2023 Armada Stranger

The Armada Stranger is a relatively unique ski with a refreshing purpose. Rather than being designed to excel in a certain category, the Stranger is more focused on just having fun. With Armada’s background in freestyle and twin-tip production, they’ve taken that heritage and blended it with their more recent prowess in manufacturing directional skis. In a lot of ways, the Stranger is like a fully directional twin tip, rather than the more symmetrical shapes we’re accustomed to seeing. Armada utilizes a poplar and ash wood core that results in a relatively soft, yet springy flex pattern. That springy feel is enhanced by Armada’s “Springboard” tail design, intended to allow for easy wheelies and an exceptional amount of pop. You don’t see too many of these skis on the slopes on a given day, which made it that much more exciting to include in our annual test.

Matt McGinnis tested the 180 cm length in the Stranger and awarded it an impressive amount of 5 out of 5 scores. Flotation, quickness/maneuverability, forgiveness, versatility, and overall impression all earned top marks. “Look I’m not going to beat around the bush: I absolutely loved this ski. Now, a lot of you might want to take this with a grain of salt: I personally love a softer twin tip as I want a ski that’s capable of buttering, sliding to switch, and utilizing a slash to drop all of my speed in a moment’s notice. A lot of times even a medium flex ski inhibits some of those desires. So, I typically sacrifice a bit of stability for the soft playful flex that I love. The Armada Stranger offers exactly that, but honestly, That’s not the story here. I’ve buried the lead. The real story here exists in these two stats: a side cut of 140/100/121, and a turn radius of 15.7m (fact check that). Read that again. This is a twin tip ski with a 140mm wide tip, offering a 15.7m radius. The only other ski I can think to compare it to is the Black Crows Mirus Cor (which I also love), but that ski comes in at 87mm in the waist. That makes the Stranger unique. A super wide, soft, playful, slalomy twin tip. For me, that combination simply makes me salivate.” Matt was only off by .1 after fact checking his statement about turn radius. The 180 cm length features a 15.8 m radius.

Jeff Neagle also skied that 180 cm length. While his average score wasn’t quite as high as Matt’s, the Stranger still earned 5 out of 5 scores for quickness/maneuverability and playfulness. Forgiveness, versatility, and overall impression were right behind at 4 out of 5, with only stability, flotation, and torsional stiffness dropping to 3 out of 5. “What a unique ski. A glimpse into the future, maybe? The Stranger basically takes a park feel and Armada's heritage and blends it with a more directional shape and a shorter turn radius than most skis in their line. Long tip rocker allows for better float and soft snow performance than the 100 mm width might indicate. Turn radius is just over 15 m, but it often feels smaller as the relatively soft flex pattern lets you bend the ski into shorter arcs. It has its limitations at speed, especially if you're trying to lay railroad tracks, but it's a blast at moderate speeds on a groomer and can bounce around and play effortlessly in the trees. Also fun for someone with a park background who values more directional skiing now. I've seen skiers take off and land switch on these without issue, although it does have its drawbacks as a park ski.” Jeff and Matt both come from park skiing backgrounds, so we thought it would be interesting to check in with Quenton Jones, who has more of a traditional skiing background. “So much fun. Clicked with after a few turns. Quick initiation and great edge hold. Playful and surfy but can charge too. Would love to try in pow.” Quenton’s highest scores were for quickness/maneuverability, playfulness, and overall impression at 5 out of 5, with all other criteria receiving 4 out of 5 marks.

It's great to have a ski like the Stranger on the market. In a lot of ways, the ski industry is saturated with very similar skis. It’s rare to get a ski that just feels fundamentally different than just about everything else. If you prefer a directional shape, but want to be able to play around with modern, newschool tricks and techniques, the Stranger is a superb choice.