Armada TST top sheet peeling up

the dent in the sidewall looks like compression. any idea? If you stay with this pair, get a file and remove any lips and ledges that might catch and cause the top sheet to peel. also, epoxy carefully, making it penetrate any voids or cracks to keep water out of the core.

I have a friend who bought a pair of Armada ANT's a couple years ago. Did the same thing. The topsheet peeled so badly that it was unrecognizable. I've never bought a pair of Armada's and probably never will because of it.

Thats not "peeling" you can clearly see that there has been some sort of contact, and there is material missing. Armada is made in Atomic's factory. They aren't shit ski's. But you're clearly misrepresenting an issue that was not spontaneous.

 

I never understand why, in situations like this, people fail to reach out to the company that sold them the ski and ask what can/should be done about the situation and instead post negative pictures/stories on internet forums.  It seems to me that at the very least Armada should have a chance to respond to an inquiry about the issue (not to mention the fact that it looks like a chip or dent, not peeling to me).

Another photo would be good.  It certainly looks like a impact/compression dent in that first shot (you never know what may have happened to your skis while you're inside having lunch, or whatever).  A few more photos from different angles may change that opinion.

 

Hope the epoxy solves things for you.

Still not buying it. There is also material missing from the sidewall. In any case if it truly was a delam, and I don't think it is, You should be having it warrantied through the place you bought it.

 

You probably ended up with some impact you are unaware of. or someone ran over your ski in the lift line. I also don't see why you are trying to compare it to your old ski.

IMO not peeling. compressed or carved out.

 

how do you keep each ski on the same side each time?

if you cannot get them replaced, best bet is to do what was said above regarding putting epoxy over it.  

post some more pics of it, because it does look like it hit something.  the sidewall looks dented as the change in colour.

That looks like a impact to me in that picture. I put over 75 days on my JJs last season and there holding up great. And that's 75 days of skiing Big Sky and the backside of Discovery. Both those places can rip skis up real fast. Not even a core shot. Fix them as advied above and go ski them.

One of my TSTs is doing the same thing - It's definitely a production flaw. The delamination is occurring on the lower- middle sidewall, and it's causing the metal edge to warp inward. The ski has a sizeable blister or ripple on the base right next to the delaminating edge. The bump is large enough that it will affect performance - It's on the base right under my boot.

I love these skis, so I'm very disappointed and pretty sick about it.

?????  You need to post some photos that show that there isn't any impact damage to the ski in this area, or you need to be understanding that anyone with any experience with ski damage is going to call you out and say that there is no freakin' way that the metal edge is spontaneously bending inward into the ski and causing the base to bubble downward. I've seen hundreds of skis with this exact issue, every single one was impact damage... maybe this is different, maybe your description is misleading, maybe I'm just wrong, but... it sure sounds like you hit something from the side. Something like a tree stump, a rock or a rail.

 

Whiteroom - I hit things all the time; rocks, stumps, entire trees, snowboarders, and sometimes women and small children...but never rails. I've been skiing for 53 years so I've also seen a lot of damaged skis! I'm only reporting what I see, and it's not damage from an impact. I wish it was because it could probably be repaired. I'm an engineer by profession and I also know a lot about how these skis are made. There is no confusing delamination of a ski with a side impact. During fabrication, tension is created in the ski core, this can cause the very slight deformation I'm seeing in the metal edge when the polymer delaminates, shrinks, and pulls away from the edge. If I get time, I'll post a photo, but my edge and base look quite different from the photo on this blog string.

 

Feel free to "call me out," I don't really care. Bottom line is that I'll either have to waste my time dealing with the online place that sold me the skis or Armada. I doubt I'll get any action from either one, so I'm now in the market for new skis for next season - yippee!

More photos please. I have to agree that this does look like impact damage from that angle of the photo. Sidewalls and top sheets are easily glued with epoxy. If the whole thing goes, then it is an issue. Get the best, long cure epoxy you can find. Mr. Sticky`s Underwater Glue is what I use. It takes a couple days to set up, but it HOLDS. Earlier this season my sons skis had a compression that bent the edge up and in. The sidewall was cracked in a trapeziodal shape and the guts were showing. I hammered the edge back to semistraight and stuck a bunch of Mr. Sticky`s Underwater Glue under and over the sidewall. Day one (24hrs later) it was a bit soft. Brought it in by the fire and it was rock hard day two. Filed the edges down a bit on day three and he has skied them about 8-10 days on them with no problem. I have quite a few damaged skis from rocks, etc. that have either compressed or torn out edges on my skis and my sons. In this era of ever fancier top skin graphics this issue will happen all the time. Best to minimise the damage and get on with the skiing.

 

Quote:

 

forgot to add this one in above.  

 

Honestly, this is such a small ding.  the tops aren't even separating from the base material. it's clearly an impact dent.  
 

 

So Nobueno, what happened?  Was it determined to be an impact hit as it appears in the photo?  I have about 10 days on my TST's and no issues to report other than some seriously fun skiing

How did they go for you on the hard or icy?

 

Nice review here: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/211141-Review-183-Armada-TST

As I have commented elsewhere, in firm conditions, I can still rip pretty hard and have lots of fun on the TST.  I would just rather be on my Movement Source skis in those conditions.

I have never skied them on true ice, just some really scraped off, hard hard pack and I survived.  The edges on them do have a surprising amount of grip.

 

OTOH, Atomics ARE shit ski's IMHO.  I had a pair of Metron 11's absolutely explode at the binding mount after a half-day on them.  In 30 years, I never saw another pair of skis do that, and I'll never use anything made by Atomic as a result (unless they are free or close to it).

 

JayC

Well based on your other thread, were they 10 year old skis you bought used that likely had hundreds of days on them?

Then I would imagine a binding could fail especially after you said you were tougher than shit on gear.

Just sayin, a little context is helpful, as Atomic makes good gear and would have warrantied them if they were new

 

 

In almost all your posts you mention that you only buy used or closeout ski's. See where your credibility went there?

So far I enjoy the TSTw on everything excerpt the super hard pack / icy stuff, and I only don't like them on that since the rocker tip gets chattery. But in all other conditions they work surprisingly well on things I didn't expect them to work so well on (like holding a good edge). My favorite conditions for them is tight turns in the trees


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Thanks Liv2ski and Shima

 

I will be using them in a few days at Whistler - can't wait!

 

 

Wasn't the Radius K a Cap ski?  The top sheets pretty much couldn't peel away on a cap ski, as they fold all the way down the sidewall.  Chips like you have are pretty common on sandwich skis, no matter the brand.  My K2 Public Enemy has a big ol' 2" by 2" chunk of top sheet missing. 

 

Plus yours definately looks like it was impacted.

Get off the beaten path.  They should be a blast in the soft snow you can still find at Whistler. If demoing, go long as they ski really short.