Why we chose the Armada Stranger: Progressive, versatile, and a tonne of fun
Lengths (cm): 172, 180
Sidecut (mm): 138 / 100 / 120 (180 cm)
Radius: 15.8m (180 cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
Price: £540
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The Zero Range from Armada Skis are some athlete-inspired / mad scientist creations, that have been designed with the sole aim of pushing the boundaries of ski design. Armada don’t expect these skis will fly off the shelves like hotcakes, but they have given the Californian-born brand a chance to flex their creative muscles and, in doing so, create some pretty bloody impressive skis while they’re at it. To be perfectly honest, after falling under the ownership of the giant Amer Sports group we were worried we wouldn’t see this kind of creativity from Armada anymore so we’re stoked to see this sort of thing going down. It bodes well for the future.
“They have given the Californian-born brand a chance to flex their creative muscles”
The Armada Stranger sits in the middle of the Zero Range, with the ludicrous 133 mm ARG II at the wide end and the edgeless, Bdog Edgeless, at the narrow end. The Stranger promises “progressive ski design, merging freestyle with freeride,” so, naturally, we were keen to see just how those crazy boffins over at Armada have managed to strike this balance.
Armada Stranger Shaping
Although the 100mm waisted Stranger sits in that Goldilocks bracket of skis, where the all-mountain shape is expected to be able to take on every corner of the mountain, Armada have quite rightly stated that the Stranger won’t be the ski for you if you plan on shredding bottomless pow, hucking 80 foot booters, or racing GS gates. There are plenty of other skis out there that can perform well in those situations (we’re still yet to see one that can do all of them to a high level, though).
