Which Armada?

mmckechnie

mmckechnie

Active member
Long Read Spark Notes at Bottom

So one week ago today, I destroyed my skis while skiing some sidecountry off the summit of Mount Mansfield, Vermont. I skied down Hourglass and then Hell Brook. I made a right hand turn around tree and the tip of my inside ski managed to find its way right into a hidden rock. It was pretty brutal. The tip is now permanently bent at a 60 degree angle. The wood core, layers of fiberglass, and top sheet all cracked and the edges bent holding everything at 60 degrees.

So now I am once again in need of a new pair of skis. First of I am 5 feet 10 inches and weigh 180 lbs. I'm 21 so I'm not getting any taller, but might lose some pounds. At the start of this season I weighed around 195 to 200 lbs so I'm definitely losing weight. Might lose some more but don't expect to ever be below 140. I also ski the east coast everything from 500 vertical foot hills in Central New York to side/back country at places like Mount Mansfield and everything from park to groomers to trees to steeps to chutes to drops to pow to variable snow conditions. I would say I am a fairly good skier, but by no means the best, especially when I ski somewhere like Jay Peak or Stowe.

I'm coming off a pair of 2009 Pipe Cleaners (RIP) which I loved for their speed, edge hold on icy and hard snow, low weight, pop, playfulness, durability, and stability. They also had a nice 22m turn radius, not too long or too short. I really have come to enjoy Armada skis as they are well thought out, constructed well, and ski amazingly.

I was considering 5 pairs of skis: Alpha 1s, Alpha 2s, Pipe Cleaners, AR6s, and ARVs. Although my local shop doesn't carry Alpha 1s or Pipe Cleaners. So now its down to Alpha 2s, AR6s and ARVs. I think right now I'm leaning towards ARVs due to their V for versatility but am also strongly considering the Alpha 2s for their playfulness, AR6s just cause they are time tested and probably the closest out of the three to my Pipe Cleaners.

I think the mounting point on the ARVs is -7 or-8 cms from true center. can they be mounted further forward? Armada and others always promote them as being versatile, but I can't imagine hitting park mounted 7 or 8 centimeters back.

When I'm at school in Central New York, Syracuse University, the hills are small and all they really have to offer is park (rails, boxes, hips, pipe, jumps) although there is some fresh due to lake effect snow and normal snow storms. When I'm home I ski mainly off piste (trees, steeps, drops, pow, variable snow, ungroomed, chutes, side/backcountry) but some park. I'm finally getting decent at park so I may spend a little more time there since its more fun than before.

Anyway which ski for someone who skis both park, groomers, trees, pow, steeps, chutes, drops, and variable snow, a little bit of everything? ARV? AR6? Alpha 2?

Spark Notes:

What ski? ARV? Alpha 2? AR6? 5 feet 10 inches. 180 lbs. Ski east coast. Ski everything from park to big mountain.
 
Alpha would be better in the pow and crud because of the rocker. The AR6s are also quite soft, so they wouldnt do as well in crud. And the -7/8 mounting point does make me not think very highly of ARVs. That and I have just never like them a whole lot. I would choose Alphas first, then AR6s, because I know lots of people that have them and really like them, and then the ARVs
 
The ARV is probably your best bet. It's not exactly a pow machine or anything like that, but it is versatile enough to get the job done. You can probably even mount the ARV at center, definitely closer than -7 anyway.
 
id say either the alpha or the arv. my friends just got the alphas (we ski in PA) and he loves them. id say try to get something with some early rise but still has camber that way it still has a good edge grip but the early rise will help a little in the pow and the slush when it gets warm.
 
havent skied AR6s, but between ARVs and alpha 2s id say ARV for you. the alpha 2s were perfect for skiing through soft slush and crud, but when it was icey in the mornings, they did not hold an edge all that well. because of their light weight and low swing weight, they were alright for skiing bumps and tight trees, but i would not recommend them for the east coast ice. i had a ton of fun on ARVs. they were strong enough to power through crud, soft and playful for the park, and seemed to carve really nicely on hardpack and ice. i have not skied wither of them in pow, but i would assume ARVs would really get the job done. i live on the east coast too and also head out west alot to ski side/backcountry, and i am definately going with ARVs next year.
sparknotes: get ARVs
 
So it sounds like you could get away with either the ARv or the AR6, it just comes down to personal preference. If you want a stiff charging ski that can handle anything and is a bit wider underfoot go with the ARv, if you want a softer, more playful ski that's still stable and can also go anywhere go with the AR6.
Sparknotes (haha): More all-mountain = ARv, more park = AR6.
 
So torn between the 2 right now, Alphas and ARVs. It seems like I'll need to make a compromise between getting the early rise and early taper of the Alpha which seems like it would be sick for spring slush, shallow pow, skiing switch and switch take offs, and butters and presses and ARVs which will prob charge a lot harder on groomers and off piste, handle the pow a bit better, and do better when its a little icy or hardpack outside.

It'd be interesting to see a ARV type ski but with the elf shoe tech. Although that might run into the same problems as the alpha in terms of actual skiing. Its too bad elf shoe tech takes away from how it performs just as a ski. I know armada claims the camber and side cut in the middle help it out, but there is no denying that it will perform not as well as my Pipe Cleaners with a full 90 degree sidewall did. I guess the question is do the benefits of elf shoe tech out weigh traditional sidewall, camber, and side cut given what I want?

Where did you guys mount your ARVs? You said you could mount forward of the recommended -7 but how far do you go. Seems like another compromise. Park vs All Mntn performance. I loved my Pipe Cleaners at -2.5 from true. So maybe -2.5 for ARVs or would that be too far forward? Maybe -3 or -4?

Thanks for the help again and +K to all who have helped and will help.
 
Bump. Right now I'm leaning towards ARVs and mounting at -2.5 or -3. Would that be a good spot to mount if I want to ski park and all mntn?
 
in my opinion i would go even closer to center. like -1 to - 1.5 is what i usally go with for all mountain but it really depends the on the style of your skiing man
 
I have never skied armadas, but I just got a pair of Moment Bibbys. And rocker, even on the EC, is the way to go. They have some camber underfoot, as I assume the alphas do, which makes them rail groomers and feel much shorter than they are because of the running length that's in contact. (hint: +1 agility for jump turns in tight trees) Also, rocker seems to release the ski out of the turns more easily than a traditional profile, almost giving you a pop out of each carve. And yes, butters are a breeze.

So yeah, you know pretty much how the ARVs will feel- great ski, but predictable. Go out on a limb and you'll have even more fun with the alphas
 
Seemed stiffer than my Pipe Cleaners when I hand flexed them in the store. Although skis go through a break in period so they would probably be softer than they were in the store after a few days of skiing. They also have no metal or kevlar or carbon stiffening up the ski so it can only be stiffened up so much with extra fiberglass, harder woods, etc.
 
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