Armada ARV 116 - Opinion?

[DrGT]

Hi Pugskiers!

Now that my Rossignol Super 7 are sold, I "NEED" a new powder ski
I sold them because they were not playful and nimble enough for my needs/tastes.

I already have a piste ski and a mid fat for everyday. These will be my toys for real pow.
I ski at a resort with lots of snow / trees / steeps (for the East). I travel West once a year.
I consider myself a pretty good skier, but by no mean an expert. 5'8" 165 lbs
I am looking for a fat ski that is nimble and playful. I don't want/need any kind of powerful carving tool. Just plain, easy, simple powder pleasure.

My searching for this kind of ski led me to the Armada ARV 116. Anyone has an opinion about this ski?

A friend of mine is trying to convince me on Instincts Seekers, but they are a bit too expensive ... and not available here in the East.

 

[Jtlange]

The ARV 116 (aka the JJ) is exactly what your looking for. The ski floats, pops, and bumps around with little effort. You can actually haul pretty fast on them too if you want to, especially on this years model which they gave a little more backbone to (which is good in my opinion). Size them a little long because they have a crazy amount of rocker.

 

[Ken_R]

Hi Pugskiers!

Now that my Rossignol Super 7 are sold, I "NEED" a new powder ski
I sold them because they were not playful and nimble enough for my needs/tastes.

I already have a piste ski and a mid fat for everyday. These will be my toys for real pow.
I ski at a resort with lots of snow / trees / steeps (for the East). I travel West once a year.
I consider myself a pretty good skier, but by no mean an expert. 5'8" 165 lbs
I am looking for a fat ski that is nimble and playful. I don't want/need any kind of powerful carving tool. Just plain, easy, simple powder pleasure.

My searching for this kind of ski led me to the Armada ARV 116. Anyone has an opinion about this ski?

A friend of mine is trying to convince me on Instincts Seekers, but they are a bit too expensive ... and not available here in the East.

I dont see why you would not love the 116JJ in 185cm

 

[sullywhacker]

Been on the JJs in a 175 for ten years. 5'7" 145. Multiple trips every year to Utah and Steamboat for resort and cat skiing, Have demoed a bunch of other powder skis over the years and never found anything even close to as easy to ski. For light guys/gals in fresh, trees and soft bumps, they are money.

 

[DrGT]

I dont see why you would not love the 116JJ in 185cm

The guy from Armada web site told me to go with the 175 cm. The guy at the shop says 185.
I bought a pair of Renoun Endurance last year. Cyrus suggested the 169 cm, but I went with the 178
... I regret it

I think I prefer to go to short instead of too long this time...
I want them NIMBLE!

 

[DrGT]

The ARV 116 (aka the JJ) is exactly what your looking for. The ski floats, pops, and bumps around with little effort. You can actually haul pretty fast on them too if you want to, especially on this years model which they gave a little more backbone to (which is good in my opinion). Size them a little long because they have a crazy amount of rocker.

Mmmm. I planned to go "too short" this time (175).

I am tempted by the Zero series. Lighter and obviously even more fun, but at the possible cost of less stability.

 

[DrGT]

With the conditions ruined by the heat/heavy rain and my recently awakened calf sprain nono, it's time for an update.

I went with the Zero series, in 175 cm.
VERY good choice. Amazingly light ski for this width. Also stiffer than I would have thought.

Skied it 3 days. We had a 10 cm snowfall the night before my first day. The 2 other days were days with no new snow as I wanted to see how the behave in different conditions, especially ones they were not made for (trip planning ).

All I can say is WOW. They float (at least in 10 cm ...), they are very nimble and playful. They hold on edges way better than I thought, in tight turns as well as in long carving on groomers (sometimes with something close to ice). Very easy to put on edge, a lot easier than my previous Rossy Super 7.
Also, not so much tip flapping. Surprising.
A FUN ski. Exactly what I was looking for. Happy guy.
Can't wait to try them in some real snow.