An in-depth look at Armada’s revamped ARV 106 ski for 2021, with specs and full review.
The ARV 106 has become a staple of the Armada lineup.
Introduced in 16/17, the ski has been going in two-year cycles.
The ski was changed for 18/19 and gained a slightly stiffer flex and a more freeride oriented shape.
It still held its own as a park ski but gained more freeride credentials.
For 2021, we have another new ARV 106 and the changes are pretty significant this time around.
Shape/Flex/Construction:
On paper, the new ARV 106 doesnt look too different from its predecessor.
At 134/106/124 the dimensions are identical to the 2018-2020 ski and the rocker profile is very similar too.
The flex, however, is very different.
The new ski is just stiff full stop.
Similar to the Kartel 108 would be my closest comparison, but with far less rocker.
Armada calls the flex pattern 7-7.5-7 (out of ten) but Id say more like 8-9-8.
On Snow:
In recent years, the ARV 106 has been one of my favourite do-it-all options.
As mentioned, that change is largely in the flex.
Im usually pretty good at buttering anything, I have no issue on most skis.
We did not nail the media side of this review.
The stiff flex and increased weight really affected how much fun I had on these in the park.
Ive generally always preferred fat skis in the park but I found these too much to handle.
When it comes to groomer performance, though, the ARV felt great.
For this ski, however, park and jibbing do not seem to be the primary focus.
If youre buying a 102-110mm ski to ski in the park, there are countless more comfortable options.
However, the Armada ARV 106 now absolutely crushes all-mountain.
For me, they are stiffer than they need to be.
But the ARV is now chargey, damp, powerful.
I felt like I could gun it through just about any condition comfortably.
The extra weight helped with minimizing deflection in mixed snow and powering through heavy conditions.
It sits right up there with Jeffrey 108 as one of the most powerful all-mountain jib skis around.
And despite, what Ive said so far, this is still a ski designed to jib.
It has a forward mounting point and enough tail to land switch in pow fairly comfortably.
Soft snow, though, is where these skis really blew me away.
I only had the ARVs with me, so thats what I skied and they blew me away.
In fact, Ive never really understood horizontal rocker before.
Id only tried it on really fat skis, which surf just fine anyway.
And when the snow gets tracked or heavier, they just keep on powering through.
I spent the majority of that time skiing all-mountain and only hit minimal rails when skiing park.
However, they do feel like very solid skis.
But for me, they were too stiff, too charge-y to really enjoy there.
They make do make different slightly compromises with their designs though.
It also pivots quicker.
Its still a great ski, but will now appeal to a slightly different crowd.
The main compromise of the Prodigy is that it has less power behind it in mixed conditions.
