The Tracer 108 from Armada is designed to be predictable, playful, and fun in freeride and all-mountain applications. The Tracer series in general is more of a directional design than we’ve traditionally seen from Armada, a nod to the fact that the company is growing and expanding into new segments of skiing. This 108 mm width ski uses a rocker/camber/rocker profile with longer rocker in the tip. It has an ultra-lightweight wood core that’s supported by Armada’s Xrystal Mesh construction technology, an Innegra Mesh insert that stabilizes the ski, and also adds durability and overall toughness to the ski. We had four testers on the Tracer 108, all of whom were on the 180 cm length.
Hans von Briesen started his feedback by describing the Tracer 108 in “one word: versatile. Bumps, jumps, steeps, groomers, the list can go on forever.” That’s high praise from Hans, who has a knack for describing ski performance. He gave the Tracer 108 4 out of 5 for every single category, which supports his claims of versatility. He went on to say it has a “soft enough tip and tail for pressing into varieties of turns and is strong enough under foot for hard charging.” That’s really what a lot of skiers are looking for in skis of this width. Being able to manipulate the ski in soft snow is a whole lot of fun, while the ability to open it up and ski fast is a confidence inspiring performance characteristic.
Noah Labow had a similar reaction to the Tracer 108. He gave it similar scores, although stability dropped into the 3 column for Noah. He found it was “solid underfoot and held an edge nicely.” Noah did find the Tracer 108 had a little bit of a speed limit, or at least became a little less composed at high speeds. “It was stable in crud to a certain speed when the tip got a little loose.” That’s understandable considering the ski comes in at a relatively light 1885 g at the 180 cm length and uses a fair amount of tip rocker. It’s not the most stable ski in the world, but it’s certainly no slouch.
Jake Inger described the Tracer 108 as a “super fun jack of all trades,” which really aligns well with what our other testers have said so far. Jake found it “allowed me to carve, hop, and jump. It held a carve really well for a 108 mm underfoot ski.” Jake wasn’t too fond of the graphics, but we’re not really a company that focuses on graphics. We will add, however, that some of us think it looks awesome.
Marcus Shakun had a really thorough response to the Tracer 108. Like Hans, Marcus also scored it 4 out of 5 for every single category. Perhaps what stood out more than anything in Marcus’ feedback was his note that “Armada nailed it with this ski.” Marcus tests a lot of skis throughout the year, so if he’s giving a ski high praise it almost definitely deserves it. “Allows you to engage fast long turns, but also slides medium turns when you need to. Lots of energy in and out of turns, snappy and playful. Could be a little quicker edge to edge, but does everything right.” We don’t expect a 108 mm ski to be exceptionally quick edge to edge, and that doesn’t bother us. Instead, Marcus has confirmed the versatility of these awesome all mountain skis.
We think a lot of skiers will enjoy the Tracer 108 from Armada. Undoubtedly it will be a powder ski for some with its 108 mm width, while others may find it has a perfect blend of performance for their daily driver. If you live in a snowy part of the country in particular, you could easily ski the Tracer 108 every day. They’re light enough for touring, stable enough for aggressive skiing, and just a whole lot of fun overall.
