Mounting Recommendations for 22 Armada Strangers

I have mine at +6 for last years. Will verify if the line is the same place on the new ones, a pal has em.

It wasn’t “fixed” this is not a park ski. Athletes on their team make it seem as such but the design theory behind the ski is that it’s a carver with freestyle influence, hence it doesn’t have a flat tail. The mount point reflects the design theory. That being said, I’ve heard of people mounting in the center of the contact points which equates to about +6

Hey man I never said it was a park ski. But almost every post I saw about this ski had people mounting it +1 or +2, just trying to figure out where I should be placing it as someone who rode mostly center mount

animatorIt wasn’t “fixed” this is not a park ski. Athletes on their team make it seem as such but the design theory behind the ski is that it’s a carver with freestyle influence, hence it doesn’t have a flat tail. The mount point reflects the design theory. That being said, I’ve heard of people mounting in the center of the contact points which equates to about +6

SnadHey man I never said it was a park ski. But almost every post I saw about this ski had people mounting it +1 or +2, just trying to figure out where I should be placing it as someone who rode mostly center mount

I know you didn’t say that but you asked if it had been “fixed” and I simply explained the purpose of the ski

Confirmed the mount point is the same between seasons.

Cool thanks for looking into that. Guess I'm just gonna try a bunch of different mounting points and see what feels best

alpinepleaseConfirmed the mount point is the same between seasons.

I bought a pair of Armada Strangers 180cm to take with me for my winter in Australia. I weigh 185lbs, am 5’9”, and mounted the ski 1” behind true center (I believe that is around +5cm from recommended) with a Look Pivot 16 on a CAST system. Pretty ludicrous set-up, but my intention was to have a “one ski” quiver for whatever I may encounter while skiing in Australia for a season. I figured this would be the way to go after destroying my Prodigy 2.0s after 2 full seasons of skiing.
Now Australia is not known for its skiing, because it isn’t exactly a ski destination. Most of the time it rains here in Thredbo. Sometimes it snows if the temps are right, but the rain soon follows. The terrain is decent. Got some steep pitches here and there, with a lot of “on piste” terrain to rip on your carving skis. The parks here at Thredbo and Perisher are alright though. Good shaped jumps with plenty of rail features to keep a jibber happy. So I figured the Stranger would be the best of both worlds. Great at carving the piste while taking some mellow park laps here and there. And it has been excellent here!
At first I thought I mounted the ski too far forward, being only an inch back from measured true center, but it performs quite well being situated that far in the side cut. I would say 1.5” (+4-5cm from recommended) back from true center would be the perfect mounting point though. But these things rip through the cord like no other! Linking turns on these babies was a breeze! They handle extremely well on hardpack and icy conditions as well. I was quite surprised at how well they skied.
Now at first, the skis felt like the name implied “strange”, but it didn’t take too long to get affiliated with the way the Strangers skied. It felt like a regular carve ski but more playful and poppy. The tips are fun and super easy to press and butter. Spinning some nose butter 3’s off catwalks felt like any other park ski. But what I found most enjoyable about the construction of the ski, was the “springboard” tail. Manualing on the tails and popping off some Ollie’s felt super easy. That flex is nice and strong with some BOING! to it. Love the pop you get from loading it up on the tails. The switch game on these puppies is excellent too! Felt just like any other park ski I have been on. The sharp side cut helps rip some nice switch turns! Being mounted near the center helps with cranking those sweet switch turns. However, I found landing switch in the park to be a bit awkward at first. Just didn’t feel quite the same at first , but I got used to it and have been hitting and landing switch ever since. They are “Strangers” after all, so things are going to feel a bit “strange” with these skis at first try.
Touring with these skis was fun! Not the lightest stick to climb up on, but I don’t care about that uphill drag anyways. It’s not like I am trying to set records for fastest ascents or most ascents/descents in a day, so I didn’t mind cruising up with some Strangers on my feet. Shout out to the CAST system for making any ski a touring ski! That system is the best in the game! Hands down! But the set-up felt great and I had a great skin up to Mt. Kosciuszko and ski back. Overall, great backcountry/side country set up. Shit rips!
I would have to say the Stranger is an all-around killer ski! Thing does good in all terrain! No matter where you take it, it slays! Park it’s a fun jib ski! On piste it rips and crushes through crud. Steeps it holds up and also handles some drops quite well. The stiffer tail is great for landing big drops. The ski was the right choice for having a quiver killer. I would highly recommend getting this ski if you are looking for an all-mountain carving ski that loves to get playful and jibby in the park, drop some cliffs, rip through the hard pack, and go for a short tour in the side country/backcountry. 10/10 badass ski!