Armada Pipe Cleaner 2012

While I'm not a pipe skier (although I do enjoy the odd trip down the stunt ditch), I'd always been curious about the Armada Pipe Cleaners and really wanted to give them a shot, mainly because I heard they were an incredibly well-built, fast and stiff (yet nimble) pair of skis.

Turns out everything I'd heard about them is true.

In a nutshell, the Pipe Cleaner rocks. At 85 under foot (in the one 176cm, which is what I rock) and without a ton of sidecut, it's great not just in the pipe, but in the park and crud as well. And boy oh boy does it rule on the ice, to the point that it's probably the best ski I've ever had for when the going gets icy.

It is definitely a stiffer ski than many other park skis out there, and while I'm use to skiing on softer skis, I really appreciated the firmness of the flex, and found it to be a great contrast to some of the softer park skis I've tried and owned. That being said though, I don't want anyone to think that it skis as stiff as a board or hard as a rock, as I found it to be extremely playful and nimble inside the park and out of it, but if you're more into the overly flexy/softer park skis, then it might not be for you, but you'll sure appreciate it when you're screaming down the mountain in icy and/or choppy, crud-infested conditions...or while boosting bigger than you ever have out of a pipe.

• Terrain
  Park
  Pow
• Design
  Clean
  Busy
• Durability
  Fragile
  Durable
• Weight
  Light
  Heavy
• Style
  Uncool
  Cool
• Flex
  Soft
  Stiff
• Camber
  Cambered
  Rockered
• Pop
  No Pop
  Poppy
• Stability
  Jittery
  Stable