Are wider skis on piste leading to more injuries?

A snowHead

@Neiltoo, fat and rocker-ed skis can open up a whole new experience in deeper snow than skinny skis. Bigger, carving, floatier turns, though can still do trad bouncy turns. Fats can let you get away with less technique in powder simply due to the extra float, but to really use them still requires a decent skill level.

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My only pair of skis are 66mm underfoot x 170cm long, I have tried fat(ish) skis ~88mm Rossi Experiences and a couple of others but find they handle like a tractor with a broken axle in comparison when in the bumps and trees

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@geeo, it's a valid observation even it causes vexation amongst the over sensitive. tools which are most fun for the job in my view but really don't care - just amuses me to see a bus load of brits skiing on piste all day on fat skis while the locals are on regular skis on piste and fat skis off.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@sah, yep does depend on where you ski and whether the resort has more of a race or freeride culture

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Amusing how geeo gets agitated when we are actually agreeing. I rarely ski in France so wrong again

After all it is free

Agitated? more fishing??

sorry I replied with my thoughts.

Where else do bus loads of Brits regularly go apart from France to ski Very Happy

@geeo, usually a few Parks of Hamilton coaches in the Champoluc (IT) car park of a week

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@geeo,

they do get herded elsewhere sometimes - it was amusing though as to a person they all got off the bus for a day of piste skiing with fat skis in what was primarily a piste resort. The power of marketing. Absolutely nothing against fat skis per se.

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..but we digress. Up to them if skidding around is your thing: Don't suppose any survey will change the herd instinct

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@TTT, which resort was that then?

@TTT, what on earth is a piste resort? is the whole mountain groomed Puzzled

You know it makes sense.

@Arno, one you don't frequent - some resorts are renowned for their off-piste, some area less so - unless you like rock skiing.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@TTT, I'm a big fan of places which aren't renowned for off-piste. had a great time at Hinterthal a couple of weekends ago - could ski untracked snow right next to the piste. i was in a mixed group so it was ideal. My friends skied the piste and i could ski powder without being too antisocial. i was on fat skis and would like to apologies for anyone i offended with my snowboarder impressions on a couple of bits of icey piste i couldn't avoid Embarassed

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@TTT,
Without trying to digress from the OP's original topic is it not possible that part of the reason you see more Brits on piste with fat skis is because of the Airlines and the weight limits that they impose. Thus people can only take one pair of skis.
Locals and even most other Europeans do not have these restrictions to deal with.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@philwig, 1) I was on the bus as it was a cheap convenient option 2) Not exactly difficult to see everyone skis and 3) it was an on piste ski tour but hey if people want to ski on skis that are not appropriate for most of what they are doing most of the time that is their choice or actually more likely ski industry marketing. Brits are generally naturally not local mountains, so they know less about skiing, don't have a race race culture and buy skis wider than is ideal for what they are doing most of the time. So what. Freeride world tour they are on fat skis. Vail championships they are on thin skis. Skiing is prime time in local ski countries. UK - ski Sunday. Different ski cultures. People who live near mountains are generally better skiers and know more about skiing than those who ski occasionally on holiday. It is just different geography and different cultures. No idea why people need to get excited about the obvious.

They are indeed some places where off-piste is not the thing and the lack of snow and rocky terrain meant it was not a good idea

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So it amuses me. Is there something wrong with being amused. I thought skiing was meant to be fun. I don't see fat skis as up there with the international issues such as Greece, Ukraine, IS and being being a bit delayed on a crystall ski holiday.

After all it is free

Yep locals will often have a quiver where as holiday skiers may well go wider as will only buy one ski and want the assistance for the occasional off Piste excursion as they will also typically need that extra assistance as less opportunity to ski. I suspect some marketing though and people skiing on fatter skis than ideal for what they are doing most of the time which restricts their ability to improve. They still looked like they were having but maybe less fun than they could.

@TTT,
We do have good coverage here in the UK, ski Sunday is so last century NehNeh

I have watched almost all of the world champs and most of the Universiade skiing and snowboarding in Spain so just how much more do we need maybe the Europa cup would be nice but there is only so much time available to watch the box so something else would have to give.

You have such a lowely opinion of British skiers, and yes some are pretty pi55 poor at it but so are some locals. We have some fantastic skiers and instructors so please stop with the national steriotyping of everyone treat each person individually.

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@TTT, I think skiing is supposed to be fun. As is snowHeads. But even I (who always skis with a local instructor in France, doesn't think Brits invented skiing, don't overrate my abilities, doesn't have fat skis or expensive custom-fitted boots etc. etc.) am finding your negative generalisations about "Brit skiers" and then accusations about everyone else being "sensitive" and "excitable" a bit tiresome now.

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@Perty, No, you need to apply more force to put it on edge, and because of the width edge change is slower. So there is extra effort involved. Stiffness is a lesser factor here as skiers tend to choose skis with stiffness that matches their ability. But I also don't think that (at least in Europe) people rush to buy fat skis until they get skiing dialled in to the point that they understand the fat ski limitations.

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Doesn't a lot depend on the design, length and stiffness of the ski as well?

My Black Pearls are 88mm wide, but they don't feel as wide as that. They are so easy to turn, I actually feel they are fairly easy on my knees (which have crepitus and are rubbish).

I think ankles and knees are in far greater danger from poor technique than wider skis.

The propensity for most skiers to actively drive the downhill knee closer to the uphill knee and then let it sit behind it creating an 'A frame' from knee down puts a tremendous strain on ankles and knees.

Hit an unexpected bump, ice or deeper snow and it could be game over.

The aim should be to have the knee aligned over the tip of the ski as much as possible.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Fat rockered skis are simply a better tool for the job in powder. No disagreement about that. What I do disagree with is recommending hugely fat skis as all-mountain skis for intermediates. That won't help their skill development. I wouldn't recommend too long and stiff GS skis to a junior racer for the same reason....

A snowHead

So, should I buy a pair of Salomon Q98 as the first ski that I have ever owned myself? Lol.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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I ski a lot with Brits and Brit instructors as well as mountain locals so I'm not down on Brits at all. It is just an obvious geographical reality that generally Brit holiday skiers don't ski as much as locals and instructors. Skiing with instructors and locals has given me different experiences, views and perspectives than I had before. SHs is primarily a brit message board. The narrow island perspective of many on SHs is both amusing and tiresome. It is natural and somewhat sad that many people only prefer to hear their own perspectives of the world based on their own limited experiences. I prefer to get different views from instructors and locals who have far more experience. One of those views is that many Brits are often being sold fatter skis than is ideal for the skiing that they do. I'd recommend that people use skis suitable for what they do as they are more fun. But if people are happy in their world I don't see that it really matters as doubt it increases injuries substantially.

It is also strange how people take an Internet message board so seriously and don't have a sense of humour.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Mike Pow, why would you ever want to be on it? Might as well be on piste Twisted Evil

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After all it is free

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TTT has a point. However it may come across, if you looked at a bell curve of local skiiers and the kit they use in most Swiss resorts, it'd be heavily tilted towards carvers and piste oriented skis, while pure holiday skiiers would tend more towards wider skis - but i don't think its a "Brit" skiier phenom, as its just as likely to be a Dutch or German or Belgian holdiay skiier with a wider weapon. Fnarr. I do a lot of piste and piste side skiing and am on 90mm, which i think is a nice compromise with enough float for the very rare powder days, while being easy enough to edge to have a great time carving around the pistes the rest of the time. I do think 110+ skis aren't ideal for most of the regular season conditions (icy on piste, hardpack, windblown crust etc), but to each their own....I did get a massive giggle out of an experience in a hire shop a few weeks ago when a colleague from London insisted that the ski shop give him the widest ski they had, as he was an experienced, excellent skiier....only for his subsequent skiing to be less than excellent. He still had a good time, but i think he'd have had a better one if he'd been on something easier to edge (conditions were fairly boilerplate low down).

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Are wider skis on piste leading to more injuries?

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