both models in person and the 86 is held at significantly lower quality standards by their producers. One pair had the entire edge separated from the base, and the gap was filled in with spacer material. Not something I would want in a brand new ski. The 96 had flush base and edges on all the pairs I looked at, and they arent full cap.

Go with the 96 no doubt. Extra $$ is worth it in this situation imo.

And for where to mount, My friend mounted 122 underfoot pow skis dead center and loved them. If you get a ski to use in the park, then center mount. Ive done recommended for years and I regretted it in the park. The edges will be too fucked after a while to properly initiate the ski anyway so recommended is a waste because of that imo.
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122 underfoot I'm assuming is surface new life's, which are symmetrical anyways so they are supposed to be center mounted. IMO if you mount a non symmetrical pow skis at center you are an idiot but that's just me
 
13852049:sambuswell said:
122 underfoot I'm assuming is surface new life's, which are symmetrical anyways so they are supposed to be center mounted. IMO if you mount a non symmetrical pow skis at center you are an idiot but that's just me
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RMU professor's. Not symmetrical, but kid loved them more than his Diams (he had that RMU hookup).
 
Go with the ARV 86, mount dead center, and slay park. Then use the money you saved buying the 86 to rent for the 2 days you'll ski powder.
 
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