2022 Armada Declivity 82 Ti

As the narrowest of the Declivity skis, the 82 Ti is clearly the most on-piste and carving-oriented. Built with the same caruba wood core, triaxial fiberglass laminate, and Articulated Titanal Banding, the Declivity 82 Ti lights it up on the groomers, leaving fresh, clean, and round arcs in its wake. For a carving ski with metal in it, it’s on the lighter side, coming in at 1675 grams in the 174 cm length. That size ski also produces a 15.9-meter turn radius, so this thing can break off some quick turns in a hurry. If you’re looking for a lighter ski that excels in shorter carves, and has a bit of an all-mountain personality to boot, then the Declivity 82 Ti is certainly worth a look. One of the other nice things about this ski is that it is not exclusively a system ski, while most other front-side skis of this width are more of a system carver. Not so with the Declivity 82 Ti, which still adheres to its all-mountain and freeride roots, so is available both flat and with a system. Do not let the system sway you into thinking it’s more of an intermediate ski—there's a lot of really high-end integrated skis and bindings out there, and this is definitely one of them.

Pascale Connacher skied the 166 and felt it to be a good size for her. With a strong racing and alpine background, this ski is right up her alley. She scored the ski 5’s out of 5 for torsional stiffness, edge grip, stability, and overall impression. Her low score of 3 for forgiveness shows that this ski has a good strong flex to it as well. Pascale notes that the Declivity 82 Ti is “super edgy and fun on high-speed medium to long turns. Felt solid and stable. Like that one!” It’s smart to point out that these skis do work well at lower than top-speeds, as it is geared to a wide variety of skiers at a multitude of levels. Dana Allen was on the 174 and noted that at his height (5’10), he’d opt for the longer length for sure. Nonetheless, he was able to glean some good information and provide ample feedback for us on this ski. Like Pascale, Dana scored a 5 for torsional stiffness and edge grip, as well as a 5 for quickness and maneuverability, although my feeling is that the shorter length has a lot to do with that score. Dana’s comments about the ski are fun and colorful: “This is a dedicated groomer Ski. Super quick edge to edge and very stable once you set an edge. Will rail a turn like a freight train. Not great in soft chop, and not super forgiving in uneven snow. Definitely not a playful ski. Not terribly versatile, as it is definitely a front side carver, but great for what it is designed for. Not a quiver of one, but it will make corduroy quiver - in fear because the edges of these skis will cut it all to pieces!”

Also on the 174, David Carter noted that it was a good length for him. Mostly 4’s on his scorecard, with a few 3’s sprinkled in for flotation and forgiveness. These consistently high scores show that the Declivity 82 Ti is a well-rounded ski, but doesn’t necessarily excel in any one particular category. From his comments, it sounds like David’s experience exceeded his expectations. “This ski was a nice surprise for me, as I have always thought of Armada as a twin tip, park type of ski maker. I enjoyed its ability to transition from turn to turn quickly, and offer the response and stability that I'd expect from a solid front side carver.” It is fair to say that a lot of skiers tend to think of Armada as that freestyle company, but in fact, they do make these solid all-mountain and front side carving skis that a lot of people like. It also sounds like, for a few of these testers, that the Declivity 82 Ti was a surprising ski in one way or another, and I think that’s an interesting part of the Declivity series of skis as a whole.

While not typically associated with carving and front-side oriented skis, Armada has certainly made a name for themselves with the Declivity series, and in the case of an all-mountain ripper like the 82 Ti, Armada is surprising skiers and exceeding expectations for what type of skis this company can make. They are quiet, stable, and torsionally stiff, allowing skiers from a variety of backgrounds and groups the ability to carve clean and round turns on the groomers while giving some off-piste skiing a chance as well.