The Volkl looks like a good choice for what you want. You are quite tall,* I'd go for the longer length. If the shorter ski felt fine in MK, then slightly longer will give you a bit more stability. Lets face it, a couple of turns in MK, swerve around an obstacle or two, and you're done, you can't get a ski up to speed! :D
* I'm quite short at 164, my last skis with an early rise tip were 172, very easy to turn at all speeds,15m radius, lots of fun. Go for it :D
Length of skis with full rocker
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I accept what you are saying, but I was just pondering that a large (low radius) sidecut also makes the ski unstable. So if the shaped ends of the skis are off the ground on hard snow then perhaps this has the effect of stabilising the ski and counteracting the instability caused by the ski shortening effect.
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Started by Jwoodhouse in Ski Hardware 14-Sep-2011 - 10 Replies
Bandit
reply to 'Length of skis with full rocker' posted Sep-2011
Jwoodhouse
reply to 'Length of skis with full rocker' posted Sep-2011
pavelski wrote:Jwoodhouse,
If you accept the fact that "shorter the ski" less stable ( all other factors equal), then the raised tip does make the running surface of the ski shorter ! That is there is less contact surface on snow!
That makes the ski less stable!
I accept what you are saying, but I was just pondering that a large (low radius) sidecut also makes the ski unstable. So if the shaped ends of the skis are off the ground on hard snow then perhaps this has the effect of stabilising the ski and counteracting the instability caused by the ski shortening effect.
Tony_H
reply to 'Length of skis with full rocker' posted Sep-2011
Hi. I recently treid out Salomon Suspects at Hemel which are full rocker skis. They were immense fun and fast. However, they are designed to be park skis really, although they would probably do all around the mountain. However, if you intend to spend more than 50% of your time on piste, they are probably not the skis for you. Think about what you will be doing on your skis rather than getting caught up in the technology.jwoodhouse wrote:I am looking at buying my first set of skis. I have looked into different makes/models/shapes and have come up with the Volkl RTM 77. It seems to suit my ability and preferences. I have trailed a few different skis on a local slope but the conditions were limited so could not do a full test and could only trail one length (171cm). The question I have is what length to go for? I am 80kg and 185cm tall. I know that there is a trade up in ski length between stability at speed and tightness/ease of turns. My question is does the full rocker technology in the Volkl RTM range make this choice worse?
It seems that in a straight line there is less surface area on the snow meaning that at speed the ski is effectively shorter. But in a turn more of the ski comes into contact with the snow effectively making the ski longer. This seems to be the opposite of what you would want for speed and turns. Is my logic here correct or am I missing something. From the trial I liked the skis and they did feel better that all the other I tried but the logic above is making it hard for me to choose a length. The ski length charts/web sites seem to push me towards 171cm but this will not take into account the rocker so I am tempted with 176cm.
Any advice on this or suggested alternatives would be appreciated.
Topic last updated on 17-September-2011 at 11:26