Touring on Armada Tracer 98?

[muddyjeans]

I’m looking for an East Coast spring touring and backcountry ski. I ski pretty aggressively and I’m looking for something with decent edge hold and pretty damp and stable at high speeds and through crud. I also want it to be maneuverable and playful for side hits, drops, and glades. I’ll be mainly skiing these in the spring on mount Washington but also in some glades mid-winter when it’s not deep enough for my wailer 112s. Will be pairing them with some vipecs, Ions/zeds, or rotations. Let me know of any experience with these!


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[IanCH]

How much have you skied on Mt washington?

I wouldn't describe the snow conditions as crud often and high speeds through crud you might as well just jump off a building.

So what do you really want? A corn ski? Or something that skis in no-fall terrain? That's the situation that is most commonly on mt wash.

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[muddyjeans]

How much have you skied on Mt washington?

I wouldn't describe the snow conditions as crud often and high speeds through crud you might as well just jump off a building.

So what do you really want? A corn ski? Or something that skis in no-fall terrain? That's the situation that is most commonly on mt wash.

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I should have been more clear. I will be skiing these on a resort on early morning skin laps when I often experience crud and higher speeds which I why I want something stable with good edge hold and and in reference to Mt. Wash I’m referring to the sherbie in terms of dampness thru crud when I know I won’t be heading into the bowl. So I guess they’re not mainly for Mt. Wash but I guess I’m looking for an all mountain oriented touring ski but I already pulled trig on the tracers so if I get to ride em this year I’ll report back.


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[davidhuge]

I have the 2018 Aramada Tracer 98 with Atomic Shift bindings on them and used them for 50/50 last 1 1/2 seasons in Northern VT.


For touring the setup feels on the heavy side (just read somewhere the 2019-20 Tracer 98 are 20% lighter) but performs well on the way down.. poppy but stable on uneven bc terrain, responsive enough in tight trees and they float okay in pow.


There's a lot of unnerving chatter on hardpack groomers at speed but the profile seems to hold an edge. They feel noticeably a little wide for resort riding in anything but fresh pow. Cheers.

[TheK12]

Also looking at this ski as a touring setup ski. How tall/big are you guys? I'm 5'10" and 225lbs and looking at the 180cm or 188cm. If there was a 185 option, that would be perfect but as it is for the tracer, I'm in between. Looking to do soft snow touring, i.e. powder laps in winter and corn in the spring.

[muddyjeans]

Also looking at this ski as a touring setup ski. How tall/big are you guys? I'm 5'10" and 225lbs and looking at the 180cm or 188cm. If there was a 185 option, that would be perfect but as it is for the tracer, I'm in between. Looking to do soft snow touring, i.e. powder laps in winter and corn in the spring.

I ended up grabbing a pair of them but unfortunately can’t ride them until next season. I’m 5’11” and 175lbs and went with the 180cm. I’m planning to use them for the same terrain and snow type. They’re not really a super stiff pair of skis at all. I have a pair of faction prodigys and DPS wailers and they feel pretty soft comparatively when I hand flex them.


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[TheK12]

I ended up going with the 188cm as I couldn't pass up the deal. Figured that if they didn't work out as a touring setup, I could use them in the resort on soft snow days. Looking forward to skiing them and still holding out hope for some easy May tours...

[s_curran]

Any updates on these? I just bought some 188's for east coast touring, mostly in the VT trees. I'm 6'4" 210 or so if thats helpfull. Went with shifts.

[LC]

Also looking for any realworld reviews of the Tracer 98 - I found surprisingly little on TGR while searching although it is suggested in the light-ish 100mm-ish category frequently.

I'm looking to replace my Zero G 95s with something heavier as I never got along with them too well on the descents and don't mind the extra weight. 6ft4/80kg/180lb skier, will ski them with Hawx XTD 120s and also have Invictus 108s with Kingpins as my heavy touring option. They'll be my non lift-assisted touring ski and for anything more than about a 2 hour skin off Chamonix lifts including steeps, in all snow conditions. The Zero Gs always felt like not enough ski for me in anything except cruisey spring corn or light fresh snow on a smooth base, kind of harsh and too edgy. 1700-1900g will work for me, 188+cm preferably, damp but playful. I have always got along best with skis with a very even flex pattern whether it's a stiff or soft ski (Devastator, Monster 98, Kung Fujas, Francis Bacon) and would prefer minimal taper and minimal tail rocker.

Tracer 98s look like they tick all of the boxes and Blister's buyer's guide says it 's a good option for people who don't like "too light" touring skis. A friend of mine rates his Bent Chetler 100s for these purposes but those look like they have more taper and tail rise and I'd appreciate as much edge as possible for firm steeps. I'm going to check them out tomorrow plus whatever else I see then probably nab a Black Friday deal online. Any input welcome.

[atree]

Also looking for any realworld reviews of the Tracer 98 - I found surprisingly little on TGR while searching although it is suggested in the light-ish 100mm-ish category frequently.

I'm looking to replace my Zero G 95s with something heavier as I never got along with them too well on the descents and don't mind the extra weight. 6ft4/80kg/180lb skier, will ski them with Hawx XTD 120s and also have Invictus 108s with Kingpins as my heavy touring option. They'll be my non lift-assisted touring ski and for anything more than about a 2 hour skin off Chamonix lifts including steeps, in all snow conditions. The Zero Gs always felt like not enough ski for me in anything except cruisey spring corn or light fresh snow on a smooth base, kind of harsh and too edgy. 1700-1900g will work for me, 188+cm preferably, damp but playful. I have always got along best with skis with a very even flex pattern whether it's a stiff or soft ski (Devastator, Monster 98, Kung Fujas, Francis Bacon) and would prefer minimal taper and minimal tail rocker.

Tracer 98s look like they tick all of the boxes and Blister's buyer's guide says it 's a good option for people who don't like "too light" touring skis. A friend of mine rates his Bent Chetler 100s for these purposes but those look like they have more taper and tail rise and I'd appreciate as much edge as possible for firm steeps. I'm going to check them out tomorrow plus whatever else I see then probably nab a Black Friday deal online. Any input welcome.

I’ve been out on mine in a variety of corn and crummy conditions now and I’m really happy with them. Great spring touring ski for the pnw. They do still feel like a light ski though. They actually remind me of blizzard kabookies, which is one of my all time favorite touring skis for spring conditions - should have held onto those. I did the haute route on the kabookies, for what it’s worth, and would definitely take my tracers for that sort of mixed bag conditions. I’m 185 and relatively light on my skis.


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[LC]

Well I had a feel of them today at the tail feels way softer than I'm looking for, and tip a little softer. Compared the Bent Chetler 100 side by side which felt firmer in the tail but softer in the tip - my touring partner skis them with TLT6s and is lighter than me so I think I'd overpower them.

Faction Agent 3.0s have jumped to the top of my list after seeing them. A bit wider than I was planning but they'll work, flex reminded me of my old Watea 106s (RIP) and can share my Invictus's skins.

[s_curran]

I bought them for touring in the northeast, mounted with shifts. I'm a little worried im going to overpower them now. I was between the BC 100's, Blaze 96 and these, thinking I should have gone with the Blaze, but nothing to actually base it on, so we'll see.