Armada is an American manufacturer of skis, poles, technical outerwear and skiing-related softgoods, based in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City' ...

with a European office in Innsbruck, Austria. The company's products are sold in over forty countries worldwide through wholly owned subsidiaries and distributors.

History

Armada was founded in 2002 by a group of professional skiers and the ski and snowboard photographer Chris O'Connell, with backing from British venture capitalists. Its founding team of owner-riders consisted of

Tanner Hall Tanner Hall (born October 26, 1983) is an American freeskier. Biography Hall, nicknamed 'Ski Boss', was born in Kalispell, Montana where he grew up skiing at Big Mountain, now named Whitefish Mountain Resort, starting at age three. He joine ...

, the late

JP Auclair Jean-Philippe Auclair (August 22, 1977 – September 29, 2014) was a Canadian freeskiier. He was born in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. JP helped Salomon launch the 1080 ski in 1998 and in 2002, along with fellow freeskier Tanner Hall founded Armada s ...

, JF Cusson, Julien Regnier, and Boyd Easley."Business Is Taking Off"
Sports Illustrated, December 6, 2004 They launched with 2 freestyle skis, the AR5 and ARV. Armad
moved in 2014
from the founding home base of Costa Mesa to Park City, Utah. Erik Snyder, former CEO of Armad
was quoted
saying "The combination of Utah's business environment and abundance of world-class skiing make Summit County the ideal home for Armada's future." On March 29, 2017, Armada was acquired by Finnish winter sports conglomerate

Amer Sports Amer Sports Oyj is a Finnish sporting goods retailer and holding company overseeing equipment brands Salomon, Arc'teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic, Suunto, Wilson, Armada, ENVE Composites, Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, and Sports Tracker.

for $4.1 million.

Company

Armada bills itself as skiing's first rider-owned, rider-operated manufacturer. It works closely with ski professionals, who design their own products and are rewarded with equity in the company. Armada is known to the general public largely due to its association with multiple-time

Winter X Games Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...

champion

, who is a founding team rider. In addition, Armada is credited with helping to shift mainstream perception of skiing in a younger, more dynamic direction through its unusual graphics and savvy marketing.Higgs, Philip
"The Jolt of Spray Paint on Snow"
New York Times, November 10th 2005. It operates online stores in the US, Canada, France, and Germany. In 2011 it announced a partnership with fabric makers

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

Team

Armada's current pro team consists of

, Jacob Wester, Phil Casabon, Mehdi Trari, Mike Hornbeck, Riley Leboe,

Torin Yater-Wallace Torin Yater-Wallace (born December 2, 1995, in Aspen, Colorado) is a freestyle skier from the United States. He won a silver medal at Winter X Games XV in the superpipe, making him the youngest medalist in Winter X-Games history. Torin is one o ...

, Kim Boberg,

Henrik Harlaut Henrik Harlaut (born 14 August 1991) is a Swedish freestyle skier. He was born in Stockholm and moved with his family to Åre at the age of nine. At the Winter X Games XVII in Aspen, Colorado, Harlaut won the gold medal in Big Air and the silver ...

and Sammy Carlson

Products

Products for the 2020/2021 season include skis, poles, bindings, ski wear and accessories. The ski includes lineup includes for men the ARV, Declivity, JJ, Whitewalker, Stranger, Edollo, BDOG, ARG III, Magic J and Tracer. Women's skis include the ARW, Trace and Victa. Children's skis include the ARV, ARW, Tantrum, Bantam and Kirti. The JJ is claimed as being "the first all-mountain powder ski with rocker".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Costa Mesa, California Ski equipment manufacturers 2017 mergers and acquisitions