2027 Armada AntiMatter 92 On Snow Ski Review

At a Glance:

2027 Armada AntiMatter 92 Skis

2027 Armada AntiMatter 92 W Skis

For 2027, Armada introduces their AntiMatter collection which replaces and enhances both the Declivity and Reliance lines. While they were always built the same, the Reliance women’s skis are now part of AntiMatter, and are still structural twins to the men’s version. They get a “W” in the title, a different graphic, and different length options but are otherwise unisex skis. Another aspect to AntiMatter is that the 82’s and 88’s remain the same, except for graphics, while we get an entirely new 76, 100, 108, and 114. The 92, which we will focus on here, shares the same mold as the outgoing Declivity 92 Ti, but with new construction. Overall, the lineup is more cohesive, has a clean progression through the widths, and continues to provide excellent performance with an emphasis on fun and energy.

The AntiMatter 92 is built with a full poplar core and one sheet of their new Speed Metal laminate. As opposed to the Articulated Titanal Banding that we’ve talked about forever, Speed Metal is a bit simpler. We get one central strip of titanal that runs from the tip to the tail to dampen and power the skis when pushed aggressively. At the same time, the sides of the ski remain unencumbered by that metal, so they do have a loose, drifty, and playful feel for when you want to be more creative with your skiing. Overall, we found that they do possess a bit more freeride character than the older skis, but still have a lot to offer those who love to absolutely rail confident turns on firm groomers. The width acts as a balancing agent—capable of smoothing out inconsistencies in terrain and making everything feel like perfect corduroy. I (Bob) skied the 188 and found it to be a wonderful length. According to Armada, the 188 sits on the scale at 2150 grams while Jeff’s 172 is a claimed 1885 g/ski.

The shape and profile should come as no surprise here, as the mold is shared with the outgoing Declivity 92. The 188 boasts a sidecut split of 133/92/119 for an 18-meter radius while the 172’s 131/92/117 split equates to a 17-meter arc. The 180, which we did not ski, sits right in the middle at 17.5 meters and weighs an even 2000 g. For the lengths, the turn shape is pretty short—something we always noted and appreciated about the Declivity. With a bit less taper and rocker than other skis of the same shape and style, the AntiMatter 92’s shape always felt like it leaned more to the frontside as a comprehensive carving partner with off-piste capacity when needed. The new construction makes the ski feel a bit closer to a true 50/50 ski in this width range. Best suited to advanced and expert skiers, this is a high-performance ski with a lot to offer assertive and aggressive skiers. We’re excited to spend more time on the new 92, and the rest of the AntiMatter collection in the near future.

Bob's Experience:

For a long ski, these things come across the fall line very, very nicely. It’s a tip and rip type of ski on the groomers and is very satisfying to feel the long camber and long effective edge of the ski paired with a relatively short radius. Despite its length and weight, the skis feel nimble and agile in various turn shapes and styles. The initiation is clean and precise and like always, the rebound of the ski is exemplary. It’s tough to notice much of a difference in an on-piste format between this ski and the Declivity; it’s more in an off-piste situation that the benefits start to come alive. When we hit day-old windblown snow and moguls mixed together, we felt like we were whisked away to some vast Colorado open bowl. The AntiMatter stood strong here, with a feathering quality that the Declivity didn’t really have. While smeared turns and drifty style aren’t huge attributes here, you can still get it sideways and swively if you just put in a bit more effort. That said, the stability and the predictability of the ski in variable snow conditions are top-notch and completely awesome. The ski does not flinch when encountering adversity, adding to that high end feel and finish of the ski. While it excels in the resort, and most of the frontside, it is a bit of a handful in tighter spaces, bumps, and trees. Again, effort is the key word here, as the skis need a bit of coercing to optimize performance and benefits.

Jeff's Reaction:

I owned the first-generation Declivity 92 Ti and always thought it was one of the best skis in its category. It was somewhat frustrating for me over the course of the next few years as a ski that I thought was objectively really good and that would work for a lot of skiers just didn’t seem to sell like it should. It really doesn’t affect me personally, to be honest, so it would be fair to question why it caused frustration. I suppose I just care a lot about this stuff and when a manufacturer produces a good ski, I want it to be well adopted by the skiing community. It is, however, hard to break habits and norms and the right customer for the Declivity 92 Ti already had lots of options from more “traditional” brands in the all-mountain space.

Could AntiMatter change that with a refresh of the name and a touch more freeride influence in its performance? I think it could! Considering they share the same shape, the new AntiMatter 92 feels more similar than different to the outgoing Declivity 92 Ti, but there are some important contrasts. The tips and tails just feel a touch softer in this new ski, which gives it a rounder flex pattern overall, smooths out turn initiation, and with a robust feel underfoot, doesn’t take away much grip or stability, if any. It was interesting that both my wife (Megan) and I felt like we could make cleaner carves on the AntiMatter 92 than we could on the Declivity or Reliance 92 Ti. That feels like a nice snapshot of the concept that longitudinal stiffness isn’t everything when it comes to a ski’s power, confidence, and composure. There’s a nice amount of torsional stiffness in these skis, especially underfoot, so while entering a turn is a little easier, you can still push on it and stand on it and be confident when skiing with power and purpose.

I’m excited to ski the new AntiMatter 100 more as that ski is completely new and is certainly a bit more geared towards off-piste terrain and softer snow conditions than this 92. The 92 still feels mostly rooted in groomer performance, where it absolutely excels, but I do think they’ve made it a little easier when you take it off trail compared to Declivity. Those slightly softer tips and tails keep the ski planing on top of the snow surface a little better and gives you more forgiveness and more control in tricky situations. Bob brought up the QST 94 in the video as somewhat of a contrast to this AntiMatter 92. Both are highly versatile skis, but if QST leans a bit more towards off-piste performance, AntiMatter leans a bit towards on-piste performance. It’s been fun watching the progression of Armada’s directional skis from Invictus to Declivity and now to AntiMatter. Those previous skis were good skis, especially Declivity, but I do think they’ve infused more excitement and more of the brand identity into AntiMatter and I’m excited to see how the market responds.