Volkl Walls or Armada AR6

Ar6. 2.5 back. All mountain but still park oriented. Have fun this winter.

last season I skied both of these skis. Both are BOMBPROOF, so zero worries on durability. Both are awesome on groomers, The AR6 is softer, but the Wall is symmetrical. The AR6 is better on jumps, but the Wall is better on rails. But, both are super sick and you really can't go wrong with either.

i just got some ar6s in a size 166 and im 5 foot 6, 110 pounds. i havent skied them, but i have them mounted at 1.5 back with griffons, and its a pretty light setup. ive only pressed them around in my basement, and the tips are really easy to press, but the tail is a different story. the tails are really stiff for me, i cant even get the tips to stay more than an inch or two off the ground when i lean back to try to hold a press on my tails. whats nice about the stiff tail is it makes it really good for skiing all mountain, pipe, and jumps due to pop and edge hold. im also using them for 60% park and 40% just cruising around on groomers just jibbing around. the ar6s are a perfect non symmetrical all mountain park ski, but the wall is a perfect symmetric all mountain park ski. its really your preference if you want a symmetrical sidecut and symmetrical flex (walls) or a non-symmetrical ski with a soft buttery fun tip, and a really stiff tail (ar6).

pm me with any questions on the ar6 too

i really want the walls but i have never been on a symmentrical twin. how are they carving wise? do they feel a whole lot different from regular twins?

i concure, I really want to know too...

I'm in the same situation, hesitatitaing between the Wall and the Punishers (similar to ar6) ... So yeah how is a symmetrical ski on groomers? how does they feel carving and stuff?

I personally didnt lyk the symmetrical sensation when i demo'd 177 walls ... They were all right on the mellow groomers but i hated them in the steeps, the tail just had to much bite and i didnt feel lyk i was doing smooth, clean carves @ short-medium radius ... However, switch performance was mint (as expected) and FYI the wall actually has a DIRECTIONAL flex pattern ;) ... There's good reason why practially every other ski in the market has a differential of some degree between the tip + tail and its fairly self explanatory why ...

Actually I'm not so sure what you mean by "directional" and "differential of some degree between the tip and tail" ... ?

Almost every test out there put the wall as one of, if not, the best allround ski on the twin tip market. But your saying that when doing small curves on steeps, it's getting harder to have a clean line, right? Because the tip is catching a lot more ?

If you could explain a bit more, I'm really intersted... !

Thanks

Volkl Walls I used them last year they were great and i do about 60%park 40%groomers aswell

Although nobody has said anything about them yet, look at chronics. They're stiffer than ar6s, can't compare them to walls never ridden them and directional. The reason I bought them up though is because the flex is symmetrical, so I guess it's kinda like mixing the wall and ar6? A directional, symmetrical flexing, stiffer ski than ar6 and similar in flex to walls I think.

good point man. i really like the flex of the ar6 in the tip, its nice and soft, but in the tail its insanely stiff for a smaller person like me. for someone bigger, i think the ar6 has a perfect flex pattern for ski flex to weight ratio

Well the wall has a directional flex, ie the tail is stiffer than the tip ... so its a not a genuine symmetrical ski like the invader/anthem/afterbang or punx ...

Differential between the tip and tail is the difference in dimension of tip vs tail, most skis have like a 10~20mm difference, 10mm is standard on the virtually all armada skis :) - ie 181 AR6 118/86/108 ... 118-108 = 10 (differential)

Well theres no denying that volkl make solid, grippy, exceptional skis but to some extent the symmetrical design detracts from that experience and here's why ...

First + fur-most im a park a rat, followed by a big mountain skier and finally a level 2 instructor so i know a thing or two bout ski performance, turn structure/shape, dynamics etc ... I felt during the apex of the turns when giving the walls absolute heaps that the tail had too much bite" ... imagine a RWD coupe blasting thru a tight corner with a locked rear diff as suppose to limited slip, same kinda principle ... and during the exit of the turn the wall didnt give a clean, smooth release lyk the AR6s do :)

I skiied this last season on Volkl walls 161. Im 5-6 and 140 lbs. they were my first twin tip and since they're symmetrical i had them center mounted. I used to rock a dusty pair of X wings which were actually a decent ski.  suprisingly the walls carved better and more reliably on groomed.  it took about an hour to adjust to the center mounting.  They are the sickest skis i have ever owned.  My brother has the ar6s 171.  He loves them but they don't carve as well since they are a softer ski.  The ar6 stomp any landing though and aren't as good as the walls on rails. my only complaint with the walls is they're a little heavy and a little stiff but being stiff they are great on groomers and cut through anything.