Armada ANT Pro Alpine Ski - 2008 BCS

The ANT's are some of the sweetest skis I've ever been on. They are so much fun to ski on, it's insane. They're super stable at any speed, charge through crud and cut up powder like nothing. Stomping airs is a whole new ball game on these - so sweet. Definitely a big burly ski for anyone looking to charge.

I loved these on alpine, so I bought the 07/08s and mounted a pair of BD 01s. 7 days in I tore one binding off and delammed an 8" slash. Epoxy didnt work so I sent em back to CA and am hoping Armada honors the warranty. Never saw anything saying you can't ride em tele...Otherswise the ski rips. A great charging ski, but def likes a little snow or mank underfoot, not so much groomers. I think the delam occured because Armada uses a lighter (and thus weaker) wood core for the ANT. If they give me a new pair I'll still mount em tele again and give it another shot.

I bought these ski's because they were used and quite a bit cheaper than any other big mountain ski i could find. I do a lot of backcountry in western montana, and when it comes to powder these can't be beat. Cliffs, pillows, or just straightlining down the steepest hill these the ANT's float and are extremely stable. When it comes to riding in bounds, however, its a different story. Skiing Big Mountain in Whitefish Montana for the weekend proved to be difficult, you definitely have to work to keep an edge. The groomers down to the base get a little exciting when you're guessing whether you can make that final turn as your quads are burning. Overall, a great ski and about as versatile as you can expect from the stiffest big mountain ski you can find. Word

Had these a couple seasons now (no significant changes I'm aware of from '06/'07). I'm 155, 5'10. I like really big turns, straightlining, dropping cliffs, etc. and charge pretty hard. I'm finding that even for an aggressive skier who prefers a stiffer ski (goats-ish flex) these were a tad much for a guy my size. I think if I gained 30 lbs I would probably like these a lot more in more conditions. As it stands, in relatively smooth packed/hardpack/variable conditions these kill it--in other words a great BMFS comp ski for a heavier guy. They also rail groomers. As soon as the bumps start getting bigger, these stopped being fun for me. Also there are skis I'd much rather be on for deeper messing around/fun days--tips tend to want to dive because of a lot of camber, but if you ski them more traditional-style, i.e backseat in the pow, theyll do OK.

Pros: Rail all kinds of smooth to small bump conditions, ice to crud to packed, if it's smooth.

Cons: Not fun in the uber deep, more work than you're used to in the big bumps.

Again take all this with a grain of salt considering I'm a smaller guy, and if you can put some more weight on these you'll be able to engage them a lot easier.