2025 Armada Declivity 88 C

On the light and fun side of the all-mountain spectrum, the Armada Declivity 88 C continues to fly under the radar, and for no good reason. This ski rips. Perhaps the ARV’s and wider Declivities of the world overshadow this 88 C but make no mistake, this ski is as fun and engaging as it gets. The energy you get out of each and every turn makes this one of the more fun and zesty skis on the market today. With a highly useful shape and profile, there’s no reason that this ski shouldn’t be up there with some of the more popular skis in this realm. Basically, anyone’s who’s looking at something like an Elan Ripstick 88 should also have the Declivity 88 C on the list. Even though the ski moved from caruba to poplar, Armada took the stiffness down a notch to better align with the intended audience. Hopefully this change will shift some of the focus onto this ski as a more accessible option. It used to be stiff for its weight, and that could be seen as off-putting for intermediates. Now, these alterations should attract a more appropriate skier.

One of the least discussed aspects of ski construction is core thickness. You can have a dense wood like ash, but if you mill it thin, then the ski is going to be flexible. Conversely, you could use caruba in a thicker cut, like last year’s Declivity 88 C, and have a very stiff ski. Armada is meeting in the middle here, with a swap from caruba to poplar, and thinning the profile slightly. We still get the carbon stringers to keep the ski peppy and zesty, but the thinner core allows for the increased flex and management. The skis remain light, with the 184 barely hitting 1800 grams per ski. Tester Greg Morrill found his pair to be “Solid and powerful. They like open steep terrain, groomed or not. This ski likes the fall line and going fast.” Greg also couldn’t quite get enough of the mobility, hoping that Armada would make the ski “lighter and quicker.” As far as the build goes, the Declivity 88 C has a lot going for it, even when it dials it back a notch. Skiers looking for the stiffer and denser skis can still look to the Ti versions either in the 92 or 82 mm widths.

The shape of the ski stays the same from year to year, and at 88 mm underfoot, this definitely falls on the versatile side of the spectrum. Armada puts the most camber and least rocker into their narrower skis, so aside from the 82 Ti, this 88 C is on the traditional end. You can still load up the tip and run the edge through the tail to get a true and long effective edge. The turn radius is long, hitting 17.7 meters in the 184. This allows skiers to access the entirety of the carve and get that stable feeling throughout. There’s some tip and tail rocker, but not a ton—there are certainly skis in this width range that feature more rocker and taper for more of a freeride feel. The Declivity 88 C is decidedly more all-mountain.

Now with a more flexible nature, we’re expecting more intermediates to hook into the 88 C. It used to be a bit rough for the less experienced or aggressive, now it’s capable of reaching down a bit and snatching up those progressive skiers looking to enter the higher end all-mountain ski world. It’s still very light and quick but now more eager to articulate around the bumps and chunks of the mountain, making it easier to maneuver in variable conditions and terrain. The older one could feel a bit pingy due to the stiffness, this new ski will absorb vibrations quite a bit better.