Armada ski boot is live

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Originally Posted by scratchskier321

this is why prime exists.

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The Hawx Prime is a huge success because it gives average skiers (who usually don't understand how much a boot's fit can be changed) and average bootfitters (who often don't know either) a pretty good skiing option out of the box. Notice that the new Prime shell incorporates some of these design components, like the minimized chamfered surface over the toebox. In practice, most skilled bootfitters reserve the Prime for people with very high volume feet or special needs i.e. very tall insteps. They don't just put people who complain the Ultra is too short in a Prime.

An ultra with a proper toe box and less aggressive heel cup is not a prime. The prime is massive compared to an ultra. The ankle is much bigger height over the forefoot is gigantic.

Like Greg said, the prime gets used for high volume feet. Problem is, it’s not that high volume. Narrow toe box, not much wider at the met heads, and a liner that pushes the Achilles forward and bites the instep really limits it.

It will be interesting to see how the armada liner changes the fit.

The prime doesn’t sell well for us at all.

I have some AR One's that followed me home.

My initial impressions: easy on/off but a bit of complication stacking everything together to buckle. It would be neat if the tongue hinged like a traditional cabrio.

Fit is very similar to my Hawx Ultra RS. Maybe a bit more width in the toe box, but maybe not as much as you'd expect going to a MV boot. Toe box is tall. Too tall, I think. Then again, I add a foam pad over the toes on my Ultras. I hate having space over the top of my toes. Pretty standard 26.5 length. My toes push slightly into the front of the boot if I stand up straight. I don't think I'd need a punch. Instep feels about the same as a Lange RX/XT or my Ultra's. Heel hold feels really good. A bit more generous around the ankle compared to the Ultra's. I like the buckle arrangement. They don't close up quite as tight on top as a 4 buckle, but that's not a surprise. BSL is 305 for a 26.5. Flex is stout! More stout than my Hawx RS's, for sure. I'll comment after I ski them. I usually find boots feel stiffer before they've been skied.

I'm intrigued. Headed out to ski them this AM.

Update: That's a really good freeride boot. Super easy on/off. Really great suspension with a really strong flex pattern. Fit is more generous through the ankle than my Hawx Ultra, but never felt sloppy. Instep is definitely lower than the Hawx or my XT3's.

I'm going to ski them for a few more days. I could see these being really popular.

Last comment: day two and I just couldn't do it. They crush my instep. They were fine for a full day. I could tell the instep was tight, but I made it no prob. Day two and they hurt right away.

Bummer because I really like a lot about the boot.

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Originally Posted by scratchskier321

this is why prime exists.

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I don’t find the prime longer than the ultra.

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Last comment: day two and I just couldn't do it. They crush my instep. They were fine for a full day. I could tell the instep was tight, but I made it no prob. Day two and they hurt right away.

Bummer because I really like a lot about the boot.

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I have a similar problem with cabrios despite how much I love them; the ones with the 45 degree ankle buckles create too much downward force, crushing my arches. I was able to get away with it in Kryptons by really cranking down on the ankle buckle during 2 rounds of heat molding to compress and reduce the volume of the liner foam over my instep. Sadly the new Cabrio series has a lower instep height, and I knew the aforementioned trick wasn't going to work the moment I tried them on (along with the blown out fit up front).

One look at the angle of that ankle buckle of the AR Ones and I knew it wasn't for me. Either the MV would be too big elsewhere if it didn't crush my instep, or if an LV version came out it would most definitely crush my instep. Back to FTs I go this season. Will be playing around with it to see if I can get it to match the lateral stiffness of a Krypton.

Tried the boot in the shop today. I can confirm length feels standard, compared to my RS130 and XT Free pros (old molds - 306bsl for 26.5).
Really nice wrap and impressive heel hold on the carpet. Initially they felt funky on my instep, even though I have flat pancake arches, but it did go away once I tightened them up and walked around.
Seems like all the marketing of the gen BOA boots overshadow the Armada, but its and interesting boot and worth a try.

Edit doesnt work, so here is another post.

So the elastic piece is on the side of the armada strap. Curious how a booster, where the elasticity is at the front, will interact and whether it will defeat the design intentions.

If anyone wants a deal on one, I'd probably sell at a discount from my shop. Have 110/130 in 26/27

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Originally Posted by onenerdykid

The AR ONE boot uses the same (in principle) Power Shift feature from the current Atomic Hawx Prime boot. Adding the top screw changes the feel of the initial portion of the boot's flex, making the boot more direct, more responsive. The Power Shift feature can also adjust the forward lean of the cuff from 13°-15-°17°.

If someone wants to change the flex in a more noticeably way, there will be softer tongues available.

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@onenerdykid - Is there going to be a stiffer tongue than stock available for the AR One 130 as well, or only softer?

Funny you say that your going back to FT. I was thinking of trying the K2 Revolve KF. I haven't skied FT's in almost 10 years, but they used to work well for me.

The AR1 reignited my cabrio curiosity.

Yea I realized as I'm starting to ski with my kids that I don't need or want to be in a "tolerable but painful" fit for the sake of performance anymore. The FT setup I experimented with a few years ago is what I'm going back to (Original shell, 10 tongues, Pro Tongue liners and Patriot power strap). Not as strong as Kryptons laterally, but as an off piste skier, didn't find it lacking either. The biggest performance improvement IMO was going to the Pro Tongue liners. Stiff plastic upper cuff and just a closer fit to the shell compared to the softer, mega thick wrap liners.

I just wish they'd figure out how to put replaceable soles on the Original shells as they fit my feet much better than the Souls, but Tom from K2 stated they look at FT/Flex boots as a 'legacy' product and try not to mess with it too much.

Stuck my foot in these today. Quick impression based on a warm, unmolded boot in a ski shop:

Flex felt smooth and progressive. Stiff enough, but maybe at the soft end of a 130.

Instep hurt, almost immediately. Less of an overall "instep feels low" kind of thing. More of a "the boots have weird pressure points in the instep" kind of thing. Everyone at the shop agreed that these boots have a weird instep.

Tried putting my zipfits in them to see if that solved the instep issue. Couldn't physically get my zipfit + foot into the shell (doing standard zipfit "world cup" method). There's some odd bits of plastic in the instep zone that sit under the cabrio tongue that prevent foot + liner from slipping in smoothly.

Length felt standard (26.5).

Heel hold felt loose, but that's par for the course with my narrow heel.

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Originally Posted by SnowMachine

Last comment: day two and I just couldn't do it. They crush my instep. They were fine for a full day. I could tell the instep was tight, but I made it no prob. Day two and they hurt right away. Bummer because I really like a lot about the boot.

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i had the same problem as you and switching to a wrap liner solved it. I don't think this Atomic style mimic liner is a good fit for this boot. Seems to fit badly with the cabrio design in the instep area.

Interesting. I would be curious to try the boot again with a Intuition liner, but not sure I will go that way. I think the Remedy is calling my name.

So disappointing to hear, as a cabrio aficionado I had incredibly high hopes for this boot. Probably too much on Atomic’s r&d plate to come out with wc race boots, tx/remedy and ar one and the same year. Maybe Nerdy will chime in.

The good news, it would seem, is that the boot is great, but the liners needs work. I really liked how the boot skis.

Weird. I can "world cup" my Zipfit Sidewinders in the AR1s I got. Not as easy as the Langes I use daily but not a struggle

Waxman, how about a review? Any weird instep issues? How’s it ski? Thanks

Stopped in to my bootfitter and the AR One was still sitting there as a door stop.

I brought them home and played with tongues and liners. Started with Atomic professional and Sidas tongues. The Sidas was pretty good, but not perfect. Next I tried liners from Hawx Ultra XTD's with a high volume professional tongues. That was really close. Then I grabbed a low volume tongue (yeah, they are backward from what you might expect).

Money, absolute money. The problem with the AR One, for me, is the factory liner. I left them on for over an hour. Threw the ball for my dog, wandered around. All good.

So, in Cabrio fashion, I went ahead and ordered Intuition wraps for them. They should be here later this week. We will see how it goes, but for now I am going to ski them with the XTD liner. They feel great.

I could easily see my boot duo being Remedy and AR One next year. I like having a back up. It is the Boy Scout in me.

I will add that my Hawx RS are the most comfortable boot I have ever been in. I do like the Remedy flex a bit better. Jury is out on the AR One for now.

How do you think a zip fit would fit in tar one?

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Originally Posted by MCskid

How do you think a zip fit would fit in tar one?

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Zipfits fit fine in the AR One. I skied my pair with Gara LVs with no issue and good results. Pretty easy to get in and out while leaving the liner in the boot (as opposed to world cupping) since the tongue / cabrio design gives you good room for entry.

If anyone is looking, I have a pair of 27.5 AR One 130s for sale with only a handful of days on them: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...R-One-130-27-5. Great boot but I snagged some Remedy 130s and am going to work on those.

Thanks garuda! Are you able to get your zip fit into the remedy? After skiing the remedy a bunch how about a ar one vs remedy review. These are the two boots I’m interested in.

I could not get my Zips into the AR One. Either WC style or with the liner in the boot. I ordered Intuition wraps to try in the AR One.

I never tried Zips in the Remedy. I did not feel the need with the quality of the Remedy liner. Honestly, I prefer the current Atomic liners over Zips.

Skiing the two boots: fit is what you would expect. The Remedy is more of a performance fit. It is also the better performing boot. Hard to compare a hybrid cabrio with three buckles to a modified race boot. The Remedy is stronger, heavier and more damp. The top of the Remedy is more supportive. It has a buckle and power strap vs. just a power strap. Both boots have similar forward lean. Both have shock absorbing boot boards. The AR One has tech fittings for the toe.

I like both boots a lot. If I could pick only one it would be the Remedy, but I think the AR One will be a nice option to have. I am going to ski the AR One more this week now that it is comfortable (with a Mimic Platinum liner). I am already planning on skiing the Remedy most days next year.

How's the heel pocket compared to a hawx ultra XTD?

I did enjoy the older krypton a lot and I would like to enjoy more cabrio boots

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Originally Posted by oltrepiave

How's the heel pocket compared to a hawx ultra XTD? I did enjoy the older krypton a lot and I would like to enjoy more cabrio boots

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Compared to the AR One? Not as tight. My daily boot right now is the Ultra RS and the fit around my heel/ankle is the best of any boot I have been in.

The Remedy has a more similar heel pocket to the Ultra, though I will probably do some more work when they are my own boots instead of loaners. I might even foam them. It will take a bit of playing around.

I got the AR One to fit really well with the Mimic liners and mid volume (mid-thick) tongue. My feet feel pretty locked in with that setup. I will ski them this afternoon or tomorrow like that. I am curious how they feel with the Intuition.

The whole point behind playing with the AR One is to have a boot with different flex and all-day comfort for when I may not be charging as hard. I have yet to ski a rec boot that charges harder than the Remedy and has out of the box comfort (I need one small punch in the Remedy).

Definitely two very different boots, but each has a place for a lot of folks.

Thanks, where will you be punching the Remedy? Obviously very different boots and I don't even ski inbounds that much but I would like a sturdier shell (in terms of cushier flex, lateral rigidity, all around sturdiness etc.) for occasional inbounds skiing. Also not a BOA fan (for now). I'll be looking forward for folks' updates

Waxman, how about a review? Any weird instep issues? How’s it ski? Thanks

Sure. Full disclosure (if you don't know) I'm a Lange guy, I worked for them for 10 years, it's the number one brand in our shop and I can usually solve whatever issues people have pretty easy. Our number 2 brand used to be Full Tilt but K2 screwed that up by lumping them under the K2 banner (not a K2 dealer so they went away)
We carry Dalbello, Rossi, Kastle, Scarpa and Dynafit.
I can pretty much wear any 28x mm boot sole boot with about 4-8mm shell fit. I use the Zipfit Sidewinder, they have 300 plus days on them and I added 1/2 tube to each ankle about 150 days in. 5'9" 165lbs, ski everyday but not all day because I also own/run a store. I'm oldish, turn a lot, like powder and groomers, avoid bumps until spring.
blah blah
First, congrats to Armada for making a 24.5 in a seed boot, and not just 26.5 and 27.5. Boot companies could learn from this. I'm probably 10 days on snow with the boot now. I never used the stock liner. I "world cup" the Sidewinder in to the boot. As mentioned it was harder to do than my normal Lange, probably through familiarity but also because holding all the various shell parts open is a task (would a hinge tongue help? probably). Skiability wise I like the boot. It's probably as close to 4 buckle performance I have seen in a cabrio style boot, I've skied Lupo, Krypton and the original Flexon Comp. Call it a linear flex that stays fairly consistent though turns and such, they really didnt ramp up as I flexed deeper. I did not notice any more instep pressur than my reagular boot (good) I did notice a lot of toe box pressure though (-20*C on 2 days that it was really noticeable) would that exist in the stock liner? No idea, don't care everyone should just ski Zipfits and be done with it. I was pleasantly surprised by the boot all round, we have ordered it for stocking next season and can see it being a great boot for the non race boot high performance skier. 4.5 stars, would recommend.

Thanks waxman, glad to hear you can get a zip fit in the ar one. That’s my number one priority for a boot. Been in zips for 25ish years, you said it perfectly, ‘everyone should ski zipfits and be done with it’

Intuition wraps are magical in the AR One. I skied them yesterday with the Alpine wrap. This is now going to be my daily boot/liner combo. I knew the boot was good, but the stock liner didnt work for me. The Intuition wrap fixed all of that. I am sold...

Agreed on the wrap absolutely changing this boot! After searching and searching this season this boot is my huckleberry… until the LV comes out, but for now the intuition does a great job of taking up the forefoot space for me.

Wraps and tongues go hand in hand. I love zipfits, but they kill the flex quality on 3 piece boots.

Anyone want to try and compare how stiff this thing is? Is it actually supportive like a krypton with the flex blocks or the hoji free 130?
Totally see how a wrap liner works great in this.

It doesn’t jump out to me as being overly stiff more so that it is really supportive. The flex isn’t super hard to engage, but will support you all the way through the throw length. I hit some pretty hard compressions this weekend and the boot did an amazing job of Lessening the blow

Sweet, hopefully these can work for me, going to give it a shot anyhow.

Couple more questions: anyone know the ramp?

And do these have din soles available?

I believe it’s the same as the prime. So 4?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...03ecc332b7.jpg
Intuition looks good on this one!


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