Ski: 2023-2024 Armada ARG II UL, 187 cm
Test Locations: Crested Butte Mountain Resort & Crested Butte backcountry, CO
Days Skied: ~15
Available Length: 187 cm
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length (straight-tape pull): 186.2 cm
Stated Weight per Ski: 2250 grams
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2277 & 2295 grams
Stated Dimensions: 135-133-134 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 134.5-132.3-133 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius (187 cm): 50 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay: 61 mm / 52 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: 0 mm
Core Materials: caruba + fiberglass laminate
Base: sintered UHMWPE
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -5.5 cm from center / 88 cm from tail
Boots Used: Atomic Hawx Ultra 130, Lange Shadow 130 LV, Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130 BOA
Bindings Used: Marker Duke PT 16
[Editor’s note: this review was conducted on the 22/23 ARG II UL, which remains unchanged for 23/24 and 24/25, apart from graphics.]
Intro
Armada’s ARG was one of the earlier ultra-wide, powder-specific shapes to hit the market in the mid-2000s, and today, the modern ARG II UL is one of very few left.
This ski is defined by its dramatic, reverse-cambered profile and nearly full-reverse sidecut. These sorts of “reverse / reverse” skis ignore most modern conventions regarding versatility in various snow conditions, instead aiming to maximize powder performance in a way that typically can’t be matched by more traditional ski designs.
When Armada brought back the ARG in the form of the 19/20–21/22 ARG II, our reviewer, heli guide, and superfat-ski fan, Paul Forward, was very excited. His review of that ski reemphasized just how fun this kind of specialist can be in the right conditions.
However, the ARG II was also one of the heaviest skis we have ever weighed, which limited its practicality as a touring ski. And since the ARG is designed to perform best in untracked snow (a pretty finite resource inside most ski resorts), taking it into the backcountry using your own two legs would greatly increase your chances of getting it into its ideal conditions.
Armada acknowledged that when they released the ARG II UL — same wild shape and rocker profile as the ARG II, but the “UL” stands for “ultralight.”
Over the past two seasons, a few of us have been skiing the ARG II UL, both on deep resort days and even deeper backcountry ones. Paul’s review of the ARG II is still a great resource for those wondering about how it compares to other “superfat” skis, but several of us who tested the ARG II UL had never been on this sort of ski. So for those who are curious about what this class of skis feels like compared to more traditional alternatives, tune in.
What Armada says about the ARG II UL
“The ski that started a revolution is back and better than ever. The ARG II UL’s reverse sidecut, massive 133 mm waist and full-length AR Powder Rocker retain the classic silhouette of the original ARG, while a new ultralight Caruba Core cuts weight to deliver an even more maneuverable, surfy ride. This no-compromise powder ski has unparalleled float, pivots on a dime and unleashes your creativity by picking up speed quickly and letting you make any turn shape imaginable in the deepest snow. Epic conditions deserve an epic ski.”
Construction
The ARG II featured a poplar / ash wood core and fiberglass laminate. Combined with its considerable dimensions, that led to a strikingly hefty weight of about 2700 grams per ski for the 187 cm (which is the only available length).
To lighten it up, Armada swapped to a caruba wood core for the ARG II UL, which translates to a weight that’s just shy of 2300 grams per ski. Other build highlights include Armada’s “Comp Series” base (sintered UHMWPE w/ “added carbon”), their 2.1 mm “All-Mountain Edge,” and “AR50” sidewall (~50% sidewall around the middle / cap-construction elsewhere).
Shape
If you’ve paid any attention to ski designs in the past decade, the ARG II UL’s shape will immediately stand out from the rest.
The ARG II UL features dramatic tapering of its tips and tails, to the point that nearly the entire ski features reverse sidecut. There is a short section of (almost straight) sidecut around the binding area where the ski features a sidewall construction, but that section is only about 54 cm long. What this means is that, from a traditional perspective, the ARG II UL has a shorter “effective edge” than Armada’s shortest kids ski, the 103 cm ARJ.
Rocker Profile
Things are similarly wild when looking at the ARG II UL’s rocker profile. Most of the ski is dramatically reverse-cambered, lending to a “banana-like” appearance. Where the ARG II UL’s sidewall and traditional sidecut are located in the middle, the ski is mostly just “flat” rather than reverse-cambered. But there’s no traditional camber to be found here.
Flex Pattern
Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Armada ARG II UL:
Tips: 6.5
Shovels: 6-7
In Front of Toe Piece: 7.5-9.5
Underfoot: 10
Behind the Heel Piece: 10-8.5
Tails: 8-6.5
Overall, the flex is very similar to the non-UL ARG II, but the UL version is a touch stiffer at both ends. Around the middle / binding area, the ARG II UL is very stiff.
Sidecut Radius
As we noted above, the ARG II UL does technically feature a short section of traditional sidecut, and Armada’s stated sidecut radius for that section is a very lengthy 50 meters. I.e., it looks pretty straight.
Mount Point
The ARG II and ARG II UL’s recommended mount point is about -5 cm from true center, which is notably closer to center than most directional skis.
Weight
Following what we said in the Construction section, the ARG II UL is a lot lighter than the previous ARG II, but the ARG II UL is not a particularly light ski compared to the whole market, at just under 2300 grams per ski. However, as with many aspects of this ski, there’s more to it than just numbers, as we get into below.
For reference, here are our measured weights for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples to apples. We’ve also added some discontinued skis we reviewed since so few similarly wide skis are still available on the market.
1710 & 1744 Atomic Bent Chetler 120, 184 cm
1808 & 1809 Line Pescado, 180 cm
1835 & 1820 ARV 116 JJ UL, 185 cm
1873 & 1878 Line Vision 118, 183 cm
1870 & 1895 Faction La Machine 5 Max, 186 cm
1885 & 1914 Moment Wildcat Tour, 190 cm
1938 & 2008 Volkl Blaze 114, 184 cm
1998 & 2024 Head Oblivion 116, 189 cm
2028 & 2112 Heritage Lab C132, 200 cm
2043 & 2046 4FRNT Inthayne, 188 cm
2062 & 2080 Whitedot Ragnarok ASYM, 190 cm
2086 & 2088 Nordica Unleashed 114, 186 cm
2083 & 2137 Blizzard Hustle 11, 188 cm
2093 & 2115 DPS Spoon, 190 cm (13/14–17/18)
2105 & 2185 Head Kore 117, 189 cm
2117 & 2132 Atomic Maverick 115 CTi, 185 cm
2118 & 2124 Black Crows Nocta, 190.6 cm
2127 & 2161 RMU Professor 121, 188 cm
2147 & 2286 Prior CBC, 184 cm
2163 & 2166 Moment Wildcat, 184 cm
2173 & 2204 4FRNT Renegade, 191 cm
2177 & 2200 K2 Crescendo, 185 cm
2183 & 2258 DPS Koala 118, 189 cm
2212 & 2215 Armada ARV 116 JJ, 185 cm
2240 & 2250 Volkl Revolt 121, 184 cm
2259 & 2279 Black Crows Anima, 189.2 cm
2260 & 2293 Line Bacon 115, 188 cm
2280 & 2286 Icelantic Nomad 115, 191 cm
2277 & 2295 Armada ARG II UL, 187 cm
2288 & 2291 Volkl Revolt 114, 184 cm
2288 & 2301 Folsom Rapture, 192 cm
2318 & 2322 Line Blade Optic 114, 186 cm
2318 & 2377 Prior Northwest 116, 190 cm
2323 & 2352 Moment Chipotle Banana, 193 cm
2341 & 2357 Dynastar M-Free 118, 189 cm
2343 & 2360 J Skis Friend, 189 cm
2371 & 2375 Moment Wildcat, 190 cm
2417 & 2469 Liberty Genome, 187 cm (17/18–22/23)
2423 & 2446 K2 Reckoner 124, 189 cm
2438 & 2492 Rossignol Blackops 118, 186 cm
2566 & 2580 Folsom G-Wagon, 192 cm
2651 & 2654 Volant Spatula, 186 cm (02/03)
2700 & 2703 Armada ARG II, 187 cm (19/20–21/22)
With that, let’s get to how the ARG II UL’s unusual design actually performs on snow:
FULL REVIEW
Dylan Wood: A rare breed in today’s market, the Armada ARG II UL incorporates both reverse camber and reverse sidecut into its design, clearly outlining this ski’s intended purpose as a tool for deep powder. But we were curious: how exactly does it differentiate itself from more versatile alternatives in untracked snow, and does it feel totally restricted to powder?
To find out, Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, and I have been testing this ski in — and slightly outside of — its intended use case. We also want to mention that the late Eric Freson spent a lot of time on this ski (he owned the original ARG and ARG II, as well), and you can listen to episode 282 of our GEAR:30 podcast (starting at 7:20) to hear some of Eric’s takeaways.
Untracked Powder
Dylan Wood (5’10.5”, 160 lbs / 179 cm, 72.5 kg): It’s no secret that this ski is designed for fresh, untracked snow. But when first clicking into the bindings on the ARG II UL and looking down at my feet, I couldn’t help but be skeptical (and a bit nervous); it doesn’t look anything like the traditional-sidecut skis I’ve grown accustomed to. Turns out, and probably as no surprise to Armada’s engineers, the ARG II UL provides an excellent experience in deep snow.
On traditionally shaped powder skis with sidecut (and sometimes camber), it always takes me several turns to figure out how their rocker profile, flex pattern, and shape interact with the snow. I need to get used to how they enter and exit turns, how easy they are to drift and slarve, figure out their balance point, etc. On the ARG II UL, I couldn’t help but notice just how intuitive and easy this ski was in deep, untracked snow. Just roll the ski over into a turn, and the feedback was smooth, reliable, and adaptable. Despite such an uncommon design, I felt very comfortable after only seconds on this ski.
The ARG II UL is easily the loosest powder ski I’ve been on — it’s just so dead easy to pivot, drift, and slarve around on this ski in deep snow. It’s loose at a variety of speeds, too.
Despite its “ultralight” (UL) moniker, this ski does weigh 2300 grams. However, it has a very low swing weight since most of that mass is concentrated under the binding area. This makes it easy to flick around at slow speeds. At faster paces, the ARG II UL remains constant and predictable when making drifty turns, and never feels hooky. It does prefer a more centered stance, but I think its sweet spot is massive, and it’s hard for me to get this ski to exhibit any undesirable behavior in a slarve, whereas I can often find myself getting too far forward or backward when slashing / slarving powder skis with more traditional sidecuts.
When keeping the ARG II UL pointed downhill in powder and attacking the fall line with a more directional style, it continues to provide excellent flotation. Despite how easy it is to throw this ski into long drifts, it doesn’t feel restricted to this type of skiing and is happy to carve its way through powder as well. I could see this ski potentially feeling too loose if you have only carved your way through powder, but I never felt like this ski “spun out” on me and went too far sideways unintentionally.
Luke Koppa (5’8”, 155 lbs / 173 cm, 70 kg): Agreed with all of the above. Like Dylan, I found the ARG II UL much more intuitive (in soft snow) than I expected, given its radical design. And I also found it quite versatile in terms of turn shapes and styles.
As Dylan noted, the ARG II UL’s party trick is just how loose and surfy it feels in soft conditions. After he skied it for the first time, he told me he almost felt bad about calling any other ski “loose” — the ARG II UL is on another level, relative to just about all other skis with more traditional shapes and rocker profiles.
From a flotation perspective, the ARG II UL does an excellent job of planing up and staying maneuverable in deep snow. That said, it does prefer a fairly neutral stance, especially at slower speeds; I know Jonathan (generally a more directional skier than me and Dylan) found this aspect surprising when he first skied it. However, I generally found the ARG II UL really intuitive from a stance perspective, and you can drive the front of it harder once you get more speed going. I never felt like I needed to ski it from the backseat to keep the tips up; keeping my weight centered over the middle or a bit forward equated to all the flotation I could need.
I’ll also reemphasize what Dylan said about turn types and sizes. I expected the ARG II UL to be really good at slashing through tight, pow-filled trees, but I didn’t expect it to feel as intuitive as it does when making much bigger turns. I initially thought it’d be like I was on a saucer, only wanting to pivot side to side, but in soft snow, I could easily make all sorts of turns on this ski.
Now, making bigger, carving-like turns on the ARG II UL in soft snow is not the same experience as it is on skis with more traditional sidecuts. But once I got used to steering this ski more from my ankles than the shovels, I could effortlessly modulate turn shape and size.
Overall, the ARG II UL provides a powder-skiing experience that is different from anything else I’ve skied. And it’s one that I find extremely fun. For a whole lot of people, that won’t make its lack of versatility worth it, but especially for folks who own multiple skis for specific conditions / scenarios, I’d highly recommend at least trying a specialist pow ski like the ARG II UL.
Punchy / Crusty Snow
Dylan: We’ve found that reverse-camber skis with long sidecut radii tend to do a good job of handling weird crusts and punchy backcountry (or, more rarely, inbounds) snow conditions, and this is definitely the case with the ARG II UL.
Finding deep powder in the backcountry sometimes also entails coming across some tricky snow, and I found the ARG II UL predictable and reliable in these often surprising conditions. On the dense, breakable wind crust that I encountered, this ski still required a more cautious approach than it does when skiing deep, fluffy snow, but it never felt hooky or sketchy, and allowed me to continue on my way toward more favorable snow conditions.
Luke: Agreed. I’ve skied a fair bit of tricky conditions on this ski — untracked snow with lots of different-density layers, light pow that’s under a wind crust, light pow that’s on top of a crust, etc. The ARG II UL feels notably less prone to hooking up in these conditions than most skis with more traditional sidecuts, which makes it easier to pivot and slide through them in a controlled fashion. But if you like to “ride the sidecut” and carve bigger turns through crusty snow, this isn’t the best ski for that.
Soft Chop
Dylan: The ARG II UL still provides a fun experience in soft chop and exhibits the same characteristics it does in untracked snow, but as things get skied out, its performance advantage over traditionally shaped modern pow skis starts to diminish.
This is still a relatively heavy powder ski at ~2300 grams per ski, which tends to help in chop, but its reverse-sidecut shape doesn’t. The ARG II UL isn’t able to cut or blow through chop like other pow skis in its weight class, but it’s still fairly predictable and stable in tracked-up powder conditions (the less numerous the tracks and the lighter the snow, the better).
Still, this ski is extremely maneuverable in any kind of soft snow, where it can be thrown sideways and slid around on a dime (in a rare case, that’s not actually hyperbole). Fans of drifting around through soft snow can find this ski enjoyable throughout a resort powder day or even days after a storm, but it’s still clear that this ski shines most in — and is designed for — skiing deep powder that’s unadulterated by many tracks in front of you.
Luke: In soft chop that was over a fairly soft base, I still had a lot of fun on the ARG II UL. It wasn’t as sketchy in that scenario as I expected, especially when my goal was to slash and blow up piles of soft snow, rather than making big, fast turns straight through everything.
When I can feel a firm base underneath the soft snow, the ARG II UL definitely becomes less fun, largely due to how stiff the ski is. It’s generally very easy to ski in softer, deeper snow, but there were several times when I went to slash it sideways from a slightly backseat stance, discovered the snow wasn’t as deep as I expected, and was surprised by how strong and borderline punishing it felt when I slammed it into the denser base beneath.
Firm Crud
Dylan: I’m not going to spend much time here simply because the ARG II UL isn’t designed for performing well in these conditions, nor should performance in firm crud matter much for this ski, given how well it performs in untracked powder.
With a solid detune throughout the entire length of this ski, it can still be slid and pivoted around in off-piste crud. But there isn’t much enjoyment to be had here; it’s more like surviving as you hopefully find your way back to untracked or at least soft snow, where this ski belongs.
Luke: In really nasty, firm, shallower conditions, “survival skiing” is definitely a phrase that came to mind on the ARG II UL. It’s not that the ski was really unpredictable, feeling stable in one turn and terrifying the next. Rather, the ARG II UL very quickly made it clear to me that I would need to make lots of small, controlled skids in these conditions to keep me and the ski in control.
Groomers & Firm, Smooth Snow
Dylan: There’s no getting around the fact that this ski feels pretty foreign on groomers, cat tracks, etc. When rolling it over on edge, it simply does not want to turn. Sure, there’s a short section of sidecut underfoot that reportedly produces a 50-meter radius, but still, I found myself almost falling over on groomers and cat tracks during my first few runs on this ski.
Once you accept that skating around flat corners and skidding your way down groomers is the protocol on the ARG II UL, the routes back to the lift, snow cat, or backcountry trailhead become more pleasant as you reminisce on the excellent powder turns you (hopefully) just harvested.
It’s also worth reiterating that I would recommend that everybody detune this ski pretty aggressively from tip to tail — it did feel kind of sketchy when sharp.
Luke: Yeah, the ARG II UL made me feel like I forgot to carve when I first got it onto firm, smooth snow. There were several times when, if I wasn’t deliberately skidding / sliding both skis a bit, my downhill ski seemed to gain a mind of its own and head in the other direction.
Once I adjusted to it, I could get down most groomers without too much drama, but I definitely had to think about it and ignore my muscle memory regarding how to ski on piste. The ARG II UL handled best when always keeping it pointed at least slightly across the fall line, rather than carving down it, and with more equal pressure on the uphill and downhill ski than I’d usually apply on other skis.
Following Dylan’s note about detuning, I was really surprised by just how much edge hold the ARG II UL offered around the middle of the ski (where its traditional sidecut, full-sidewall construction, and flat-camber sections meet). And I skied it after Dylan had taken a file to the entire length of its edges.
While this was initially a relief, knowing I could definitely stop if I encountered some very firm, scraped off snow, it also didn’t feel very “comfortable.” When a ski as wide as the ARG II UL holds an edge as well as it does, that puts a lot of torque on my ankles and knees. I think an argument could be made for going even more aggressive with the detune than we did (i.e., fully rounding them off like a park ski), but doing so would likely require an even more conservative approach when you do end up on firm snow.
Playfulness
Dylan: This ski feels playful in many aspects. It’s extremely loose and surfy, more so than anything else I’ve personally tested. It also has a very low swing weight and a balanced feel in the air, leaving basically any trick, flip, and rotation in your bag as a possibility.
It is worth mentioning that this ski does require a bit more attention when landing, making sure to be centered over the ski since there isn’t as much support in front of or behind the bindings as there is with other modern pow skis. But butters are totally in play on the ARG II UL, and it skis switch well in both deep and shallower snow.
As far as mount point goes, the recommended line (about -5 cm from true center) felt dialed to me, and I didn’t feel any reasons to stray from there, but more directional skiers could probably appreciate some more ski in front of the bindings by mounting 1-2 cm behind the recommended line.
Luke: The ARG II UL is one of only a handful of skis that have inspired me to try (and typically still fail) nose butters and switch landings in deep snow, simply because of how loose and non-catchy it is. It’s not a conventional freestyle pow ski by any stretch and it definitely wouldn’t be my top pick for bigger airs (especially if they include chopped-up inruns or runouts). But it’s still generally very playful.
As for mount point, I also didn’t feel the need to move from the recommended line. For more thoughts on this from a more directional skier’s perspective, see Paul Forward’s review of the ARG II.
Who’s It For?
Dylan: Skiers who frequently encounter deep, untracked powder, and want a ski designed specifically to thrive in those conditions.
The ARG II UL provides a powder-skiing experience that is unmatched by most traditional, modern powder skis currently on the market. On the flip side, it feels far less versatile than those skis, and much more restricted to deep and/or soft snow. The ARG II UL is not for everyone, but for the skiers who are able to get it in its ideal conditions, it might just become your new favorite ski.
It’s also worth mentioning that, unless you are fortunate enough to consistently find this sort of deep, untracked snow via a chairlift, helicopter, or snowcat, I think it’s a really good idea to mount this ski with a touring-capable binding (or have some Daymaker touring adapters at your disposal). It’s light enough that it’s more than feasible to bring this ski into the backcountry, where untracked powder is typically much easier to find.
Luke: The ARG II UL is not a ski for those who want a versatile “powder” ski. It’s for those who want an exceptional powder-sking tool.
Given its niche capabilities, this “Who’s It For?” section feels different than most of our other ski reviews. Dylan outlined it well, but more than usual, I think a significant aspect of this decision will be subjective.
For me, skiing the ARG II UL in untracked snow is so fun that I could probably justify buying a pair even if I’m only going to use it for a couple properly deep days per season. It would make those days even better than if I was on a less radical pow ski, and in that case, it should last a really long time since I would not be frequently bashing it into rocks, cruddy snow, etc. However, that’s all with in mind that I’d probably have at least 2-5+ other skis in my quiver that I could use for all the other days.
And it’s not like the more “traditional” powder-oriented skis of today make skiing powder unenjoyable — far from it. Skiing pow on any ski is one of the best human experiences available, in my humble opinion, but for those who are able to do it on a regular enough basis to justify a ski that’s almost exclusively designed for those conditions, the ARG II UL can make for an extremely fun addition to a larger ski quiver.
Bottom Line
The Armada ARG II UL is an unapologetically specialized product. It does not do a whole lot of things well, but when it comes to what it was designed for — making the most of untouched, freshly fallen, deep snow — the ARG II UL is fantastic, offering an exceptionally surfy ride that simply can’t be achieved via more conventional, less specialist designs.
In a market where companies highlight the versatility and even on-piste capabilities of their widest, most powder-oriented skis, the ARG II UL’s singular focus is a bit like Rage Against the Machine’s iconic performance of “Killing In The Name” on BBC after being told not to swear.
Deep Dive Comparisons
BLISTER+ members and those who purchase our Digital Access Pass can check out our Deep Dive comparisons linked below. Get our Digital Access Pass to view all our Deep Dives and Flash Reviews, or become a BLISTER+ member today to get access to that and a LOT more, including the best worldwide Outdoor Injury Insurance, exclusive deals and discounts on skis, personalized gear recommendations from us, and much more.
Check out our Deep Dive of the ARG II UL to see how it compares to the previous ARG II, Armada ARV 116 JJ UL, Heritage Lab C132, K2 Crescendo, Folsom G-Wagon, Liberty Genome, Faction La Machine 5 Max, Moment Chipotle Banana, 4FRNT Renegade, Folsom Rapture, Atomic Bent Chetler 120, and some other, more conventional powder skis.
Glad to hear that a full review is coming out soon. I’ve had a few days on my pair of the original ones so far and am trying to figure them out. They’ve been alternately amazing and hard to figure out. With a centered stance, they feel nice and pivoty, but if I try to drive the shovel, it can feel almost like the the widest part of the ski is behind me. Taking them out today to get to know them better.
I think the most similar ski on the market is the Skevik, Oda. Skevik is a smaller ski company in Vernon, BC. The Oda has a very similar mount point, weight, and dimensions(132 waist). Its tips are slightly more tapered. IMO, Skis like these can’t be beat in untracked gladed, featured, terrain.
Interesting to note the oda at 186 weighs in at under 2200 grams per ski. I ski them waaay more than I thought I would out touring.
Spent Saturday on the OG ARG. The first run, on an open, chalky slope with spots of windblown pow, I still had that “widest part of the ski is behind me” sensation, and, the ski underfoot, where it’s wider than my boot–was knifing into the chalky snow. Really tiring. Then I took them into the trees, where there was about a foot and a half of untracked, medium-density pow, and everything clicked. With a slightly more centered stance than I’m accustomed to using, the ARGs turned into absolute pivot machines. I found myself pointing much, much more directly down the fall line and threading tighter trees than I’m usually able to, with complete confidence that I could stop on a dime. Amazing.
Funny thing — I have pair of Bibby 190s that I’d had trouble getting along with in the pow, and learning to ski the ARG on Saturday taught me how to appreciate the Bibby’s playful nature when I skied them on Sunday. Now that I know what “playful” feels like, it’s amazing how much of that feeling the Bibby retains while gaining significantly more versatility. That said, there will still be a lot of days–or at least mornings–when I’ll be taking the ARGs out.
Sounds like a great ski for Jaws in Maui.
Great review. Looking forward to hearing how a directional skier like Jonathan adapted to them. Squelching the urge to drive the shovel can seem unnatural at first.
Hey David, you should read Paul’s initial impressions of the ARG II, which is the same ski but with a different core. Paul is definitely a directional skier.
Thanks, Dylan. Paul’s perspective as a directional skier who’s used to a -10 mount point seems spot-on to me.
Looking forward to seeing how reviewers feel this compares with the dps 138…similar reverse-reverse shapes. I had a guide at mustang powder one year who swore by the arg (the heavy ones) and that guy ripped super hard in those babies.
So worth it to have a pair of specialist powder skis like these! Even on days with less powder they give a much floatier and surfier experience. I have the SGNskis Togga, and use it quite a bit when there is more than 1 ft of powder, or in spring corn.
Huge fan of these skis. Had the first ARG II that weighed ~2700g, but sold it for the UL verison when it was introduced. Mounted the ULs with pivots -1cm from the line and logged dozens of days on them the 22/23 season in the PNW. So much more versatile and intuitive than looks might suggest. Loved them so much that I picked up another pair on clearance and mounted those with Haute Route 10s (also -1) for the bc. Those ended up being my most used touring ski this season (23/24).
Love the blend of high speed stability, low speed maneuverability, and rapid acceleration this shape provides.
Great review, I think you guys nailed it pretty well, I had the original ARG and of course HAD to get the ARG 2. I ski it in the resort in Tahoe as my daily powder ski, I think it’s way more versatile once you spend more time on it. I feel it’s fantastic in Sierra cement, it skips right over the top and blows tru the bigger piles of snow, i actually really like it on groomers on powder days getting back to the lift, you can just carve SUPER WIDE gs turns at speed, just remember to really detune them like a park ski and you’ll be fine
I’ve had a slightly different experience with this ski vs what I expected after reading this review. Although I don’t think my experience actually *conflicts* with the reviewer’s experiences, there are just some things that the reviewers didn’t experience/mention. Hopefully my perspective is valuable to someone!
First, I’m 6’4, 180 pounds, and have mostly toured with this ski, usually with ~20 pounds on my back. Previously most of my powder skiing has been done on the full reverse 192cm 122mm underfoot black crows nocta, or skis that were 110mm or under.
I typically like skis mounted around -4, and went ahead and mounted this ski at -4, hoping to learn to ski switch in pow.
My first turns on this ski were on windbuff, out in the backcountry. I remember being nervous that the ski would be unpredictable as I skied over to my line. But after two turns, I remember telling my buddy “oh it’s still just a ski”. It felt very intuitive, which despite reading all the reviews, I did not really expect. They just look so wily different underfoot.
After a few backcountry and resort days, I found that -4 was too far forward, and found myself having to lean back anytime I was in low density low angle pow. So I remounted at -7.
And now, at -7, I agree with everything in the review, with one caveat:
The amazing versatility in turn shapes is only at higher speeds. You can carve this ski through powder once you’ve picked up some speed. But at lower speeds it feels like it always wants to be drifting. Which kills speed, and means that on lower angle terrain, you can’t do as many turns as your buddies who are on more conventional powder skis. They also definitely have less surface area (and float/glide) than something 190+ with a 120 waist and 140+ mm tips.
Because of this, I’ve found that for the low angle terrain and shorter runs that I’m usually skiing on high avy danger days, I would prefer something more traditional. I’m getting a 192cm bent 120, and will do some back to back same-day testing (I no longer have the noctas to compare to).
That being said, I’m confident I will keep these around for those rare days where I get into steeper terrain and there is a lot of fresh. The predictability, versatility, and quickness in deep snow is addicting. Many of my favorite moments (slashing rollers, slarving turns, etc) have been on this ski once I’ve picked up some speed. They just aren’t ideal for farming dad turns on low angle pow.
As for learning to ski switch in pow – I’m getting there, and have learned that the hard part (after switching to a much wider stance than I’m used to on corduroy) is reverting to forward. The ski still does well at -7.