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How do you pick a ski size?

hammer

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
5,493
Points
38
Location
flatlands of Mass.
Bandit2941 said:
I'm sure you'll like them. Where are you in Mass? Where do you ski?

I live north of Boston and because of time and family constraints I usually go for day trips to ski areas in southern and central NH. I live less than 30 minutes from Nashoba so it's a good area for me to get to after work if the conditions are right.

I'm still a novice with just over 1 season of experience, so the smaller areas are still plenty challenging for me at this point.

The C8s that I have are 170s. Since the rentals I was skiing with were 150s to 160s, the new skis have taken a bit to adjust to. I'm really looking forward to the start of this season so I can get some use out of them...
 
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roro8o

Guest
I am a beginner skier, I want to purchase skis. I am not sure what type and size I should be looking for. I am 5'10 and wiegh 220. I usually ski at hunter mtn. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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beswift

Guest
The Hype of Ski Sales

Last Wednesday I went out on my 15 yr. old Hart 204's and loved the experience. In the K1 Lodge I was noticed by one of Ski Market's aggressive Mgr.'s who I skied with last winter at Burke. He gets his Free Skiing in and will do a good job of selling you a new pair of shaped (He sold me on it.). However, when I got home, I pulled my parent's wooden downhill skiis out of the rafters and will get them ski ready. Comparing my Dad's skiis (I have skied with them as an adult) to my SLX's, I see that they don't have any kind of sidecut so they are truly straight skiis. The reason the Mfg's are trending to integrated would be that their profit margins are better that way. Shaped also require an elevated boot so your older bindings (still excellent if kept carefully) won't work when you go to shaped. A year ago or so ago, I picked up a pair of Volant long skiis (Again, a slalom ski, not to be confused with a straight downhill ski) for $30 brand new at Bldg. 19. I had an old Marker step-in which someone stupidly discarded because the skiis were trash. I mounted it with a certified tech and test. Back on Canon Mtn. early season last year, I had a BALL on them. My next trip out I'm taking them!!! The Vokl shaped are foam core which surprised me greatly. Vokl always made it a point of pride that they never made a foam core ski. A rule of thumb would be that a foam core will only give you 40 days of hard skiing while wood will give you 60. I like foam core skiis as they can be very light and quick. My Hart's have a metal core skii taken from the Hexcel model. The Volant also is a metal ski. Metal will last forever if it isn't bent or in the case of the honeycomb cores, crushed. To prevent this from happening in the Hart, they added two channels of a plastic polymer to either side of the Honeycomb core. This takes the stiffness out of metal, though. A good slalom ski has a soft shovel and still tail like my SLX's The original heads were all metal and too stiff a ski for New England as is the case with most Austrian skiis. The trouble with Shaped would be that once you go to them , they are easy to ski, you get lazy and can't go back. However, you are losing speed and stability in speed with a short deeply side cut skiis. This is great for the Industry as it makes for slower skiing (safer, a new appeal to expert skiers and money in the bank. Jumpers and Downhill skiis are still as straight as my parent's skiis. Tortional stiffness should also be a consideration in choosing your ski. 40 days of skiing is a year of skiing for my friend who pimps for the Mfg.'s. He works his tail off for a paycheck, free skiis and lift tiks, and turning his son into an Olympic racer. You ski with him at Burke and you will have a hard time keeping up. This isn't because of his equipment, it's due to his skill, peer group and practice. When I put my Vokl's up on the wall and use them late season, I will get a number of good years out of them, but they will go dead quickly with use. By then I'll be retired in Fla. or Hawaii. You guys will be plunking more money down for the next gimic.
 
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EastCoastRipper

Guest
Go easy on yourself

With todays new ski technology and added ski width we are able to use shorter skis. This makes it easier not only to ski, but it does not drain your energy. I would say a good happy medium is a 180cm for all around conditions. Of course longer for racing and slightly shorter for park and jibbing.
Don't just concentrate on the lenght, but think about what type of feel you are looking for. You really don't need a bomb proof stiff ski anymore. Most preformance skis are all pretty torsionally stiff.
The basic thing is to go easy on yourself, don't get oo much ski.
Hope this helps a little
 
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