 Poster: A snowHead
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At my level I tend to leave the choice of ski for me to the person in the hire shop and accept their offering of which skis to have without question. They sort me out skis on the basis of my description of how I ski and fact I want something not too long that is easy to turn. Is this wise and should I be looking to learn more about skis so that I can offer up a more informed opinion of what I want? If so how do you learn about them - can a book or internet forum be useful or do you really need to ski lots of different skis? Or is it the case that at my level any ski of basic general shape is going to be OK.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Megamum,
You would have had great opportunities to test skis at one of the snowhead ski tests this summer did you go to any?
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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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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 think this all makes sense
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Yes, it all makes sense. I understand where you're coming from, and I have found that many hire shops don't have a big range of choice, anyway. I think you can get too hung up about different skis, at anything other than a fairly expert level - as long as you have an up to date ski, properly serviced, in a sensible size (hire shops tend to go a bit long for beginners, I find, so certainly don't go any longer than they suggest) and well fitting boots, it's what you do that matters, not what the ski might, or might not, be able to do in the hands (or rather the feet) of a master. If in doubt about what you've hired, you could always ask advice from your instructor if you wanted to try something different. Or buy some of those Elan skis on sale from Snowheads - I just bought some Wave Magic 160, but then I use them for many weeks each season so hiring is not a sensible option.
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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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Me and Mr M. both have our own skis now but when we hired Mr M. used to choose a pair and swap them when he felt like it. The shops don't usually mind if they aren't too busy. I'm sure if you ask them if they'd mind you trying a few different pairs they would realise that you aren't just being difficult. You would only be using one pair at a time so it's no skin off their nose.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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pam w, I could have tempted by those Elan skis, but they weren't really long enough for me I think - I'm 174cm or so tall. I'm glad it made sense and I do like the idea that skis only really fully perform in the hands of experts and its mainly down to what I do with them in the meantime. Maybe I shouldn't worry for a while.
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Megamum, that ski selector's not too clever, really, with height given too great a weighting, I reckon. It puts you on a significantly longer ski (as a beginner, going fairly slowly) than a 165cm expert woman going very fast all over the mountain. Odd. Elsewhere on the site it says that length should be your height minus 5 - 15cms, which seems reasonable, and a 160cm ski would be somewhere around nose level on you, which should be fine. The main reason for a longer ski, as I understand it, is greater stability at speed, which probably isn't one of your main requirements at the moment! Short skis have a lot of points in their favour, the most important being they are easier to turn, easier to turn and easier to turn. Don't fall under the spell of the gear freaks so early in your skiing career!
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| pam w wrote: |
| The main reason for a longer ski, as I understand it, is greater stability at speed, |
and edgehold on harder snow when significantly weighted :nice:
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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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Or is it the case that at my level any ski of basic general shape is going to be OK.
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A little knowledge is dangeous! 
The irony is, until you tried many different skis, you won't be able to tell the difference and will think every ski is just about the same!
To some degree, a skier can make ANY ski work, as long as the size is appropriate. When I hire these days, I describe my level, my preference and take whatever the shop hand me. Unless there's something really not right (too long, too short or too stiff), I'd be happy to ski it for a few hours on different snow before I form an opinion about what the ski is good at and not good at. I may then say I would buy the same ski or not based on that.
People talk about buying their first "right" ski improves their skiing a great deal. Personally, I think it's less about the "right" ski but just the SAME ski for the whole season that allow you to get the most out of it! I don't think my first ski vastly improved my skiing. But having used it for a few seasons means I can now tell when I'm on a different ski. It had become my base of reference to meaure against. Suddenly, I'm much more sensitive to the different charateristic of all thing ski related.
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I've been doing a little research and I think that the ski length is one of the most important factors to get right. I'm 5'5", 59kg, good intermediate, and I find a 150cm ski a little unstable but a 160cm ski a little too long. I hired different skis in resorts last year and most shops wanted to give me 160cm skis. I find 160cm skis are better when I go fast - in all turn shapes, but I often just like to cruise around.
I think I might look for some around 156cm.
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FAQ
opportunty it must be hard for the average punter to know what they want to ski on esp. if they are not 'buying'. If you want to buy then I guess it is in the shop's interest to let you try a few pairs out, but its not so easy as I see it when you hire. I guess technically at a certain ability most folks can ski on the average ski for that ability (and height), I must be able to - so far I've had three sets of skis on my boots and have skied on each - but at that point I don't know if there is a ski in the shop that I would be able to ski any easier on.
