The Tracer 98 is a brand new ski from Armada for the 2018 ski season and continues their trend of producing more all mountain oriented skis as opposed to freestyle and backcountry freeride specific models. The entire Tracer series is noticeably lighter than the Invictus series thanks to only partial metal laminates that are designed for binding retention. They use Armada’s Hybrid Ultra-Light Core, what Armada calls a Xrystal Mesh insert designed to provide a smooth ride and extra durability, and carbon fiber to add in torsional stiffness, responsiveness, and some energy. Armada also uses their i-Clip tail, a nod to the fact that these skis are light enough to justify using as alpine touring skis.
The Tracer 98 has a nice, relatively middle-of-the-road turn radius of 18 m at the 180 cm length. In fact, the turn radius stays relatively consistent through each length with the shortest ski being 17 m and the longest just 18.5 m. Armada achieves this by making slight adjustments to the tip and tail dimensions, while keeping the waist width the same across all widths at 98 mm. Skis of this waist width have essentially become all mountain skis, even though just a few years ago a ski that’s almost 100 underfoot was considered more of an off-piste specific ski. This ski has camber under foot and Armada’s All Mountain Rocker profile, so it’s designed to deliver solid performance not only on soft snow, but also on the groomers.
Steve Sulin was pretty impressed by the Tracer 98. He scored it 5 out of 5 for stability, quickness, playfulness, and overall impression. We’re not surprised by the quickness and playfulness scores, but we are pretty impressed by the 5 for stability. Armada has effectively developed a construction technique that provides excellent strength and stability without using full metal laminates. Steve described the Tracer 98 as “quick and fast edge to edge” and “light, yet stable at speeds.” That’s a trend in the ski industry right now: trying to provide the ultimate combination of weight savings and power retention, and Armada has done a commendable job for sure. Steve also thought it was a “strong, versatile ski,” which essentially was Armada’s intention when designing it. Armada describes it as their “flagship go-hard all mountain ski that easily initiates a turn while maintaining damp and stable construction.” We can confirm that they’ve achieved that.
We think the Tracer 98 is a great choice for anyone looking for a super versatile all mountain ski. Because it’s lighter than a ski with full sheets of metal it’s a little more approachable for less aggressive skiers and those that lean a little more towards the intermediate level than advanced and experts. Armada has come a long way since their heritage of producing just park-specific skis and these new Tracer 98s are exceptionally impressive thanks to their relatively powerful feel at such a noticeable light weight. Great job, Armada!
