Armada ARG

[summit]

The ARGs look exactly like what I want!

Two days on spats and I scribled on a napkin at dinner a dual sidecut design very very similar... I think it is incredibly cool that I'll be able to ski what I was dreaming about.

The ARGs 185 and being slightly skinnier make me happier too (plus it should make it weight competative with the fatter longer but carbon wrapped 138)

I'm thinking the ARG just busted the 138s spot as my next buy...

(and I hate the topsheets on ALL of these spats/descendents) and I intend to mount NX21s...

[upallnight]

The ARGs look exactly like what I want!

Two days on spats and I scribled on a napkin at dinner a dual sidecut design very very similar... I think it is incredibly cool that I'll be able to ski what I was dreaming about.

The ARGs 185 and being slightly skinnier make me happier too (plus it should make it weight competative with the fatter longer but carbon wrapped 138)

I'm thinking the ARG just busted the 138s spot as my next buy...

(and I hate the topsheets on ALL of these spats/descendents) and I intend to mount NX21s...

i love the 138 topsheets. just curious...did you have any issue with the length of the spats? is 185 ideal for you?

cool.

[summit]

spat length is great... could be a touch stiffer for hauling

besides the spats, the rest of my skis are 179 to 183

ETA white topsheets on pow skis dont make sense to me... if you drop a shoe you'll never find it!

[upallnight]

spat length is great... could be a touch stiffer for hauling

besides the spats, the rest of my skis are 179 to 183

ETA white topsheets on pow skis dont make sense to me... if you drop a shoe you'll never find it!

oops...i was thinking they were the black ones...the 120 topsheets are my faves. a white topsheet is my 2nd fave; always liked the topsheets on the proto skis i've ridden.

hope often do you lose a shoe, though? an eject happens pretty rarely. white topsheet also retains less snow (signficant on a big ski).

i find that reverse camber skis ski much shorter...so i'm happy on the spats but psyched for the longer length.

[summit]

i dont lose a shoe often... but often enough that i would like to maximize the chances of finding it since, with the nx21, the setup would be $1400+...

I'm down with the black topsheets. i've never suffered that pad of snow retention with my black gotamas. with my metal spats the retention sucks

[upallnight]

i dont lose a shoe often... but often enough that i would like to maximize the chances of finding it since, with the nx21, the setup would be $1400+...

neon powder cords...

[Greydon Clark]

Bumping this FourStar Thread.
Currently scheming ways to work the ARGs into the quiver. I think they look awesome and the 185 length is ideal, for me.

Thee ARG in “Action”.

[slim]

I think they look awesome.

They'll look great with your designer jeans.

[freshies]

while i am glad all these funky new designs are out there now (the more innovation the better), i will wait until all the crap gest shaken out/discountinued. i bought my spats beggining of last season and am stoked to ski them again this year, so am happy to wait on all these new designes to become more refined and over the next year or two.

I would compare all this innovation/new shapes to the early-mid years of full suspension MTB's....rememebr all the competing designs/linkages, etc?? everyone claiming their's was the best, etc....well I stuck to the old steel Yeti hardtail for a few years until the shit sank and the cream rose to the top and then had better and fewer options from which to chose....now days, most FS designs are pretty sweet, but back then, loyts of crap that seemed cutting edge/cool at the time (for instance, who in their right mind would buy a Klein praying mantis like FS design today??, but I rememebr that frame being "the shit" to a lot of people in the mid-90s)....

Spats forever (at lest for now)!

[Greydon Clark]

They'll look great with your designer jeans.

Levis 505s are a very sought after style.

[crashnburn'd]

Those shoes are sweet. In fact, I think they are going to be THE shoe this year.

[sfotex]

I might wander over to my local Armada dealer tonite and see what I can find out about the ARGs...

[shmerham]

Levis 505s are a very sought after style.

I take it you found a new job?

[sfotex]

Ok,
I talked to my friendly Armada dealer tonite, and his buddy, the Armada rep, is getting married Sat, and my local dealer will be at the wedding, which should be stocked with the Armada crew, so he is going to get the skinny on the ARG for me.

[summit]

Ok,
I talked to my friendly Armada dealer tonite, and his buddy, the Armada rep, is getting married Sat, and my local dealer will be at the wedding, which should be stocked with the Armada crew, so he is going to get the skinny on the ARG for me.

You rock! Fill us all in!

[mountain_man]

First off i'd say that the Tabla Rasa deserves more of a place in the innovation hall of fame than the Lotus 138. I might be wrong on this but the Tabla had a total carbon construction, whereas the Lotus is still essentially a wood core - all be it a light one.

Furthermore, the first Lotus 138 style ski i.e. reverse camber, low profile tip/tail, with very slight conventional sidecut in centre of the ski was designed by Trevor Hiatt, a Jackson local and member of the Head International Team. Trevor has been riding various incarnations of this ski for over 2 yrs now. In fact i remember seeing a photo on this very site of the skis last year in Lenas - with a Monster 103 topsheet. Originally they were build by the Igneous guys, and you'll still occasionally see Adam rocking some of the early protos in Jackson.

Word is that Trevor took these to the International R&D meeting at Whisler last year, and Jon Olssen loved them so much he told Head to hold off on his new pro model and build these instead. Will have to wait and see if anything comes of that.

At the end of the day though what does it matter. Choice is a great thing, and aside from scumbags like Goode, i'm all for people taking existing designs and trying to make them better.

Yeah I remember that odd looking head which I now recognise are the forefather of the lotous138 found a pic.



although the ARG, as already mentioned is rumoured to be light. looks like a cap construction. Not a fan of cap… the lightness, if really light could pose a problem as even with a small tip a lighter ski suffers form more deflection relatively speaking.
Seems like another interesting advancement although im still calling them Ardp's, as at least they should acknowledge the work of mconkey and others, mention the similarities or the derived influence, but I spose that’s not how it works… I would have a different view it the tips and tails were rounded and the construction was sandwitch but time will tell.

at the end its only us, THE SKIERS that benifit so why not have more rather then less? Amarda has done some great skis in the past so why cant the ARG be as good as the ANT or the AR5? The Lotous 138 has already proven itself and gained a considerable following so, skis which have similar or very similar designs that compete directly with it will only force DP to refine their design, that if the ski isn't already perfect? Cant wait for a demo of the ARG.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

^That is bad ass^

[The Dad]

Nice vestigial brakes.

[lemon boy]

he's rockin the vestigial brakes and 60's styleeee lassos as well. I bet those things are fuckin Saladeen's swords when they come undone...jesus.

[stuckathuntermtn]

why no pirate jokes yet? AAAAAAAAARG! where can i see more pics of these?

[crashnburn'd]

Saladin wasn't a pirate, that might be why.

[Spats]

Word is that Trevor took these to the International R&D meeting at Whisler last year, and Jon Olssen loved them so much he told Head to hold off on his new pro model and build these instead. Will have to wait and see if anything comes of that.

Head builds some solid skis. I'm hoping my Spatulas last until they come out with their version.

[BakerBoy]

Head builds some solid skis. I'm hoping my Spatulas last until they come out with their version.

That ski isn't built by Head. And Trevor's skis don't come off.

[Spats]

That ski isn't built by Head. And Trevor's skis don't come off.

Yes, I saw the bit where those protos were actually built by Igneous. I'm saying that if Head ever decides to put a similar design into production, I have confidence that they will be solid skis.

[sfotex]

Got a little info from the rep, with more to info come post-honeymoon (guess his wedding was distracting him or something)

The ARG is going to be limited edition, limited run. They're going to do a pre-order in October, if you want a pair you better pre-order.. Should have more info in a few weeks....