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Ski boots have always been a contentious issue in skiing, and it’s rare that a new brand enters the fray. That is, until recently. Last season, Faction Ski’s sister company Phaenom Footwear launched a brand-new ski boot line aimed at freeride and freestyle skiers unhappy with the fit and performance of existing boots. Today, legendary freeskiing brand Armada is dropping a brand-new boot line of their own called the AR One.
Armada has always prided itself on being a brand driven by what’s important to its unique roster of freeskiing athletes. Launching a new boot is no easy feat. First off, it’s unbelievably expensive to manufacture boots–upwards of a $1 Million investment just to create the molds for a full size run. Then, there’s the R&D cost and challenge, and finally convincing skiers that the new product is worth their money. Knowing that, Armada’s AR ONE project began with an in-depth industry survey. Armada identified key boot issues that most skiers face: poor heel hold, shin and toe bang, liner discomfort, a lack of direct and precise steering, and continual compromises between optimizing performance and comfort.
“We wanted to make the boot that real skiers are looking for,” says Bransford Briggs, Ski Boot Product Line Manager at Armada in a press release. “Our objectives were to maximize heel hold while delivering a progressive flex and direct power transfer in a boot that is comfortable to wear all day, everyday. To do that we needed to develop a new concept, and that is what led us to create the AR ONE’s Hybrid Cabrio Construction.”
The AR ONE is a very unique looking boot, somewhere between a Dalbello-style Cabrio boot, an old Raichle/Full Tilt, and a traditional four-buckle race boot. Armada calls the design a Hybrid Cabrio construction–a first-of-its-kind design that offers both the comfort of a cabrio boot and the performance of a traditional four-buckle model with the progressive flex that hard-charging freeride and freestyle skiers have learned to love. So far, we’ve seen athletes like Tanner Hall, Quinn Wolferman and Max Palm aboard the boot.
Related: Inside Freeskiing’s New Boot Brand: Phaenom Footwear
The boot is based around the unique “Slingshot Buckle”, which essentially combines a cable-style closure system with a buckle to snugly wrap the foot and pull the heel back, locking it in place without uncomfortable pressure points. That buckle, combined with a true progressive flex (Armada calls it “Natty Flex”), missing in many modern cabrio offerings, is designed to address many of the issues highlighted from that industry survey. “The AR ONE brings true overlap performance characteristics to a three-piece cabrio design without compromising comfort,” says Matt Rihm, VP of Product at Armada.
Photo: Armada Skis
Other key features of the line: Tech toe inserts on the AR ONE 130 (it’s a bro boot!), a heat-moldable plastic Memory Fit shell and liner, Kush Damping Boot Board, Team Elastic Cam 50mm Powerstrap, Power Shift forward lean adjustment, Cuff Alignment, GripWalk soles, and replaceable hardware.
From a fit standpoint, the initial AR ONE line offers a medium volume 100mm last in five flex options ranging from 90-130. We have a AR ONE 130 in for testing, and initial fit impressions are very much in line with most other MV boots–there’s a good amount of toe width and height for the size, a medium-high instep (the Slingshot Buckle can crank that down pretty tight), and a very snug heel pocket.
Photo: Armada Skis
Early limited-release models will be available this January and include the 130 and 110 flex boots in sizes 24.5, 26.5, and 27.5. The complete lineup—AR ONE 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130 in a full size run from 23.5-29.5—will be available in Fall 2025 at retailers and online.
