2022 Armada ARV 96

Who doesn’t love a mid-90's twin tip? This is quite possibly the funnest segment of skis that we deal with, and there’s a ton of skiers out there who would be a lot better off and have a better time on a ski like the Armada ARV 96 versus a Mantra or an Enforcer of the similar width. Most skiers will be able to access the full performance of an ARV 96, and they’ll love the playfulness and fun-loving nature of the ski, in both an all-mountain and a freestyle format. It’s this type of versatility that a lot of skiers should be looking at, rather than a dual-metal laminate ski that really only starts to operate as intended above 40 MPH. The ARV 96 is built with a poplar wood core and ash stringers. The light poplar is boosted by the denser ash wood and this gives the ski its higher range gear, allowing for strong off-piste skiing as well as groomer carving and park performance. As a twin tip, it’s hard to ignore the freestyle influence, but we’d be doing the ski a disservice if we labeled it as just a jib stick. It has a huge application, from tweener skiers to telemarkers, and everyone in between. Most of our testers don’t usually get on these wider twins, so it’s always interesting to hear their input.

One tester who does ski skis like this is Jeff Neagle. The ARV 96 is right in his wheelhouse, and to nobody’s surprise, he likes it! Jeff skied the 177 and it felt about right. The next size up, the 184, would be on the long side for him, especially from a park perspective. Even so, Jeff’s top scores of 5 out of 5 were given for quickness, maneuverability, forgiveness, playfulness, and overall impression. “The ARV 96 is such a fun ski. It’s blurring the line between park ski and all-mountain ski. I would have no problem using this as a daily driver ski here in Stowe. In fact, my daily driver ski is exceptionally similar. The ARV 96 is a lot of fun for someone like me because it can do so many different things. It’ll carve turns on groomers, and while they aren’t the most powerful or responsive carves, they’re still quite fun. It handles well in the trees, so I’d be able to take a few quick tree runs in the morning before work. Then, of course, it works really well in the park, as we’d expect from a twin tip Armada ski in this width range. Anyone looking for a fun, playful all-mountain twin tip should have the ARV 96 on their list. After all, Armada was one of the first to make a ski in this category period, so it’s not surprising they still make one, and similarly not surprising it’s as much fun as it is.” Also on the 177, Mike Aidala had virutally identical scores to Jeff on the card. Mike felt right at home on the 177 and notes that he is “very impressed with the all-mountain performance of the ARV 96. Perfect for solid skiers that need a twin tip for park laps but do not want to sacrifice the all-mountain experience. These are the perfect all-mountain twin tip skis.” See, told you our testers like them!

Bob St.Pierre is no stranger to twin tip skis, but he uses them more for all-mountain skis rather than any park preference, and in that light, he notes that these skis are right up there with the best of them. His top scores were 5’s out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, and versatility, with 4’s for overall impression and forgiveness. He skied the 184 and noted that even though it was the longest length, the lighter and more flexible build made it seem like it was shorter. For a larger and more aggressive skier, this might be on the prohibitive side of the spectrum, as more beef may be required, even for what’s supposed to be a playful ski. Bob notes that “for a twin tip, I find it to be more in line with a traditional freestyle park ski versus an all-mountain ski, but that’s just for me. I’m pretty big to be using this ski all over the place, skiing as fast and aggressively as I do. I can surely see the merits in the capped tips and tails, but I’d prefer the whole thing to be vertical sidewall. But for everything else, it’s pretty darn impressive, and there will be a lot of skiers who will thrive on this ski, both in and out of the park.”

There’s just something awesome about a fun-loving, well-built twin tip ski that hits a lot of skiers just right. Everyone, save for the largest and hardest-charging of skiers, should find a lot to like about the Armada ARV 96. You do not have to be a park skier to love this ski, but park skiers will. You do not have to be an all-mountain skier to love it either, but those skiers will as well. It’s a fun and playful ski that will bring a smile to a lot of skier’s faces, and that’s just how Armada wants it.