2021 Armada Declivity 92 Ti

[Andy Mink]

Long Term Update: It's been a while since I've been on the Declivities. We're having a resurgence of weather in the Sierras and Mt. Rose has been getting some nice, light snow over the past few days. Today was no exception and the morning greeted us with between 6" and 8" of the fluff. I wanted to get the Declivities in the powder even though it wasn't a lot. Once again, not disappointed. @Philpug and I spent the morning in the trees; we didn't ski one piste run top to bottom, only to get from here to there. Now, for the record, I'm not a hot dog tree skier. The snow we found in the trees was light, although pretty cut up already. I never felt like I couldn't make a turn when I wanted or needed to. Whether hopping the tails around, playing through the growing bumps, or just carving through the trees in the occasional untracked snow, the Declivities were just...fun. In the chopped up snow on the return to lift runs they just pop through, around, or over the piles. While I can definitely wait for spring conditions (I'm digging the winter conditions we have now!), I do look forward to these skis in those conditions.

 

[Andy Mink]

Long Term Update: I was able to beg another day on the Declivities from @Philpug today. We skied mid to late afternoon in some really nice spring conditions at Mt. Rose. Soft bumps, a few tips into the trees, and generally soft conditions with chopped sugar piles all over. I made mistakes in the bumps but came out none the worse for wear. They are nothing if not forgiving. As the days lengthen, the sun warms, and the snow thins, it's nice to have a flickable ski to avoid as many rocks and stumps as possible.

The 92s have plenty of surface area to keep on top of the soft stuff and enough spine to carve through the lumps and bumps that grow during the day. The tips and tails are supple enough to roll up and down bumps but strong enough to hold a carve.

So there you have it. A season worth of conditions all handled quite well by the Declivities, at least from my point as an advancing intermediate skier.

 

[Dougb]

@Andy Mink have you had a chance to ski the DPS Piste Pagodas yet? Wonder how this ski compares.

 

[Andy Mink]

@Andy Mink have you had a chance to ski the DPS Piste Pagodas yet? Wonder how this ski compares.

I took the DPS Piste Pagoda 94 out today at Squaw to get a refresher on the ski. I'd say the Piste Pagoda is a bit more comfortable in the bumps, trees, and softer snow than the Declivity owing to its slightly more tip rocker and more tail rocker, though it still can hold quite well on harder snow. It wants to float over soft piles more than the Declivity which tends to slice through the spring piles. The Declivity is more on-piste oriented and, for me, is easier to drive on the groomers.

The DPS prefers a more neutral stance, a more "ride on", than the Declivity. I have found this same characteristic on a few other DPS skis. The DPS would be perhaps a 60/40 off-piste/piste while the Declivity would be 40/60. Both are fine skis. The pick would be where you spend most of your time and where how you weight your preferences. There is also the $$ factor, with the DPS having a comma in the tag. The DPS feels a bit lighter than the Declivity, which comes in around 1800 grams for the 180 length, though I haven't been able to find a weight on the Pagoda. That may come into play if you're thinking about hiking with the skis.

 

[Dougb]

I took the DPS Piste Pagoda 94 out today at Squaw to get a refresher on the ski. I'd say the Piste Pagoda is a bit more comfortable in the bumps, trees, and softer snow than the Declivity owing to its slightly more tip rocker and more tail rocker, though it still can hold quite well on harder snow. It wants to float over soft piles more than the Declivity which tends to slice through the spring piles. The Declivity is more on-piste oriented and, for me, is easier to drive on the groomers.

The DPS prefers a more neutral stance, a more "ride on", than the Declivity. I have found this same characteristic on a few other DPS skis. The DPS would be perhaps a 60/40 off-piste/piste while the Declivity would be 40/60. Both are fine skis. The pick would be where you spend most of your time and where how you weight your preferences. There is also the $$ factor, with the DPS having a comma in the tag. The DPS feels a bit lighter than the Declivity, which comes in around 1800 grams for the 180 length, though I haven't been able to find a weight on the Pagoda. That may come into play if you're thinking about hiking with the skis.

Thanks for such a detailed answer! Pretty similar to what Blister had to say about both skis, although you made the very important point about the price difference! Just goes to show how wildly different skis can be if they are similar in their waist width.

 

[Lane Meyer]

I was in the market last year for some new sticks and decided on the Armada Declivity 92 Ti in the 180 length. This review was long over due and much appreciation to those on SkiTalk that replied to my posts and PMs to share their insight to help aid my decision. They came with factory edge bevels of 1:1, but I tuned the side edge to a 2.5. Here’s my review after spending 10 days in Idaho last season (March 2021). Went to some smaller resorts for the first half of the trip, and finished up with three days at Sun Valley.

I had soft snow conditions for most of the first half of the trip, with one day of moderate powder (6”). I was able to find some deeper (boot high) powder in some of the gladed areas, along with soft chop. And, of course, was able to ski some firmer snow on the groomers. At Sun Valley, 25-35 degree bluebird days for three days, so no new snow. Skied groomers and bumps.

In summary, I’d say Blister was very spot on. The Declivity is a very fun ski. IMO, these are great all mountain skis for a frontside/off-piste ratio of say 60/40. Here’s my take:

Groomers - they are solid rippers on groomed runs…hold an edge very well and are very stable at speed. I didn’t fully test their speed limit, but never felt uncomfortable at speed. I’d say they err on the side of wanting to be driven, but are not an overly demanding ski as turn initiation is easy at all speeds…solid rippers on firm and soft snow.​

Moguls/trees - I like skiing trees, and pick and choose when I ski bumps more now since I’m 50, as opposed to skiing them most of the day in my younger years. I like the flex pattern of the skis…they have great energy and are easy to pivot and maneuver…was able to ski all varieties of turns in the bumps (troughs, sides, and tops). Just a really fun ski, especially in the bumps.​

Powder/chop/crud - they did fine in the 6” of untracked pow I encountered, but were a little squirrely with some of the deeper tracked up powder I found off-piste/in gladed areas. They would deflect/get pushed around in deeper chop/crud….found myself working more than I anticipated. Now, admittedly, I wasn’t in as good a shape for that trip as I normal am (spent half the amount of time working out I normally do in preparation for a trip…the adage of the only way to fully get in shape for skiing is to ski certainly held true).​

Steeps – I felt very confident on steep terrain. Again, holds an edge very well and easy to maneuver….very east to perform technical turns and smear/release turns to control speed as needed.​

I started working out much earlier this off season…good thing, because I couldn’t help myself in picking up some K2 MB 99s, which I’m sure will demand a little more of my attention in comparison. Hope this helps someone considering the Declivity 92.

 

[Lane Meyer]

Declivity 92 update...
Spent 3 more days on this ski a couple of weeks ago on a powder chase in the U.P. We got about 15" out of the lake effect storm cycle for our trip... 3" two nights before Day 1, another 4" the night before Day 1, and then another 7-8" on top of that during Day 1 and overnight into Day 2. Day 2 was a legit powder day.

To reiterate, this is a very fun ski....had a blast at Mount Bohemia on them skiing the trees...skied a lot of trees and some bumps, and I am going to update/upgrade my opinion of them in powder. These skis are solid in powder up to 10", perhaps even boot high. I encountered plenty of stashes that were up to boot high fluff...fresh and chopped up and they did fine. I am definitely in better ski shape for this season, so I'm sure that had something to do with it, but did not experience as much deflection this go around.

I really like these skis...just a lot of fun to ski. I'm headed to ID in a couple of weeks and am going to take my K2 MB 99s for that trip. Can't wait to get on them to see how they rip, and see how they compare to the Declivities.