2021 Armada Victa 87 Ti

Sometimes it's easy to want to put ski brands into stereotypically categories. If you did that for Armada, you'd likely say they make freestyle oriented twin tips. While you wouldn't necessarily be wrong, they also make a lot more than just skis like that, and the Victa 87 Ti is a perfect example. The Victa 87 Ti is a directional all-mountain ski with frontside performance being a significant focus of its design. It's 87 mm underfoot in the longest length (85 mm in the shortest) and has a turn radius ranging from 16 to 17 m from shortest to longest. Armada's AR Nose Rocker profile combines long camber underfoot with smooth tip rocker. It's not super-pronounced tip rocker, which is by design to ensure the Victa 87 Ti has good edge grip through any turn. It's constructed using a poplar wood core with metal laminates and carbon-kevlar struts. That's a recipe for a ripping all-mountain ski, and we luckily work with some ripping female skiers who were anxious to put it to the test.

Danielle Nichols tested the 171 cm length and was quite impressed by the Victa 87 Ti. In fact, you could even go as far as saying she was surprised by its performance, which goes back to our idea that a lot of skiers don't necessarily expect something like this from Armada. The first indication of her fondness for the Victa 87 Ti was her 5 out of 5 score for stability. We didn't see a single score under 4 from Danielle, although she did leave flotation blank, which makes sense as that's not really an area of concern for this ski. "Wow! I can't even believe how responsive this ski was. Felt a little short for being a 171 cm, but felt super solid underfoot. Also very maneuverable. Fun and playful!" Annie MacDonald is another high level skier who spends a lot of time on skis with metal. Her playfulness score rose to 5 out of 5 and her feedback on the Victa 87 Ti suggests that Armada has blended some fun factor into this metal-clad ski, which we don't often expect. "Surprised by this ski! Great edge hold and playful too. Really performed well with larger radius turns." Annie did have a similar reaction to Danielle about length. After skiing the 171 cm length, she mentioned the "nose felt short, but still performed well." We expect the mount point and tip rocker is giving these ladies a perception that the Victa 87 Ti is going to ski short, but once they start making turns, it doesn't, which is interesting. Ultimately Annie thought it is "overall really fun. A great girl ski for all-around: woods, bumps, etc."

While Danielle and Annie were impressed by its responsiveness and stability, Kristi Brown noted that it can still be enjoyed by an intermediate. Kristi described it as a "nice, easy ski" and mentioned that one of her favorite things about it was its "lightweight" feel. For reference, Kristi is often found skiing heavy, stiff skis, so it's important to consider her perspective. Regardless, we think she's on to something, as the Victa 87 Ti seems like a ski that can be enjoyed by a wide range of skiers. Take Lauren Lepage, for example. She falls pretty squarely into the intermediate category, and she didn't have any trouble on the Victa 87 Ti. Testing the 163 cm length, Lauren found it was "a ski you can really lay into. A good all-mountain groomer ski that has a lot of stability. The ski definitely has some power behind it."

To summarize, the Victa 87 Ti is likely not what you expect when you think of a brand like Armada. It has excellent edge grip, it's very responsive, and it's a pleasure to ski when you're out cruising groomers with your crew. A lot of skiers will enjoy its performance. Experts will appreciate how easy it is to manipulate and maneuver the ski, while still feeling stable and powerful. Intermediates will appreciate its approachability and the fact that they can experience a ski with metal in its construction, without feeling completely overwhelmed.