Armada Pipe Cleaner Ski - 2009 - 2009 BCS

Got the Pipe Cleaner (176cm) to be my 50/50 ski to have the versatility split my days between the terrain parks and the on-piste runs. First off, the race base is the real deal; the skis pick up speed so much faster than my 08' Volkl Tigershark 10ft (168cm) that it took me half a day to get adjusted to it. I was passing most people on the flats without even having to skate. There's plenty of pop at the tips, and the skis feel very solid landing from jumps (which is what this ski was really built for - especially the pipes). Super stable with speed and easy to butter/switch ski. The edges held pretty well in east coast (PA) icy conditions, though I found myself needing to consistently use proper edge holding techniques (hip angulation, countering, etc.) to ensure I'm maximizing the edge angle, which isn't something I do all the time since my Tigershark allows me to get lazy now and then. So it isn't quite ideal, though more than adequate, for on-piste runs in the icy east coast conditions. The graphics aren't as bright as it looks on the monitor; the reds you see on the screen look more dark purple, which doesn't really bother me but doesn't buy it the extra star it would've gotten. I'm a little concerned about the durability of the skis; took it out for 3 days (only about 15% of the time spent in the park) of skiing on it and already some damage (mostly cosmetic) on the base and the top sheet whereas the Volkl that I used for ~20 days of skiing this season showed less damage.

While I will not ski on this ski until winter I do know a lot about it. First armada wanted to not change but fine tune and perfect their 2009 models. So the pipe cleaner along with most of the armada line has not been changed this year but they have been lightened in overall weight and they made the swing weight lighter to. When I saw this ski at a store it had an exactly even flex. The race base was also the same as last years which means you can get blistering speeds which in turn means more air off jumps. All in all, if you liked last years pipe cleaner or any armada park/pipe ski then you need to get this one.