Rode 08 Armadas Today

skier24

skier24

Active member
alright today i got the chance to ride some 08 armadas that my shop was sent. i rode the 176 ar6, 176 t-hall, and 178 el ray. they were all mounted with salomon z12s, which were extremely light and i liked them a lot. i am 6'2 170 so the ar6s and t-halls were a little short but the el rays were alright.

T-Hall:

well i think that it is safe to say that i am going to be getting these skis next year. they are amazing. they are really light and poppy. they definitely held their own on the groomers. i just wish i could have rode the 181s. really stable, they didnt chatter at all. the flex is amazing also; not too stiff but also not too noodly.

El Ray:

well i thought these were going to be better than they actually were. they charged on the steeps but were really sluggish in the park. i like the sidecut; really easy carving but i didnt like them much in the park. they were really soft but didnt chatter at high speeds

Ar6:

these were extremely fun. really light and poppy, just like the halls. they carved well and were very stable at high speeds down the mountain. they were sort of still but once i started riding them, they started breaking in and flexed quite easily but were still very stable.

hope this helps
 
well the el rays were really sluggish. i was talking for park use a 178 was good for me but for the t-halls or ar6s i would go to the 181s
 
maybe i suck at math but last time i knew 178 - 176 was 2 but hey maybe i dont know what im talking about!
 
so they el ray is just a cheaper version of AR6?? or what? i have herd of them but not sure what they do..
 
im really not sure. they are like the arv but a bit stiffer. (comparing them to this years ARVs) they are an all mountain park ski. the 178 dimensions are 123-87-113.
 
it's also supposed to be stiffer than both, which would probably be why he was satisfied with it's performance in the park.
 
no, it's intended to be a "price point" (if you call $399 map a price point) park ski for people who don't want to shell out the money for an ar6 (which is unchanged, except for the graphics, from last year).
 
The cores on the AR6, ARV, ARW, & Pipe Cleaner have all be changed an updated a bit from the previous seasons...

The El Ray is a price point ski..

Intermediate ski..

Most sidecut of any Armada ski.

Not to replace the AR6 or ARV
 
yea it wasnt as good as i expected as i stated above.

it was really sluggish. it isnt that heavy of a ski, especially paired w/ the z12s but it was really sluggish. and i am 6'2" 170 lbs.

i spent about 2 1/2 hours on the T-Hall

the same with the Ar6s and about 2 hours on the El Ray.

 
Tell me more about the T-Halls:

Were they noticeably different from the AR6

In a 181 would you consider it a decent all mountain ski?
 
well they were amazing overall. in the park i think they were a lot more stable than the Ar6. they also seemed to have more pop to them. to me they felt the same weight overall. they had the same dimension and im not sure about the effective edge on both but charging the steeps was easy with both of them. i am more impressed with the t-hall though because i am a 70/30 park/all-mountain guy but yes in a 181 it would be an amazing all mountain ski. but if you were a 50/50 park/all mountain i would go with the Ar6. either way they are both amazing skis but i am definitely getting the 181 t-hall.

hope that helps
 
i live in michigan, in the upper peninsula, so if you live on mountains its not quite the same idea as steeps, but black diamond groomers. i skied them today in powder because we just 6" of fresh overnight and was snowing all day today and they were so fun. they floated effortlessly and skied switch really well.

^^and to who asked if they were stiffer than the fujatives, i couldnt tell you because i have never ridden the fujis. but i would think so.
 
are they just stiffer and therefore less poppy, or are they slow edge to edge (which would surprise me as they are cap)
 
Hmmm. El ray still intrigues me. You say it's soft, but good skiing the whole mountain? I don't really care about park, so how do you think they'd preform for an all-mountain ski.
 
yes they are quite soft but can really hold an edge and dont chatter at high speeds. they are stable at high speeds. but i am more of a park guy and they were really sluggish so they werent my favorite but for an all mountain ski i would definitely add them to my quiver
 
no the el rays were softer and they were somewhere in the middle with pop.

they carve really well and edge to edge was quite easy.
 
an update:

The Ar6 topsheet is not very durable. with only about two days on them they have 2 3 inch chips along the edge and two that my shop guy had to epoxy. i am not sure if this is just a defect with these skis that they will work out or if the topsheet is just really weak.
 
Could just be those skis, I am sure they tested different Top Sheets on Many Different Skis so they knew how the skis were reacting. Since those are Next years skis and being allowed to demo them Armada could be seeing how the skis hold up?
 
the el ray does not impress me at al. i havnt even ridden it yet, but seriously, it seems like a bad idea. there just seemed no need for it. the ARVs came in at a 92mm waist, and the ar6 at like a 86...sooo why add something inbetween. they sound horrible, like an all mountain ski gone bad, and like it was half assed, which is sad especially coming from armada. this is all based on no experience seeing or skiing them, but it draws very familiar drawbacks to Lines old all mountain, half twinned ski. it was horrible. i just would have liked to seen the armada line stay the way it was without the el ray. dont get me wrong, i love the new skis they come out with, the ARG is mindblowing, but the el ray...eh. gross. the ARV was sick as an all mountain ski, still is, and the AR6 does extremely well. soooo...i guess my question is why. seems silly.
 
to AKFREERIDE:

i think the reason that they made the el ray is to have a ski that is affordable by many people. it is only supposed to be $399. it comes in a variety of sizes with the dimensions/sidecut varying in each. i think they are 166, 171, 178, and 185. the 185 is like 125-90-115. it is in between the ar6 and the arv. yes the dimensions on the el ray and arv are similar but the el ray is a little stiffer, although not by much and it is softer than the ar6. the article in the armada catalog says it is suppose to be like your 50/50 ski. probably wanting to compare with the foil, chronic blend, big trouble maybe?, msp maybe?

just a ski that can really do it all. they didnt impress me that much but armada has the right idea of what kind of ski they need but they just need to improve it.
 
oh i know, i just dont like that concept. its a personal thing really, but maybe others shared it. i know what armadas trying to do, and its trying to branch out to different skiers, which is tight, what we need. i dunno, the ARV is so nice for an all mountain ski out west, and iv only heard good things about the AR6 from all over. seems like an un-neccisary filler ski.
 
I Might just jump in here if you don't mind. For Alaska the ARV would be the ski of choice and I would total understand your thoughts comming from Alaska. However around the Mid-West we have Groomed Runs and ICE! For those Intermedate Skier who are not into the Pipe, and Rails. The El Ray sounds Great, Now I would have a ski that can get up on edge and be a little softer that the AR6 for some fun Park Playing. As Someone trying to get into the game this would be a great skis to start on!
 
true. you are from downstate michigan...i am from the upper peninsula so i get a little more snow but we dont really get those powder days like out west so it is an ideal intermediate ski
 
You really liked the T-Halls that much? I thought that they were great in the park but choppy and jittery all mountain i liked the ar6 more. but i got a pair of next years JJs and i'm still waiting to mount them up probably do that tomorrow and ill let you know how they are.
 
Oh, and i thought that the El Ray was really alot of fun for the price. I would get them over most capped skis. Responsive and poppy fun in the park good feel (typical capped ski) if i was getting a capped ski it would be this or the line anthem (sweet wolf graphic).
 
$399 still is not cheap. If I'm spending that much money then I'm def going to pay the extra $100 to get the better/superior ski. I think $349 or even the $299 level of the fujatives and invaders would provide a lot more compition to those lower priced skis
 
good point...i would probably pay the extra to for the better ski.

i think they should be at the most 350....
 
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