 Poster: A snowHead
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Basic info: Female, 42 yo, 5.2" and 90 lbs. I have skied in total 5 or 6 weeks in my life - latest trip was a long weekend last winter.
I'm piste-only, ok confident in parallel turns, but not completely mastering carving.
The first day I had a pair of Dynastar loaners with me, but I hated them. They were too long (about 160) and apparently too stiff as well. After a couple of hours it felt like my ankles and knees were about to break, just by maneuvering (or something) the damn skis.
I went to the rental and got me a pair of Head 140's, and from then on, the trip was a breeze. Pure Swoosh-swoosh down the hills.
I then bought a used pair of identical skis (or so I thought) from the shop. The ones I rented was called Head Supershape team - the ones I bought was Head Worldcup SL team.
Stupid me just compared them visually without noting the small difference in the name.
I now see, that the supershape is an intermediate ski, whereas the Worldcup SL is ranked in the top expert level.
Thinking back on my experience with the totally wrong skis, I'm dreading the upcoming trip.
Will these worldcup be totally out of my league, or is "expert" in junior skis not the same as "expert" in adult skis. My husband tries to convince me, that due to the skis being so much shorter than me (they're between chin and nose) and being made for kids/juniors, I should have no issues.
You say: "Why not just rent a pair". We are only gong away for 3 days, but the minimum for rentals is 5 days and the price is about the same as bying a nice pair of used skis.
I don't want to bring the Head Worldcup if they're totally useless - but otoh don't want to pay an arm and leg for rental if I can bring my own skis.
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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 think the "Team" indicates that they are junior skis and the SL stands for Slalom, you should be ok on them for carving on the piste.
Oh, I'm at the same height as you and a little heavier. I've found 140cm way too short for high speed, my goldilock length is 150-153cm.
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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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@jokael, Hi and welcome 
If my conversion is correct and you only weigh ~40kg, I'm not surprised you didn't get on with the 160cm Dynastars, which would be designed for someone more in the ~60kg range.
140cm is pretty short though, even for someone of your size, but you still may need more power to bend the SL ski that you have available at your level. Do you have a local snowdome or dry slope where you could try them out for a few hours before your trip? Where are you travelling to? Most rental shops I've ever used will rent by the day, so 5 days seems rather long.
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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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You should be fine although you may have to work a little harder; the skis are short and nimble and being stiffer they will also hold an edge much better on harder snow/icy conditions. It really depends on whether you can engage ski edges, and are intending to work at learning to carve turns or stick to pivot style turns which will not really take advantage of the skis performance ability.
If you are confident and get a private lesson or two you may well find that the skis bring your performance on quite a bit
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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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No, you'll be fine
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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My advice would be - If you are struggling, get a lesson (and ask their advise), to see if that helps. If it doesn't, then you may be on the wrong skis.
There are many factors at play here, like how aggressive you are; how technically competent; what speed you ski at; how the skis are tuned etc etc. IME. Confidence is a huge part of skiing - and skis that are too stiff and technical will just remove it.
It is very difficult to give the right advice, without seeing you ski - which is why the "Suck it and see" approach is the only way, getting the feedback of a good instructor, if necessary. As said above, on balance, you'll probably be fine once you get used to the different feel.
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@jokael, I think only you will know, definitely take them and see how you get on.
I was surprised by how much my wife hated stiff skis that I loved when we were both testing skis. She ended up getting a womens specific ski that was longer but softer than the short SL skis I liked.
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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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My advice would be - If you are struggling, get a lesson (and ask their advise), to see if that helps. If it doesn't, then you may be on the wrong skis.
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That makes sense to me - and a lesson is always a good idea, regardless of how happy you are with your skis! Iceland sounds fun - do report back, we don't get much news about skiing in Iceland.
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oh and if they are junior skis I think you'll be absolutely fine, they won't be that stiff....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@pam w,
Skiing in Iceland can be compared to some of the small-medium destinations in Sweden. They have many smaller places with a single lift and also 2 or 3 large-ish areas with up to 15 slopes of different levels. These also have equipment rentals, ski schools etc.
We are just going to a smaller place with one lift - and it's so slow that most use the snowmobile to get to the top.
The reason skiing in Iceland is not well known is, that due to the isolated location, no one goes there just to ski as practically every other European ski destination is easier accessible and cheaper. 
We only ski there when we combine it with a family visit.
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