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Armada ARG

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-JaH-
Posts: 22 - Karma: 10
I' thinking about buying a pair, but first I wanted you opinions on how they might work on groomers?
thanks
Jan 28 2009 9:57AM
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49566738265
Posts: 0 - Karma: 7,704
They suck on groomers.  Yes they will work, but they suck on groomers.
Jan 28 2009 2:14PM
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bigwhite.steeze
Posts: 8227 - Karma: 1,030
i have a pair and they suck on groomers. there manageable and once you get a few days on them you get used to it but they still suck on groomers. if you hit ice dear lord you better watch out...

on the other hand the amazing performance they have in pow or anything but hardpack deffinatly makes up for the shittiness on groomers.
Jan 28 2009 2:16PM
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Dr.Rick_Marshall
Posts: 407 - Karma: 44
its like riding snowblades on groom but after a while you kinda get used to it
Jan 28 2009 3:55PM
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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
It is by far the best powder/crud ski I have ever used...but if you are planning to use this ski on any groomer for more than the 30 seconds it takes to get back to the lift, get a different ski.  If you try to carve on any groomer with this ski, you will initiate the turn fine, but then your outside ski will try to turn the opposite direction while your inside ski will try to take a sharp turn towards the way you initiated the turn.  If you are not an expert skier or even if you are, you will most likely crash hard.  You cannot turn this ski with the edges on groomers, you have to slide turns around as if you were on a ski with no edges.  Of course, you do get used to this, but this is one of the worst all mountain skis you could get, I would rate it 99% powder/crud, 1% groomers (to get back to the lift)
Jan 28 2009 4:48PM
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-JaH-
Posts: 22 - Karma: 10
I guess I'll take my chances with them... I'm really curious abot riding them since it's a completely different shape from my other skis, but yeah, I get the no groomers point.
Jan 28 2009 5:09PM
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camohard
Posts: 343 - Karma: 22
have to agree that they arent very good for groomers. i find that if you stay far forward and don't try to carve (i.e. it's more of a slide turn), they can be okay. straightlining on hardpack is scary. they tend to drift around, so you need to constantly be controlling them (always being in a light turn helps this). As I get more used to them, theyre becoming more fun though. last weekend i was just dicking around cruising down open runs, buttering and popping of rollers, and it was actually pretty fun.
i actually don't like them in medium pow/softish conditions. it's all or nothing. in legitimate deep stuff though, they are tight.
Jan 28 2009 5:09PM
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-JaH-
Posts: 22 - Karma: 10
obviously I can imagina that a 133 waist ski sucks on groomers, but is it better, the same, or worse that other fat pow-specific skis on grooms?

Jan 28 2009 6:24PM
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4frnt_4_life
Posts: 183 - Karma: 10
skied on hellbents ,which i now own, on the groomers and it took me about two turns to get the hang of them and you can really carve them good on groomers. but when i tried my friends ARGs i could not even make a turn
Jan 28 2009 6:43PM
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Fish_Sandwich.
Posts: 9108 - Karma: 16
RR skis are mad hard on groomers.  I ride Donners.  In pow they are epic and they are fine most anywhere unless there is hard snow.
Jan 28 2009 6:59PM
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canuck
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 137
It goes like this, I live in Utah, we see a lot of pow.
For Pow i wanted the absolute best ski, for me it was the ARG. Groomers is secondary. the biggest problem is that they are slow on groomers.
So, priority 1:POW
      priority 2: getting back to the lift on a little groomer.

If you want the ultimate powder stick its a no brainer.
Jan 28 2009 7:30PM
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ErthwurmpRevenge
Posts: 82 - Karma: 48
so pretty much this is what you should do ditch the arg's and get JJ's!!!
Jan 28 2009 8:55PM
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funk.
Posts: 2679 - Karma: 33
interesting reviews here.  I had a much different experience.  I thought they were fine on groomers and skied much like a traditional ski.  Even in pow they acted MUCH differently than my Donner Parties.  I didn't think the little amount of sidecut underfoot owuld do anything but I could definitely tell the difference between the ARG's and my DP's.  It didn't feel lmuch like I was riding reverse side cut.. My experience though.  Could be different for others.
Jan 28 2009 9:00PM
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bigwhite.steeze
Posts: 8227 - Karma: 1,030
i've ridden jj's and...fuck that, ARG owns it.
Jan 29 2009 12:22AM
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Clandestino
Posts: 149 - Karma: 22
I've owned both, and I have to say that the JJ beats the ARG.  I absolutely love the ARG, but yes, they do suck on groomers hardcore.  I don't like them much for booters either, as it is somewhat tough to initiate an edge.  As soon as you get used to the ARG's, they are not too bad on groomers, as long as there is some snow to grip...Ice is freaky on them.

The JJ gives the same surfy feeling in the pow, and still has amazing float.  You can shred absolutely anything on them, they have a similar flex, just feel slightly shorter due to more rocker in tip and tail.  JJ's are one of the best fattys that I have skied on groomers!  The JJ does not stomp landings quite like the ARG, and doesn't float quite as well, but I prefer my JJ's.  They do anything.  Too bad you can't buy any 185's right now:(  JJ is the best do it all rockered ski out there.
Jan 29 2009 1:52AM
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-JaH-
Posts: 22 - Karma: 10
I just got the opinion from a few friends who have skied last years ARG, and they told me that they are hard to control on hardpack groomers, which is like you have all told me, but as long as there are a few inches of unpacked snow they are much easier to handle.
Jan 29 2009 2:10AM
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Carrphotography
Posts: 590 - Karma: 95
After this amazing season in Little Cottonwood Canyon, it's obvious that the ARG is superior to JJ as a powder only ski and should be considered the best powder ski out there.  It is the preferred purchase if you already have a pair of all mountain skis because on powder days, there aren't groomers!  Why the hell would you be concerned with the performance of a powder specific ski on a groomer, you bring out your all-mountain skis a few days after the storm when you see more groomers.  But I understand not everyone can have a 3-ski quiver (powder ski, all-mountain, park)




Apr 3 2009 10:33PM
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SV420
Posts: 242 - Karma: 10
I have been riding my spatulas every day since i got them, wether its powder, corn snow, or ice, (and I also have hellbents and chopsticks) so they can be ridden in any condition and you can carve them but it is entirely different than a normal ski and you have to figure it out, and if there is a little fresh snow on the groomers then they ski perfectly fine.
I would assume that the ARG would ride fairly better on groomers and hardpack, and also a lot of times a bad tune can make a reverse sidecuted ski ride poorly on groomers.
Finally, reverse sidecuted skis shred powder so much better than something that is just rockered, when I first rode the Spatulas I realized that the bents and chopsticks actually don't slarve very well in powder at all.
Apr 3 2009 11:42PM
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