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Great ski for a good price. If you predominately ride park and like to ski the rest of the mountain too, this ski is definitely for you!
Performance
These products performed absolutely fantastic. They are a great pair of skis that are built to last, spin easily in air, and are a park rat/all mountainers dream ski.
Design
The skis are actually a little bit heavy, but not too bad. However once I mounted my bindings on I noticed a huge difference riding from these from my thrusters weight wise, I knew they would feel a little heavier of course being longer but not as much as they did.
Value
definitely a great deal, great ski for a good price.
Fit
I love the fit, I am riding on 174's and can't say anything other than I sometimes feel restricted when riding moguls which is necessary while teaching sometimes. The 174 length with my body type (5'9"-175lbs) I find the skis just dont like to swing around and turn quickly around the bumps when I need them too.
Characteristics
These things have great flex for when you'd like to butter out tricks with enough stiffness to still hold up no matter where you are on the mountain!
Durability
Only been skiing it for one season but so far so good, the edges are holding up great, no top sheet damage, a couple base scratches but that's my own fault. Definitely a well built ski.
This is probably my favorite ski I've owned to date. It literally does everything I want it to do and more. Perhaps it could be slightly wider and perhaps the tip could be slightly stiffer. Although at that point I'd have an ARV with AR50 sidewall construction. I'd also maybe like to see a little early rise in the tip and tail. Very low profile so when on edge you get all the effective edge needed. This ski is amazing and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. It does anything and everything you want it to do. I constantly find myself surprised at how well it does everywhere and in all conditions. It also can be as playful or as aggressive as you want it to be. This ski is truly a do everything ski from park to all mountain. You won't be disappointed with this ski.
Performance
I love this ski. It does so much. Of course its excellent off park jumps, in and out of the pipe, and on rails and boxes, but it does so much more. I see it as a park and all mountain ski. It is wonderful in the bumps, trees and glades, can handle some powder, can take the steeps, can track through variable snow conditions, and rails groomers. It might not be perfect at all mountain skiing, but it can do it fairly well. I was surprised at how versatile this ski is. It has been my one ski quiver this season and has never let me down. It is playful yet loves to charge. It can slash and do smear turns yet can also lay down some perfect GS turns down a steep groomer. It floats in the pow and bites into the ice. In the park its great. It has a very low swing weight so spinning off jumps and onto and off rails and boxes is effortless. It has a great flex for park. It is very stable for riding into large kickers and stomps big landings. It is also playful enough to make rails and boxes a lot of fun.
Design
I can't quite figure out what the top sheet graphic is supposed to be. Its just crazy. I wish it was more than just black and white, but thats where the sidewall and base graphics come in. The sidewalls are three horizontal stripes of solid color, red, green, and blue. The bases are absolutely stunning with lots of bright colors sure to pop in any edit or pics. The AR50 sidewall technology is a dream. Underfoot is vertical sidewall and the tip and tail are capped. This shaves 1 pound off the set of skis from the AR6 to the AR7. Making it easy to ski without fatigue, super quick edge to edge, easy to pop from flat, and low swing weight. It also gives the AR7 its amazing flex profile of a soft tip and tail and stiff underfoot. Which allows the ski to be both playful and aggressive. From slashes, smear turns, planing and floating in the pow, bouncing around in the bumps to full on high speed GS turns and bombing down a steep line. The AR7 also has a carbon stringer running throughout the ski which gives the ski massive amounts of pop. The base is nice and fast although not as fast as my Pipe Cleaners with their race base. Fast enough if you keep them waxed.
Value
Retails new for $500. I picked it up for $450 new. Great value for a premium park and all mountain ski.
Fit
I am 5'10" and I bought the 176 AR7s. I find this length to be just about perfect. Its the perfect size for rails, boxes, and jumps. I can spin easily and it provides great stability. I mounted them -2.5 back from center and sometimes I wish I had a little more tip when the snow gets choppy or I am skiing extremely fast for a little extra stability or in the powder for a little extra float. At 86mm underfoot it seems just about perfect for a park and all mountain ski, although I wouldn't be oppose if Armada widened them to 88 or 90 mm underfoot. The sidecut is spot on. Its right around 20m which is perfect for some long GS turns. This ski is amazingly light.
Characteristics
The Armada AR7 is stiffest underfoot, softest in the tip, and the tail is in between. Under most conditions this is great. The soft tip helps it plane and float in the powder and initiate turns and butters. The tail is also fairly soft and when combined with the soft tip it allows you to throw the ski sideways to shut down speed or throw the tails out for a quick slash. The flex also allows you to pump pipe transitions for extra speed and energy. It is stiff enough to handle high speed GS turns and big jump landings, but also soft enough to be playful and handle rails and boxes. The flex makes this ski very lively, energetic, and playful and is very snappy from turn to turn. It makes for a great turning ski on the groomers and in the bumps and trees. The one downside is that since the tips are pretty soft, you get bounced around quite a bit when things get choppy. I found myself wanting a stiffer ski at times after the powder had been tracked out and in the spring. If you stay on your edge it isn't too bad since the ski is much stiffer edge to edge than it is top sheet to base.
Durability
I have about 30 days on my AR7s and they are holding up great. No edge cracks or pullouts. No core shots. Not even any top sheet chipping. All there is is some minor scratches in the top sheet's clear coat and some light base scratches. Overall the bases, edges, and top sheets are holding up amazingly. Very durable ski. Part of that is from the AR50 sidewall construction and the cap tip and tail which adds durability to the tip and tail.
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