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Mens/ladies designation - how important on skis

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@always29, You have private message!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Russbost, must confess I’m trying to understand your magical ability to couple your daughter’s physique with a quasi-meaningless number ! wink
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@under a new name, sorry, not following your reply at all. If you are referring to the ski radius, then I think it's daft to suggest it's a meaningless no. If you ski something with a 9m radius it is going to feel twitchier at speed than something with an 18m radius. I am looking at what the typical radius of a women's all mountain ski is in the 150/155 length range, seems to be around 13 - 15.

I would suggest possibly junior race skis, but they are never going to be easy once you're off the piste

If there is something that you really feel needs explanation then please educate me, I'm far from expert in these matters, if this is simple pedantry then please don't explain! Toofy Grin
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
@Russbost, no, not up to my usual standard of pedantry Happy

It just reads to me like you are putting a bit too much weight on it, while being quite correct that it is indicative, albeit only a small part of the puzzle.

"Twitchy at speed" has been a complaint I've heard since at least my first season as a rep in 1988 when skis typically had radii around 40m. And is can often be indicative more of a stance/technique issue than anything else. That said, I tried some 17-18 Elan Ripstick 96s with R18m and they definitely felt twitchy at speed! Being a function of a rather soft front end...

Blizzard Black Pearl 88 in a 152 cm comes out at a paltry 12m ...

My point is that it's really not a number to get hung up on.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
my wife skis non female specific skis, same with boots-its all bullls**T!
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@kedsky, No, women often have a larger calf and it sits lower so the boot liners are shaped to accommodate this. I just rejected a men’s version of a boot - same shell, different inner - because its the wrong shape for my leg.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Scarlet, being, I think, the only known specificity.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@under a new name, Yeah, probably. Men tend to have bigger feet too, but a larger sizing range would solve that. This is just a problem I am personally aware of Embarassed
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Some women's models have shorter cuffs relative to feet too. Same with some teenage boots. My son has some Lange junior race boots in "short cuff" SC variant.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Maybe a clue lies in what Vonn did. She was big and strong enough (much more so than the OP's daughter) to use Men's skis, and smart enough to try it, and this had something to do with her historic results. Many other WC women tried Men's skis, but my memory does not produce any others who ride them routinely in races. They can't bend 'em as effectively so they use ones they can, as they should.

From this I take the important issues to be: for the skier, size and skill. For the ski, length and flex. Gender? I don't see the relevance. Some say men and women of equal height and weight are built differently. While true, it seems a distinction without much of a difference in this context. Rearranging a kg or two is splitting hairs.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Scooter in Seattle, Not sure about your first point. She is big and strong. Did she routinely use mens' lengths? Does that help?

But totally agree with your second set of points.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@under a new name, my first point is this: as a +/- 5'10", 160 lb elite athlete, LV was big and strong enough to bend a ski that men or women shorter, lighter and weaker could not. "Mens" skis worked for her because she was as strong or stronger than the ideal sized men they design Men's skis for, and the skis react to the skier's inputs, not gender. The beef those skis have, she could and did use, and it is among the reasons for her dominance. Other racers tried (since whomever's killing it gets copied) but it was not a switch advantageous for very many (any?) of them, either because they weren't as strong (most); as big (most) or as talented (all). The OP's daughter is not nearly as tall or heavy and dare I say unlikely to be as strong and fit as LV. Thus skis for a lighter person would be more appropriate for her.

In my own experience with my wife and daughter, both roughly LV's size, they ended up on medium-soft-flexing Men's skis. Shorter women will not have this option as has been noted.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if a man skis on woman‘s skis, is he still wrong?
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Scooter in Seattle, but my question remains, did LV routinely ski mens' skis?, and if she did, why would that/they be advantageous?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
under a new name wrote:
@Scooter in Seattle, but my question remains, did LV routinely ski mens' skis?, and if she did, why would that/they be advantageous?


Wouldn't the advantage be because at equivalent strength to male contemporary, LV would then have a speed in excess of a higher weighted male? In essence at peak centrifugal loading her linear speed would be higher for the same ski. This because the ski would reach its maximum deliverable edge grip as lower weight + higher speed is equal to higher weight + plus lower speed, and giving greater course speed.

Training and intent / response (synapses?) would be able to make the most use of this higher limit. In other words, if you're brave enough to "chuck it in" at higher entry speed, then you'll outperform someone without that ability to use the facility the stronger ski gives.

Is it true that competition female skiers would be closer in muscle performance to their male counterparts than is generally seen in recreational skiers?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@under a new name, yes, as I said above "could and did use". This was a very big deal in ski racing at the time. They were advantageous for her (and other people of her size and strength) because the Men's skis added beef (stiffer flex, higher torsional resistance and so forth) was something she could beneficially utilize to hold her chosen line. When this got out, others tried it of course. But they are smart enough to know what works, and they can even measure it, and ultimately few if any others made the switch. They don't make the mistake of buying "too much ski" like, oh, I did for vanity about 45 years ago. Hart Comps, looked cool but way too stiff, I spent most of a season in the back seat before I swallowed my pride and got a ski suited for my ability at the time. It helped a ton.
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