Rossignol S4 Jib vs Armada Alpha 1

R

rrf105

New member
Thanks to everyone who helped me narrow down my choice to these two skis in the original thread (https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/615002/). I'm looking to buy a ski almost purely for park and, with a lot of help from NSers, I think I've narrowed it down to either the Rossignol S4 or the Armada Alpha 1 (found good deals on both).

I currently ride a pair of 189cm 08/09 K2 Seths mounted a couple of centimetres forward of K2's 'all mountain' mark and I love them for almost everything. I'm getting more into freestyle now and want to get something that's a bit easier to throw bigger spins and flips on. I'm looking for something really lightweight with a really low swing weight. I don't ski a lot of rails so although this will be almost solely a park ski, it'll be 98% kickers. I'm 25, 6ft 3 (190cms) and about 205 lbs. With regards to ability,

biggest tricks at the moment are double backflips and 7s but they're both a bit hit and miss!

I'm looking at either the Alpha 1 in 182cm or the S4 in 181cm. What are people's thoughts? The Alpha is rockered and has that weird taper so I'd imagine will ski shorter, have a lower swing weight but be less stable at speed and on landings though it does have camber underfoot. The S4 is still apparently quite light though I don't know how it compares to the Alpha. I'd guess that the swing weight might be a bit higher on the S4 as it doesn't have the taper. It's also traditionally cambered so might be a bit more stable but a bit more prone to catching tips/tails. I'm not sure how they compare for stiffness.

I haven't skied either so I'm just guessing all of this! If anyone's had any experience of either or both skis and could make a recommendation, I'd love to hear from you.

 
the s4 is the lightest full size ski i have ever held. really low swing weight, all tho it has no rocker, i have never had problems with it catching, even on on surface swaps. the s4 charges hard when not in the park, making it super versatile. i forgot if you have any other questions but if you want you can pm me. im fairly knowledgeable on the subject
 
when do you need to buy cause if you wait for next year get the liberty antigen its a new park ski for liberty, it has rocker/camber/rocker, it also comes in a 184 length which is good for us tall peeps definitely goin to be my next park ski
 
your bang on man, i used to ride 171 alpas and then i snapped em so i grabbed 181 s4s

my alphas held up cosmeticly alot better. no edge cracks / top sheet chips / dents anything after ten days.

the cons

they have a weak core.

known to delam at the tips.

i snapped mine in half goind to the bottom of a 15 foot jump landing pretty nose heavy on mistey 5

Breaking my ski from Kelsey Clarke on Vimeo.

my s4s are pretty dope. not as fun and playful as the alpha tho.

I feel like ladnings are more solid on my s4s then they were on alpas, eg buttering out. as a con to the s4, nose butters are really hard beacuse the ski is so stiff. its pretty much just as light swing weight tho and in weight too.

so depends if you want nose butters or more solid landings really.
 
nose butters are very possible on s4's. you just have to work. its easy if you are a bigger guy. im 165 lbs, i run my din up around 9.5, not because im an aggressive jumper but i need to use all my weight to butter.
 
you have to take into consideration that these were the first gen alphas. the alphas now have have triple hybrid core

 
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