Ski length, and why it relates to height. . .

This is all very good for you small guys...I am 6'4" and weigh 235 and am skiing on 190 cm semi carvers at the moment...what should i get

lol, Sorry that's beyond my range of experience! :D

daved wrote:This is all very good for you small guys...I am 6'4" and weigh 235 and am skiing on 190 cm semi carvers at the moment...what should i get

My mate is 6 foot 3 weighs about 200 and skies on 175 parabolics but he is quite a good skier so I would go for 165s and make sure they are soft flex and preferably Salomon

Real Ale suggests "soft skis" for a skier over 200 lbs.

May I point out that a "soft" ski on a "heavy" skier will result possibiy in;

1. broken ski
2. Bent ski at tip
3.need for new ski every year.

Every skier should ask themselves, how much "performance" they want vs. how long do I want to keep ski!

Nothing is free in life! Yes you can have a 200lb. skier on 165 cm boards but the ski will last 1 year if he is an expert skier!

I weigh 180 lbs and have delaminated a "soft" ski in SL race course since the grooves near poles were deep!

And why Salomon!!!!! ONLY !!!!

Salomon skis are ok but certainly nothing special in comparison to the range of skis that are available these days, in fact they are well known for losing their stiffness quicker than most skis. As for soft flex, that would be the last thing you'd want if you're a half decent skier. Stiffer skis are much more stable when you're going at speed and won't 'chatter' on hard pack snow.

As I understand it, skis can be softer flexing now days while still having good torsional flex properties. Torsional flex is the worst thing in a carving ski and in the past it was neccersary to make a very stiff ski to prevent this. The latest skis also have far better damping. These properties have made skis that hold an edge while still being soft.

I do think it is easier to learn to carve on softer skis (with a small radius sidecut), but this is obviousely relative to the skiers weight. This does mean that as a skiers carving improves, they might want to upgrade to a stiffer ski.

I have seen people trying to carve on skis that are too stiff. Thier progress was very slow because most people cannot go straight into aggressive carves and therefor don't generate the forces to decamber the stiff ski.

Trencher

Trencher,

You are so right about the soft ski issue and learning. The problem is that "soft" is such a relative term.

For the past 10 years I have been testing skis and keep a file on all skis. Whenever I get a new ski I do all sort of "bench tests" using the same weights and same procedures.

After reading your comments I went back to my files and found;
1. all modern skis have softer flex than skis 10 years ago
2.torsion index has increased in some racing skis

The issue is how much "softness" is good for learner and still will allow skis to be "active" for at least 4 -5 years. I would love to do a 5 year study in this regard. Dave might get a new free ski next year if I can convince some ski companies to donate 5-8 pairs of skis for such a study!

Since I am meeting several reps next week I will offer them this study!

Also it is a shame that like in ski boots there is an flex index, we do not have any indication of ski flex index!

All I know is that I have 15 pairs of skis in my workshop, with all sorts of; breaks, delaminations and top ski peeling! Cause,,,,unknown. No ski company wants to face this issue,,yet.

I have asked racing coaches to keep records of ski breaks and they will provide me with information on the skier. I hope to do correlational study in relation to ski breaks and age, sex weigth and skier level. I hope to present the findings at an industry conference in 2007!

Meanwhile the debate continues and Dave wonders!!!!

Another thought on this height/weight/length discussion.

If you are a tall, light weight male, you might look at women specific skis, which I think have a softer flex for a given length. I'm not sure if the bindings have a different placement, but if they do, it would be forward and therefor better for carving.

Another option for light weight men or (average women), might be junior race skis.

Trencher