 Poster: A snowHead
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I read a lot of ski talk and there's always mention of equipment, especially skis, being suitable for heavier skiers...
At what weight does someone become heavy? And is it all relative to height?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ok, purely on guess work here, but I'll start the bidding at 100kg.
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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?
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Not sure, but for computer users it's measured on a mouse-man ratio of 1:5,000,000
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Kramer, i am with you. currently i'm a fat heavy barsteward at 101kg, hopefully within a few weeks i will be 'a strong athletic skier' at 97kg
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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David Goldsmith, too long virtual skiing on snowheads 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Goldsmith, is that you? 
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To be fair, I have trimmed my beard since then.
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The rather unpleasant bit about that photo is that it reminds of one of my patients who used to sit at his computer just like that viewing porn. The District Nurses refused to visit him unless he switched off the screen before they came upstairs. He is not my patient any more 
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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.
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skimottaret, Lightweight.
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..... interesting challenge for a 'One-piece Fluro Suit' manufacturer ..... 
shoogly, I was consistently badly advised when buying skis and bought two pairs in succession that weren't suitable for my weight - the sole guide seemed to be ones height when deciding the ski length. Although I am a modest 90kg, ... I like to ski mainly off-piste and carry an ABS pack, which if fully laden - with general basics, rope, crampons, skins and jaffa cakes ... will take me well over 100kg. I was constantly coming out of my bindings at the most inconvenient times  and that did not create a halo of confidence on my head.
A really good guide picked this up and said I needed much longer and wider skis. After telephoning smallzookeeper, a pair of shiny planks arrived ..... Dynastar Legend Pro somethings or other .... big ORANGE thingys - nice and wide and 20cm longer than normal ... and I have never looked back ...( well I did once to warn fellow skiers of a drop-off & got a halo of snow around my head that time ... )
Although more renowned for his consultant expertise on boots ... smallzookeeper, knows one, or maybe two things about skis too, so maybe give him a call - but first work out your 'total' weight, if carrying a pack as well and also give consideration to the bindings to make sure they are adequate for the job.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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David Goldsmith, I see Santa has been a the hair dye again
BernardC,
- just take care how many you put in your pack. Good advice though. I'm 85kg plus pack weight and ski a length thought very unfashionable in a stiff ski (too old to admit to owning now) and it solved similar pop-out problems.
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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.
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Cymru am Byth, seconded!
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Cymru am Byth, rainman, i was referring to my dripping wet weight... if you count, gear, boots, backpacks and all the other garbage well into three figures
serious note though do you tell the DIN setting guy your weight with or without boots on. Just packed my boots and was surprised how heavy they are.......
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You know it makes sense.
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| laundryman wrote: |
| David Goldsmith, is that you? |
No, and I don't think it's admin
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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No, admin doesn't wear glasses.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Cheers for that Bernard.
I'm 14.5st, so maybe 15.5 (just under 100kg?) with clothes on and maybe a wee bit more fully laden with ski gear. 6'4" as well.
How come you need wider skis as well as longer? i thought the ski width was all down to what kind of snow you ride on?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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shoogly, .... it is really I suppose, although I use these skis for everything. I tend to look at is as 'square meterage under foot' ...  ... otherwise I might have needed 2 metre + skis .... !
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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?
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220lbs, I'd say....
15st is getting on towards heavy.
That is a standing weight and now add-ons, IMV
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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So what you chaps are saying is that at an unladen 16st, I'm too heavy to ski?!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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II, we just don't let you near T-bars 
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With all my gear (inc backpack) I tip the scales at 125kg at 188cm.
Ski on 170cm Salomon slalom skis in all terrain and all conditions.
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Mike Pow, there is a word for people like you, but it's not suitable for a family forum
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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.
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Its time to link up the Twin tips and telecabine forum and the Lardy forum to ask how many heavy skiers can get up the mountain with twin tip skis per egg?
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rainman,
I am not saying that, but I would think it would change your thinking about skis.
6ft and 100kgs plus should not put you on small skis whatever your standard......Race type SL apart, IMV
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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does 105Kg get me into the 'super-lardy' group? (please)? (should be nearer 100 by Jan tho )
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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.
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Hell ..i thought that i am fine at 105kg. The race begin - 2 weeks , 8 kilos to lose. No more chocolate 
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You know it makes sense.
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Hmm.. this things can catch up with you. I was 75-80kg for 20 years, then suddenly it was 90+. Not enough skiing, evidently. Wouldn't go as far as giving up chocolate though. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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my diet came run short after trip to Nando's- 3/4 of a chicken and some fries (large ones )... thats SAD!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Please can some kindly tech minded soul post some detail on this topic as I am really interested in what factors you'd consider when suggesting skis to someone? When you look at ski selector websites, they seem to go on height, gender, expertise level and intended use, not weight. Do they assume everyone of the same height is the same build - even if they are the same weight/height two people can be of very different build (weight lifter/lardy-boy or Pear-shaped Polly/Busty Bertha). Would this affect your recommendation?
Take me for example. I have not yet considered buying skis, being a novice, but am keen to learn about them so I am better informed when I hire and one day I do hope to purchase. I'm rather heavier than I'd like to be, but a BB, rather than a PP, (so much higher centre of gravity than PP). I'm about 5'6", and boots are 315mm length. I'd describe myself as a slow cautious skier and even when I improve I don't see myself wanting to ski at all aggressively or off-piste - gently down blues (maybe even reds eventually!) will do me fine!
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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?
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NewSkier,
the advice you can get by putting a few details into a formula is all based on statistics. Your body is different from that of any other skier. Your preferences will also be different. I believe that the only truly informed choice you can make is one based on personal experience - trying as many different setups as you can.
Things were simple when I was learning, you just put on a couple of planks roughly as long as yourself and pointed then down the hill. Same with bindings: the DIN settings are about avoiding injury, so relevant details might include density and dimensions of every bone involved, as well as condition of tendons and muscles and, of course, every single movement you are likely to make.
All I did is to find out empirically what sort of movements I had to make before the binding released by leaning/jerking/kicking and adjust it to my liking.
Then pseudo-science shoved its heavy boot in. Does it REALLY matter what we use as recreational skiers?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| MartinH wrote: |
NewSkier, I believe that the only truly informed choice you can make is one based on personal experience - trying as many different setups as you can.
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I agree, but there is an overwhelming array of kit out there and I just wondered what factors (other than commission or stock needing shifting!) might be taken into account when the retailer suggests things to try. Someone said to me that a stiffer ski is better if you are heavier - but how do you know what a ski's stiffness is?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Call me a cynic - retailers do have their own agenda.
Stiffness isn't a simple function, technology allows designers to vary stiffness throughout the ski as well as through different modes of movement. You can only generalize here. It stands to reason that the force you exert onto the ski through your mass and acceleration need to be matched by the ski's ability to stay in the correct shape. This means that the general stiffness should be proportional to the product of you mass and your speed around corners.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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MartinH, I'm a cynic too  and that's the reason for my asking things like this on here because I am talking to people who aren't directly trying to sell me something! I do appreciate what you say about the variations in stiffness. However, that accepted, how does someone like me get an idea about a ski's overall stiffness? Surely you have to have an idea about such things when you decide to test-drive skis or have blind faith in the person who wants to make a sale! Thing is, I am not yet intending to buy, but I want to be "aware" of what I am skiing on when I go to Vallandry in Feb, so that I can ask perhaps for a swap for comparison at some point, and start the process of acquiring the knowledge of what might suit me, so that when I decide to buy I'll have some idea. I'm going to LDA in June, and non-skiing hubby is coming. Were there to be bargains on sale, I could see him perhaps being persuaded into a little wife-pressie........!
So..... am I right in assuming that VERY roughly speaking, when comparing skis of similar length/width/terrain-use, men's skis and those marketed for more advanced skiers are stiffer than ladies & novice models? If so, on that basis, I'd probably be served well by something in a 155-160 length, designed for an intermediate male skier as opposed to something for a lady novice?
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How many people actually overpower a ski? Even those who are carrying a bit of extra weight? Just so long as you don't get the category of ski completely wrong (eg novice skier on a stiff race ski) I don't think you need to get too stressed by fine gradations in stiffness between different skis. If anything I think novice skiers would be better on a softer ski as they will be a bit more forgiving, even if the skier has the tendency to lardiness.
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NewSkier, I suspect you should start your own thread on this one - as many, who could add more to your understanding, may not have seen your posts.
I'll try and pick up on some of your points - for fun rather than informed advice. Since I started coming here the advise given to people on what skis they should be looking at / buying/'testing has moved towards being based upon their weight more so than their height ... ' weighing a little more than I want to' isn't going to give them much to go on
Some people ( who know what they are on about rather than I ) suggest that one of the major differences between 'novice' and 'more advanced ' skis is that the former are built down to a price - and , given that they wont be used much / required for long are of poorer quality. Salamon in particular seem to have had a rough ride here for that practice. However this doesn't mean that a 'novice' ski wont help you in the earliest stages of learning ... but I , for one, was surprised how relatively early during the learning curve I could use and enjoy 'better' skis.
Not all 'Ladies' models seem to be 'soft'. My wife has Volkl (Attiva 5s) ..and flexing them (bending them unnecessarily in the house!) shows that they are stiffer than mine.
My suggestion would be to post your own personal details, experience , capability and aspirations on its own thread and get a 'Test List' for your Feb holiday -- take whatever is offered from that list for your lessons but on the last day ( having improved a bit) try and test a few others on the list 'just to compare'. There were some o/s ski reductions in L2A in October -- Im sure easiski will tell you what its like in June.
BTW - hubby has no excuse - get him on skis !!
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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.
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rob@rar, Agenterre, thanks - I might start a specific thread shortly before I go away. Oh and getting hubby on skis is a total non-starter as he's got a tendency to back trouble and absolutely won't do anything that might upset it! Shh, don't tell him I said so, but a bit of exercise would do it good!
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| If anything I think novice skiers would be better on a softer ski as they will be a bit more forgiving, even if the skier has the tendency to lardiness. |
I agree with this, the extra grip of a stiffer ski could be difficult to handle for a novice.
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