2022 Armada ARW 106 UL

As a wide and light option for fun-loving female freeride skiers, the Armada ARW 106 UL has a ton of benefits. Built from a light weight caruba wood core, these things are best-suited for softer snow, and can certainly be used as that hybrid ski that works well as both a touring and backcountry ski as well as a resort powder ski. As a wider twin tip, the ARW 106 UL loves to be used in a playful format, so it’s expected that these skis have a good deal of freestyle influence to them, and fortunately for thrill-seekers, that is certainly the case. From backcountry booters to cliff drops and cornice hucks, the Armada ARW 106 UL loves to be in the air or floating through the fresh. One of the cool things about the ski is that Armada uses their Smear Tech beveled tips and tails. They stop the edges going to the extremes of the ski, and when they’re beveled and smoother, they allow for supremely playful skiing in the fresh and soft snow, allowing for the ultimate in buttery, smeary skiing through the powder. It’s nice how Armada is able to use their edgeless technology in a variety of ways, and since these skis are rarely meant to be used in a carving and firm snow format, the edges become superfluous in many ways, especially in the tips and tails. They have a nice, long radius which is great for that surfy feel, but it does not lend a lot of energy to the turn, so skiers who are looking for snap and pop might find a bit of a lag in those departments, but what it does, it does very well.

Carly Monahan skied the 164 and found it to be true to size and a good length for her. In our testing conditions, featuring mainly spring snow, these 106’s were actually a good match for the softness of the snow, darn near bordering on mush. In that sense, these skis performed admirably, and gave a pretty good view into what they could potentially do in a fresh and deep powder format. Carly’s scores were all 4’s and 5’s, with a 5 given appropriately for playfulness. The 4 for overall impression shows that this ski’s benefits were certainly showcased in these spring-like conditions. Carly calls the ARW 106 an “adept all-mountain charmer. For a wide ski, the ARW is super maneuverable with a low swing weight and playful profile and flex pattern. Lively, surfy; find some soft snow and the ARW is sure to put a grin on your face!” And as an added bonus, we see the word “lively” coming out here, so that’s a good sign that these skis can react positively to skier input in order to get appropriate feedback. On a test day like the one we had, it certainly was helpful having extra width underfoot, and Carly is astutely picking up on that.

On the 172, Louise Lintilhac found the sizing to be right on for her, but did note that the ski lacked a bit of quickness and agility at that size. For blasting through the snow, it’s nice to have that length for stability and smoothness, but for making quicker turns, the longer length seems a bit prohibitive. That said, Louise’s scores of 3’s for the rest of the categories shows a well-rounded nature to the ski, as it’s neither too stiff nor too soft to handle a variety of terrain and snow conditions. Louise notes that the 106 “is geared more toward flotation than agile maneuverability. While the mid fat width and rockered tip and tail helped keep it afloat, the lack of side cut decreased edge-to-edge speed and decreased its playfulness value. It has a karuba core to keep it light but I found that this did not add to the poppiness of the ski. Was slightly dead in the water. This ski would be good for an intermediate skier with a larger quiver looking to shred pow.” Louise is picking up that the light weight does come at a cost, and it does eat into the energy of the ski a bit, but certainly helps when it comes to flotation and staying on top of softer and fresh snow.

These wider twin tips are just so much fun in the soft stuff. They’re smeary and surfy, and thanks to Armada’s innovative shaping and technology, they take those characteristics to the next level. With a straighter cut and a lighter weight, the ARW 106 UL is a great choice for a wide-open backcountry ski, and also makes a lot of sense for that skier looking to increase their freestyle skills both in and out of bounds. If you’re looking for a light and fun floater with flexibility and freestyle influence, you should be looking squarely at the fun-loving Armada ARW 106 UL.