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I think this is a great ski. If its mixed condidtions this is my ride. I have skied the ANT as well and find this a better all around ski, but if you are doing all of big mountain, the ANT is a better ski. Its shortfalls arise in poor conditions. It skis fast, which I love, but is still soft enough to play around with on a lousy day, ski switch (they ride amazing switch) and maybe venture into the park.
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being extreme, 10 being extremely extreme, I'd rate this a 9.5.
Performance
I think this is a great performing all mountain ski. It's straight shape (straighter than the ANT) loves to haul ass on the groomers and despite the huge tail, doesn't hook up in the pow. It's soft flex doesn't make it chatter at speed as much as I thought, though it is a factor, but it helps in the trees and pow. I do notice that the soft flex hampers it in the cut up pow and crud, especially compared to something like the ANT.
The skis are amazingly light which helps with the swing weight. If this ski weren't as light I would have a harder time in the tight trees because of the straight-ish sidecut, but it does pretty well. The ski also skis shorter than most twins because of the huge rear tip.
I use this ski as my all-mountain ski and love it. I don't ski too much park, so the longish length doesn't bother me. If I'm messing around though, its light enough that I can still do in there. If I was only skiing park that day I would definitely swap it for my dedicated park ski. It's not the greatest on ice because it likes to make long turns, but just sack up and ski fast and you're fine.
Design
I love the straight shape and the huge turned up tail. Switch in pow is easier than any other ski I've tried. The graphics are fucking awesome too, better than this year in my humble opinion.
The mounting line has been known to be different on each ski so watch out for that. Also, most people who have skied these say the suggested mounting spot is too far forward. On the 188, measure 88 cm from the tail to find the optimum spot.
Value
I got a hell of a deal on these, $300 US brand new in March last year, so for me, its amazing value. Even if you paid retail I'd say its pretty good value. Aside from the first generation Armadas the durability has been pretty damn good and I don't hear of many problems.
Characteristics
This is a fairly soft ski. Stiffer than the ARV for sure as well as a Seth Pistol, but softer than the Seth Vicious. It's a fairly even flex and performs well all mountain.
Durability
Only a couple days on them but so far they are holding up well. Only minor scrapes to report, and the bases are still immaculate. They have experienced problems with the older pivot and look/rossi turntable heels (fks series and p18) ripping out because of the screw pattern. Others with those bindings have been ok, but it is something to worry about. Salomon heel pieces are great and the new look/rossi px/scratch/power series are fine.
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