2022 Armada ARW 96

The Armada ARW 96 is an awesome ski for ladies looking to shred the park, pipe, and the mountain at large. As a mid-90's all-mountain twin tip, the ARW has a ton of fun and playfulness built in, allowing skiers to get the best of all worlds when it comes to freestyle and freeride skiing. Flexible in the tips and tails, mostly due to the cap construction in those regions, the skis are great for buttering and wheelieing in softer snow and in the park, while the full sidewall underfoot makes for strong edge grip, even with an all-wood core. Speaking of the core, the ARW is built and shaped just like the men’s ARV version, with a poplar/ash core that allows for light weight and a stable ride. The ash stringers are dense and strong, and these lead to a great amount of confidence in a carved turn. In the 163, these skis generate a 17.5-meter turn radius, which is on the longer side, and this creates a situation in which the skier is able to dictate the shape and duration of the turn—mostly making it easier for smearing, slashing, and surfy turns in a variety of conditions and terrain. From steeps and trees to the park and pipe, the Armada ARW 96 is an awesome choice for intermediate to advanced skiers (and beyond) who are looking for something light, stable, and above all, fun. Our testers picked up on this crazy idea that skis should be fun, and it shows in their evaluation and experiences on the ARW 96.

Lexi Hildreth skied the 163 and noted that it skied slightly short. This is something we’ve seen in both the men’s and women’s versions of these skis, that they seem to ski on the short side, so that’s good information for skiers moving forward—if you’re caught in the middle for sizing, it’s likely a good choice to size up. Regardless of the sizing, Lexi’s scores and comments indicate that she had a fantastic time on the ski. Her top mark of 5 out of 5 was given for playfulness, and this comes as a shock to no one. All other scores were 4’s other than a lowly 3 for torsional stiffness and edge hold, but the 4 for overall impression shows that this ski is a crowd pleaser for sure. Lexi notes that the ARW 96 is a “very fun ski and lightweight which was nice. Very playful which is not something I prefer in a ski, but it was fun to take out. Enjoyed this ski and would ski it again!” It’s always nice when someone’s initial impressions of the ski change for the better once they get out there and ski it.

Catherine Ferguson skied the 156, and not surprisingly, noted that length was too short for her. She’s a pretty aggressive freestyle-oriented skier, and I’d imagine she’d be a lot more at home on at least the 163 and perhaps even the 170. Not surprisingly, her top score of 4 out of 5 was given for playfulness, as this ski is innately so, but when the shorter length comes in to play, that will certainly exaggerate the situation. Sometimes for the better, other times not so much.

If dabbling in a little bit of everything on the mountain sounds like your cup of tea, and you wish to do so with a flexible, fun, and light ski, the Armada ARW 96 is the stick for you. Really fun in bumps and trees, and obviously a fantastic park and pipe ski, Armada has really kept a good thing going with these mid-fat twin tips. They do it all, and do it well, with fun and playfulness as the guiding lights to the ski. Ladies looking to advance and progress in a freestyle and freeride format will love the well-rounded and fun-loving nature of the Armada ARW 96.