 Poster: A snowHead
|
or do women need different skis?
7 or 8 years ago there was no such thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
They're sometimes a slightly softer flex than the mens/unisex version but usually the mounting point is further forward to allow for the lower/more rearward COM of the users. Put a K2 Burnin' Luv alongside the same length Apache Chief & you'll see both of these.
And there's usually some pink somewhere in the graphics 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
my wife has tried many male skis, and hasn't liked any of them. Usually too stiff or too heavy. Women's ones are definitely lighter than mens.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Quote: |
7 or 8 years ago there was no such thing
|
they go back a bit further than that, old chap. 13 years at least.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
boredsurfin, My wife recently demo'ed the Salomon W-X-Kart skis for the 2013-14 season. Despite my personal dislike for Salomon skis, she really loved the balance and set-up of these skis.
Meanwhile I demo'ed next year's Salomon X-Race and thought them a first class piste ski for inter/advanced skiers.
QED................. WTFDIK.................... Girlie skis do exist!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
spyderjon, my old skis and my off piste skis have pink. You've sold me girls skis!!!! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
boredsurfin, some women seem to think they do, ... Thankfully some don't
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
They don't weigh as much when you carry them to the lift. This is the only advantage I have found.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
I don't like the marketing behind them, I hate forward mounting points so could never buy a women's ski with integrated bindings. Also saying they are softer is a bit misleading, I have women's Volkl Auras and unisex Rossi S3s and the Auras are much stiffer than the S3s, softer than their unisex equivalent the Mantra but still as stiff as a lot of unisex skis. I would like to see skis marked as softer or stiffer versions of the same ski with different recommended mounting points, a lot of lighter men might prefer some women's skis but are unlikely to try them because of the marketing. The same goes with the mounting point, it doesn't suit all women but some men might benefit from a forward mount point.
I think the people who mainly benefit from women's skis are very small and/or light advanced women skiers, stiff skis in the shorter lengths they need are less likely to be available without women's skis, the same probably goes with powder skis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| lynseyf wrote: |
| I think the people who mainly benefit from women's skis are very small and/or light advanced women skiers, stiff skis in the shorter lengths they need are less likely to be available without women's skis, the same probably goes with powder skis. |
Agree with this. Needed some advanced piste ski for my daughter, got her some 153cm Blizzard Viva Ultrasonic Sport Full Suspension in the end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
I am likely to purchase my own skis in the near(ish) future, so this is an interesting question for me, despite my earlier comment 
However, my only experience is with hire shops (and mooching around online sales of all the shiny, shiny...) My personal experience is that hire shops seem to stock plenty of lower end, wobbly pink planks with butterflies on, but once you get past that stage in your requirements the offering is more unisex stuff.
I agree with lynseyf, about the length problem. I ski (piste) 156-160 ish and find that a lot of men's/unisex skis start much longer than this. Luckily for me, it's enough to sneak onto the shorter lengths by the likes of Head and Salomon. I need to do some testing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
I'd like to add that I find the marketing really irritating. Are there really so many women that want floral pastels?! It is a particularly annoying problem with clothing.
In some areas it has taken a long time to acknowledge that women are built differently, and I'll admit to owning (a very non-girlified) women's specific mountain bike, designed for a shorter torso and longer legs than the men's equivalent. I also have a friend who at 5'2" doesn't fit very well on men's bikes, which means that he has ended up with a pink bike. I suspect smaller men have similar problems with skis due to the lengths available.
I don't know if I'm making any sense here  but I'm not yet convinced by "women's" skis. (I don't include race tuned planks here, as I have no idea of the differences involved.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Scarlet, in that resepct (i.e. marketing) I think Elan's current offerings re: top sheet are far more acceptable to me that the flowers/ribbons phase they seemed to go through 2-3 years ago. I linked to the ladies amphibios above. Whilst it has still been done with colours that have a nod towards our fairer sex, I think the overall design is far more acceptable than some other 'ladies' skis currently on offer.
I think I would actively not be inclined to buy flowers and ribbons even if they were the perfect skis for me. Or I would buy them and see Admin about sheets of SH stickers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Megamum wrote: |
I have used one pair of women's specific skis and two pairs of mens/unisex skis. I get on better with the 'unisex/mens' skis, but then I am not built like a woman
|
This is one of the things I hate about women's skis, you are a woman, therefore you are shaped like one. Not many men have the physique of David Gandy yet that doesn't seem to affect their ski choice, why are we assuming womens skis are designed for his female counterpoint? This also relates to the COM argument, women's COM is lower etc. etc, this argument seems to be based on some ideal of the slim hipped broad shouldered man versus the pear shaped woman, plenty of people of either sex don't fit into these shapes.
In my experience, personal and from reading reviews of women's skis skied by women, Blizzard, Volkl and Nordica seem to make some pretty serous skis aimed at advanced female skiers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| primoz wrote: |
| and even stiffest women skis are nowhere near range of relatively soft men skis (talking about race skis now). So obviously they need different skis to get most out of it. |
This surprises me as there isn't such a difference between non race skis, at least from the manufacturers I named above, the stiffest women's skis are far, far stiffer than softer men's skis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
lynseyf, yes but you are not talking about same ski This what I was writing before was for example stiffest women world cup SL ski compared to softest men world cup SL ski, so basically comparing same ski. You are talking more like about women race like ski (which are more or less stiffest store skis), compared to beginner model of men ski (which are more or less softest store skis). If you would take same model men and women ski, you would notice difference. But it's also true, that with store skis, you can't get same model in few different stiffness classes... at least not generally, but I believe there might be model or two which you could.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
They don't weigh as much when you carry them to the lift
|
I wish that were true of mine - they seem to weigh a ton. Dynastar Exclusive Eden.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I`d guess that like many bits of kit skis can vary in very many ways, but the first time I ever said 'I really like these skis' I had my first pair of hired, specifically ladies skis, around 12/14 years ago. Sadly they were stolen on the last day and I don`t think my husband had anything to do with that despite the fact I kept on insisting we buy them 
I found them so much easier to ski on than any I had used before, Since then I have always used ladies skis, both bought and hired. I don`t care what they look like, I find them easier to ski on and much easier to cart about. There may well be mens skis that would be equally light and easy to carry but in saying I want 'ladies' skis I seem to get that ready made package.
I guess I`m a fairly average female in size, height and weight and I want my skiing made as easy and effortless as possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
pam w, one particular set, Dynastar Exclusive Light (lite?), really were. Unfortunately, that was all they had going for them 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
I think done well women's skis are great, done badly they're marketing fluff.
The one's I've got (Volkl Feugo and Blizzard Black Pearl) are great. I'm not short and am also a reasonably aggressive skier for a punter but I don't have the weight of most men of my height and quite simply I can get a lot more out of the women's skis I've tried than the men's. I am, however, actively put off by girly graphics, pink tends not to match my makeup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
primoz, yeah I got your point but i am still surprised that the stiffest women's race ski is still a lot softer than the softest men's race ski, I would have though there would have been overlap.
MeMyselfandI, I've tried the Fuegos and they were a great ski, tried them back to back with teh racetigers or whatever the unisex equivalent is and there wasn't much between them. Haven't tried the BP but have heard great things about Blizzard skis in general although they don't make their women's skis long enough for me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
lynseyf, how tall are you? I'm just under 5'10 and the 173's were perfect for me but that's the longest they do. My Fuegos have had their last season with me I think, they're just too short for the way I currently ski. The guys in the ski shop MrI sponsors (well, it seems that way anyway...) were raving about the Blizzard Viva.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
My daughter has the most advanced Blizzard Viva Ultrasonic Sport Full Suspension which she loves. She's only 17, 5' 5" and weighs not a lot so has 153cm but they improved her skiing tremendously, she did her BASI L1 on them last summer. Last years aren't girlie looking at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MeMyselfandI, I'm 5'9 I suppose the 173cms isn't actually much shorter than what I ski, am just used to skiing a bit longer for an off piste ski
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
For the last 10+ years I've hired skis. A couple of years ago I walked into the same hire shop we've used for years and where the owner has also taught me (runs a ski school as well). As usual I ask Henri what he recommends for the conditions and the sort of skiing I have planned and I'm kitted out with some planks.
Best I've ever had! (wish I could remember what they were)
End of he week I return them and he asks me what I thought. Great I say. Then he drops the bomb. They were ladies skis.
Did I care? Not at all - if they work they work. He reckoned they were a bit softer and would have helped me in the bumps a bit.
Surely a ski's a ski. With it's own characteristics and if they suit you go for it.
The graphics weren't pink - that would clash with my bloodshot eyes!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
