Brands send us the sticks and we spend a solid chunk of our own seasons shredding them.
It also has a relatively standard moderate amount of camber underfoot.
Armada describe the flex profile (out of 10) as 6- 7- 6.5 from nose to tail.
Id say the 96 is more like a 6 - 7.5 - 8 - 7.5 - 6.5.
And pow is even more of an issue when center mounting.
Their all-mountain performance is now definitely comparable to the Poacher, with slightly different strengths and weaknesses.
They butter no problem, it just helps to have a bit of speed.
I think anywhere between 95 and 100 is pretty much the magic number for most park skiers these days.
Likewise, 5050s will go, but there are easier skis for them.
Durability
The one curveball Armada have thrown with the new ARV 96 is the edges.
However, after ten days or so, one edge was already pretty much completely rounded off.
That said, there is so little edge left that they must be imminent.
The other potential durability issue comes in the form of Armadas new four piece edge wrap.
I discussed this in my ARV 106 review too and the same rings true here.
However, it does also introduce more gaps that need to be filled between the pieces of edge.
I just liked this photo
Mounting
Most of the Armada team mount center so thats where I went too.
I mostly ski rails anyway so that was an easy choice.
These still do most things great there and Id not consider moving back for my own skiing.
Conclusion:
My tl:dr conclusion is that the ARV 96 is a great ski.
If youve read this far youll see a 95% positive review.
I could still do whatever I wanted, its just my favorite playful tricks took more work.
you could play, you could go big, you could ski fast comfortably etc.
These skis are a jack of all trades, and even a master of some.
