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Overall i think the ski is great and by far the best ski i have ridden so far in my skiing life. I think i have discussed just about everything in each of the sections so il just say, i would highly reccomend this ski to anyone skiing alot of pipe, hitting jumps and needing a good all mountain ski.
Performance
This ski surpassed all my expectations and is definatly my favourite pipe/ all mountain ski i have ridden. However this ski also killed it in the park, especially on jumps whether they were little 15ft or 45-50ft. THese things were great on tables, hips and quarters and any other jump feature the builder could think up. The race base is a great feature and it ment less hiking up to any featres we were hitting. Which was great. They are very slippery on the snow and you could accelerate faster than anything else. This ski was great fun on the rest of the mountain, had a few days with visiting friends where i just cruised around the mountain and i can say they can hold a high speed carve, and there light enough to jump and spin off nearly anything. THe PC has a very low swing weight which is perfect for me and made it easier to learn new tricks this season in the park and pipe. THe half pipe was where these skis showed there true colors. fast, light, poppy and fun. I spent alot of time in the pipe this season and i think the skis had something to do with it. Freeskier says they are "motivating in the pipe" and yes i truly agree with this statement.
Design
I really like the topsheet on this ski. Mostly white and is graffiti covered with a Armada LTD badge forward of the binding on one ski and behind the binding on the other ski. I think the graffiti is jibberish or im an idiot and just cant work out if it says anything at this point in time lol. THe technical design of the ski i think is really good, 117/85/107 which is real good for a quick edge change in the park , pipe or just racing down the groomers.
Value
It is quite an expensive ski as it is from armadas LTD series. However it use a upgraded core and base from the ar6 which may rise the price a bit. It is in a similar price bracket to the Dumonts which From what i have heard is a fairly similar performing ski. HAving ridden this ski for a whole season, i have tasted its true potential and i would not say its a rip off but i would not say its a steal either.
Fit
I had the 181cm model which matches my height perfectly since i am 181cm or just under 6ft. This size was perfect for my size as it gave plenty of stability on landings and are still easy enough to spin and pop small tricks off the ground. I really liked the dimensions of this ski and the 85 under foot seemed to work for park, pipe and all mountain.
Characteristics
The Pipe cleaner i found had the perfect flex pattern for what it was built for, which offcourse is the pipe. THe ski itself i found was very similar to my Ar6's. they are a stiff ski, which is needed for the pipe to avoid coming down on the knuckle. Has a very very poppy tail. I found the nose of the ski a bit softer than the ar6 which means i could easily nose butter which also makes this a nice ski to play around with. THe ski also had a really good flex pattern for the park, whether hitting huge or small features.This ski's flex also alowed it to be very very good on the rest of the mountain, It could easily hold an edge on ice or groomers and were alot of fun if you feel like a day of cruising with the family or friends :P. I took these skis out into the back country a few times when my jp's were out of service and they work. Cause they are stiff they can handle steeps but i was having a bit of trouble in heavy powder towards the end of the season. but that was probably due to mounting centre and not the ski
Durability
In the past the Pipe CLeaner has had bad reviews on its duribility. I agree with this is some aspects of the ski. THe top sheet needs some work as it chips easily if you catch the edges when doing mutes or tail grabs. or any grab which involves crossing skis or just hitting the skis together in general. However they far more annoying thing is on the tails which get destroyed in lift lines. Most of teh chips on my topsheet are on my tails from the lift lines. however we all know this cant be helped. THe base on my PC's have held up very well. Ive hit a few of rocks this season skiing at louise and sunshine, out of bounds when my jp's were down. no core shots or deep gouges in the bases. I have also slid a few rails on these skis maybe 6 or 7 times and there are no marks on the bases which i was surprised about.
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