 Poster: A snowHead
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Do you remember the first day you skied, and the kit was handed out to you and we were told:
“Place the pole upside down on the snow and hold the pole just beneath the basket. If your elbow is at right angles and your arm is parallel with ground, then your pole was just the correct length.
Next!”
This could have been years ago when we perfected first our “snow plough” and then the “Stem Christiana” turns and went home and told our mates back at work what brilliant skiers we were.
I believe that things have moved on a bit since then; our skis turn just by thought control and the pole plant more of an option extra to remind us of the times before lifts and we needed to “Skin up” before ascending the hill.
I’ve seen the odd photo of myself skiing and the poles just look too embarrassingly long (Just like the flare pants of yesteryear). Another SnowHead who I have the greatest respect for, pointed it out to me .. “Your poles are too long!”
While in the Hemmel Fridge I have experimented with shorter poles .. An instructor there raised her eyebrows as I picked out a yellow pair .. probably 115cm. I said I just had to try them.
Since then I find I ski more comfortably on the Greens, which are normally reserved for young ladies. They are about 105 or 110 cm.
I started out on 125cm and I’m 5’10” tall. (178cm)
Last year I had an epiphany and decided to cut my fabulous Goode skinny carbon poles down to the new 110cm size. My skiing improved over night and the instructor said he could not imagine that just circumcising the poles by 15cm could make such a dramatic improvement in my skiing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Apparently shorter poles can help in moguls. In very steep terrain, where you plant the pole well below your feet, then longer poles might help.
Answer..A quiver of poles! 
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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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Or adjustable ones.
The elbow test puts me at 115cm (just, I'm only 5'4"), but they feel too long. I'm sure I tried some once, but just kept catching them. I use 110s now, which used to raise an eyebrow in the hire shops, but it's no longer a concern as I have my own.
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Due to being a lanky so-and-so, I started out with 135cm poles and thought they were perfectly adequate.
Once I progressed - and did a CSIA L2 teaching course - I had a feeling I was being lazy with my planting and just flicking my wrists rather than reaching with the arm (more to it than that, but it's just an easier way of writing it).
I went down to some 125s and my skiing - especially in steep and/or technical areas - improved exponentially. My demos looked better, my technique stayed sharper for longer and I felt better with my skiing.
Definitely worth trying.
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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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A very good question.
Perhaps 30 years ago now a friend recommended shorter poles as an aid to getting my weight further forward. I felt it helped a lot. I now ski telemark which requires short poles for the downhill and long poles for the uphill.
I'm on the look out for some adjustable poles, where the adjustment is by flicklock near the top rather than bottom of the pole. These are stronger but only seem to be available as a rental option ?
Off to do a quick google search. 
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Cheers @thedrewski
Thats the feeling I got ..
I see you are in Niseko ... a Japanese friend of mine has a daughter working there Murika and his son Patrick
looking after resort accommodation..
Is it a small town?
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| DrLawn wrote: |
Cheers @thedrewski
Thats the feeling I got ..
I see you are in Niseko ... a Japanese friend of mine has a daughter working there Murika and his son Patrick
looking after resort accommodation..
Is it a small town? |
Was in Niseko, sadly no longer. And it depends which Niseko, there are 4 different bits to it really, at a guess they'd be looking at Grand Hirafu, which is reasonably big.
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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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Mmmm? I might have to think about this, I frequently trip over my poles, plant the pole in the wrong place, ski over the basket and go arts over titt 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Peter S said,
| Quote: |
where the adjustment is by flicklock near the top rather than bottom of the pole.
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Google for Black Diamond flicklock, which are excellent (have had mine since 1997) - people suggest getting 2 part rather than 3 part poles as there is less potential for joints to slip - mine are 2 part, but never had any slippage.
Another great thing with extendable poles is if you're poling/skating on the flat : lengthening the poles give you much better poling effect, much like nordic skiers
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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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Some where on the planet and I hope still hanging up in a Hotel in Soll are my favourite (now shortened)
Goode carbon fiber poles .. they are not much thicker than a pencil and great to use.
I hope they are still there !
They were a Christmas prezzy in 1992.
How I miss them. (But a good excuse to go back to Soll!)
Tip:
When you have to skate across the flat ... Start off by poling like a Nordic Giant, but
then skate holding your poles about half way down the shaft and swing your arms
like a Russian Speed Skater (but both arms).
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| thedrewski wrote: |
Due to being a lanky so-and-so, I started out with 135cm poles and thought they were perfectly adequate.
I went down to some 125s and my skiing - especially in steep and/or technical areas - improved exponentially.
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Interestingly I went the other way. When I started learning the rental shop only went up to 125 so I used those for my first few weeks. Then I came to buy, and I bought 125s because that's what I'd always had. Then I got a bit excited playing in moguls and bent the pole (lesson: with metal stuff, you generally get what you pay for, and the low price probably represents thin tube wall) to about 45 degrees. The shop thought 125 looked a bit short on me and I walked out with 135 with a promise I could bring them back if not.
Lo and behold, pole planting that I used to find required a conscious effort, now became a natural movement and I felt much better when skiing.
So it can go both ways...
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You know it makes sense.
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@dp, yes, but you are twelvety feet tall. 125s are for standard sized people
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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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DrLawn, Doubt they still will be, but fingers crossed for you.
I've got a pair too but adjustable by about 100mm I think, and over the years have shortened them too from a 90 degree elbow bend. Had them years after bending /breaking aluminium ones. Poling with them is great but you get much more speed if you continue to use them xcountry style, rather than just swing your arms 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I use 115s or 120s depending. I'm 5'9/5'10 and I find if my pole is too long when I'm planting I'm too upright.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've had my poles for 35+yrs. I think I cherish them more than my skis now. They have that grip that starts wide at the top, has contours for each finger and widens out at the bottom. Seeing as I always use the (more) bent one in the same hand, I think they have actually moulded/worn to the perfect fit. Not much paintwork left on them mind.
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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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| Scarlet wrote: |
| @dp, yes, but you are twelvety feet tall. 125s are for standard sized people |
'standard sized people' ... bit rich coming from you...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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@dp, I never claimed to be one of them...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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What?
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Many ski with poles that are too long, boots that are too stiff and skis that are too short.
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Bah! You don't go and buy a £5k carbon everything race bike and then put stabilisers on it! Lose 'em completely - poles are just a crutch for bad technique.
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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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Ski shops still measure using a 90 degree elbow, but tbh you may as well go shorter. Poles are rendered virtually useless by modern skis unless it's steep or flat...
I'd suggest skiing for a while without poles, you'll really feel the benefit.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've no idea whether slightly shorter poles would help my skiing technique, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they would seriously hamper my poleing technique.The shorter length would lamost certainly make them far less ergonomically efficient. Thoughts?
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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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@foxtrotzulu, I'm with you on that one. Tried shorter poles, but on the flat bits, they were definitely a step backwards.
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Yup, and for off piste deeps and steeps the slightly longer pole is pretty useful. Saying that, I'm 5'9 and use 125cm poles, but on my adjustable ones I take touring I vary between 125 and 135 for steep uphill pushing.
But I would happily use a 115 or 120 cm pole for stuff like slalom where the longer length is not really needed, it's just that I don't own any that short.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
| I'm often tweaking the length during the day |
Is this thread a "Carry on..." film?
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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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| Layne wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I'm often tweaking the length during the day |
Is this thread a "Carry on..." film? |
Well, we are comparing the lengths of our shafts...mine are 120 and I'm a bit over 5' 10" 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Longer is better for strapping a gopro down by the basket
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| snowglider wrote: |
| @foxtrotzulu, I'm with you on that one. Tried shorter poles, but on the flat bits, they were definitely a step backwards. |
Why are you on the flat bits for any extended period at all. You're not cross country skiing, are you?
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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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Have to say that I rarely notice anyone whos technical faults can be attributed to length of their poles...
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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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I turned up for a day's race training at Glenshee last March, and going in for lunch I noticed my poles were 7cm different lengths! I'd cut down one pair, but not the spare from a half broken pair which looked very similar. The difference was obvious pushing out the start thereafter, but not really while skiing the course.
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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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As an ex-skier turned snowboarder I think you'll recognize where I'm going with this.
But still, I see a lot of skiers on piste and many of them do use poles which are too long. It's a bit hard to work out cause and effect though - they may use long poles because they have bad stances, rather than the other way around... I'm not sure.
| snowglider wrote: |
| @foxtrotzulu ... Tried shorter poles, but on the flat bits, they were definitely a step backwards. |
This one you need my snowboarder expertise for. The trick is: (a) wax the bases; and (b) use your eyes. It sounds obvious, but most skiers are lazy because they know they can pole out of trouble. I almost (but not quite) always ride past those poling skiers because I saw the flat way before they did... In any case it's downhill: no need to sacrifice performance in the main game because now and then you may have to shuffle.
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@philwig, The number of time I've been passed by a snowboarder when I've been poling are easily exceeded by a factor of 20 by the times I've poled (or probably still skied) past a shuffling/jumping/walking snowboarder. That's not to say that a little more observation and planning won't help to minimise any poling.
My point was simply that slightly shorter poles may (or may not) improve my downhill skiing by a tiny amount but the same shorter poles will seriously hinder one's ability to pole when necessary. It's a very small sacrifice I'm happy to make.
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@foxtrotzulu,
Can you skate?
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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
@philwig, The number of time I've been passed by a snowboarder when I've been poling are easily exceeded by a factor of 20 by the times I've poled (or probably still skied) past a shuffling/jumping/walking snowboarder. That's not to say that a little more observation and planning won't help to minimise any poling.
My point was simply that slightly shorter poles may (or may not) improve my downhill skiing by a tiny amount but the same shorter poles will seriously hinder one's ability to pole when necessary. It's a very small sacrifice I'm happy to make. |
You can still pole by using your leverage on top of the shorter poles but the advantage is more dynamic skiing everywhere and way neater technique in the bumps. Plus go beyond functionally short and you can really style those grabs in the park.
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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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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
@philwig, The number of time I've been passed by a snowboarder when I've been poling are easily exceeded by a factor of 20 by the times I've poled (or probably still skied) past a shuffling/jumping/walking snowboarder. That's not to say that a little more observation and planning won't help to minimise any poling.
My point was simply that slightly shorter poles may (or may not) improve my downhill skiing by a tiny amount but the same shorter poles will seriously hinder one's ability to pole when necessary. It's a very small sacrifice I'm happy to make. |
+1
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more dynamic skiing everywhere and way neater technique in the bumps
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...you mean with shorter poles? The only time I saw anyone improve their skiing was by going from over short poles - which were encouraging bending from the waist - to the "correct length" which allowed a more correct, more upright stance..
If you consider the "relaxed, dynamic" stance required, right angled elbows ...with the hands holding under the baskets would seem to be to be more or less optimal for most situations.
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