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Armada Declivity 92 Ti 2020 – 2021 | Review

In an all-new range from Armada, the Declivity 92 is an all-metal, directional, beast

Why we chose the Armada Declivity 92 Ti: Hard snow performance, metal laminate, versatile waist width 

Lengths (cm): 164, 172, 180, 188
Sidecut (mm): 138 / 92 / 118 (180 cm)
Radius: 17.5m (180 cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
Weight (per ski): 1825g (180 cm)
Price: £540

BUY HERE

Launched in September 2020, Armada claim the Declivity series “fit the needs of the modern resort-based charger,” having been “designed from the ground up with no limitations and featuring one of the most technical builds we have ever achieved.” This sounds like a pretty bold statement to us, but when you’re replacing a range of skis as popular as the Invictus range, you’d better be confident in your delivery.

The Invictus range was one of Armada’s first forays into directional skis, signalling a shift away from their twin-tipped expertise to a more directional shape – the designs looked like it came from a race lab, not a brand with its roots still firmly set in the freeski culture.

It’ll come as no surprise that we were big fans of the Invictus, particularly the Invictus 89 Ti, and these, the Declivity 92 Ti, look another step up. It’s a ski that sits in the 90 – 105 mm all-mountain category, with Armada claiming that the Declivity is able to shred the entire mountain, “no matter what the mountain throws at you, from turning and burning on hardpack to sliding down silky pow, this one-ski-quiver will conquer anything on the hill.”

“The designs looked like it came from a race lab”

Armada Declivity 92 Ti Build

At the heart of the Declivity 92 Ti is what Armada are calling ‘Articulated Titanal Banding’ (ATB). ATB is essentially a sheet of titanium that spans the full length (and width) of the ski, with vertical cutouts in the tips and tails. The gap that the cutouts have left exposed have been filled in with an elastic compound that’s said to harness and release energy when flexed and released – more so than that of a traditional titanium layer.

The ATB is also said to improve dampening qualities and, of course, decreases weight in the tips and tails. Cutting chunks from a metal laminate isn’t really anything new in ski design, but we like Armada’s way around lightening up the tips and tails of the Declivity series while also upholding decent downhill performance.

To complement this titanium layer, Armada have built the Declivity 92 Ti with a Caruba woodcore. Caruba was chosen as Armada claims it’s 15–20% lighter than poplar, with pretty similar performance. On top of this, Caruba is said to only take five years to grow, from seed, to harvest. For that reason, Caruba is miles more sustainable than traditional cores.

Declivity 92 Ti Shaping

As we mentioned in the introduction, we were big fans of the Invictus line. And, we’re happy to say that the Declivity 92 retains some familiar shaping from the Invictus line – particularly the Invictus 89 (no surprises there, as they’re not too dissimilar widths).

“You’ve got yourself a weapon that’ll happily tear the resort, no matter your chosen speed”

The Declivity 92 Ti features a rocker – camber – rocker profile, with a hearty 4 mm of camber underfoot for hard snow performance. And while the tips and tails have been tapered to increase soft snow performance, the rocker is pretty shallow. This shallow rocker will ensure you’re able to keep a good length of edge in contact with the snow when turning the skis – this will further improve the hard snow performance of the Declivity 92.

Who Is The Declivity 92 Ti For?

So can this ski really ski the entire mountain, no matter the conditions? Yes, we’d be happy saying it would. Its rocker profile and 92 mm waist will see your right through 3D snow, while the 4 mm mm of camber and ATB titanal layer gives the Declivity 91 Ti ample bite when you’re ripping within the boundaries.

There are many other skis that are able to provide hard pack, or powder performance exclusively, but we’re stoked that Armada have managed to create a great all-mountain package for those with a slight bias towards those who prefer shredding the resort. Pair the Declivity 92 Ti with a binding like the Armada STH2 and you’ve got yourself a weapon that’ll happily tear the resort, no matter your chosen speed. 

What Is The Declivity 92 Ti Good At?

Carving: 8/10
Dampening: 7/10
Soft snow: 6/10

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