optimal length?

A snowHead

hi guys,

I have been skiing for many years. First, I learned how to ski. Then it became too boring so I stopped using sticks. Again, it got boring so I turned to use snow skates (skis roughly 80 cms long). But after few years, knowing how to use those, again, I´ve started to be bored...

I come from Slovakia and we do not have that many opportunities for good, off-track free rides. So there has not been a lot to try. But last week I went to Austria to Kaprun and there were a lot of good tracks for free ride. What an adventure. But still, it was hard, since many times I had troubles in high-snow with my 80cms long snow skates not to fall.

So I would definitely like to try something new and add spice into my snow-skating. I am interested in skis for close-to-expert skiers, for freeride, but with not that many opportunities for real free ride, so it should be some combination of all-kinds-of-mountains-and-tracks.

I am curious, what should be the lengths of my freeride skis? Is it the general rule skis standing on the ground should reach your nose? Or should they be higher/lower? In another words, I am 185cm high, what should be lenth of my free ride skis?

Moreover, I am interested, if there is by any chance freeride (or at least more wider) kind of snowskates/bigfoots. Or, if I want to go into freeride tracks, should I forget about those?

thanks a lot for your help

A snowHead

Welcome to snowHeads gejmerqo,

It's a hard question to answer because it's so much down to personal taste.
It's not so much the length that matters though as the area of the ski. Generally, freeriders tend to use a slightly wider ski and so it doesn't have to be quite so long. Of course some freeride skis are wider than others so the best length is going to vary accordingly.
Typically I'd say you should be looking in the 170-180 range but if you were planning on 'going big', fast skiing, big turns in deep snow you might even choose to go up as far as 190-195.

or.........

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

...and put some tekemark bindings on them. That ought to last you a few more years before you "get bored" again, if ever.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

gejmerqo, It depends a little on your definition of freeride. My freeride skis are 190+cm.

I've head lots of very good things about the Icelantics. I think this is a good progression from snowskates (I think you mean skiboards or snowblades, snowskates are skateboards on snow BTW), they are quite wide under foot but very short 150-170cm, and are therefore stable with lots of float and still very easy to turn.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Your ski length is largely affected by your weight gejmerqo, how many kg are you?

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thanks a lot guys! i like snowheads forum, finally something that has people who actually read, reply and are able to advise Wink

my weight is roughly 80 kg.
I think I will go with shorter skis, since, like I told, we are small country and our hardest hill has 1 blue, 8 red and 3 black tracks (with some nice slopes, tracks in woods, lot of snow) so you can imagine average are hills with 60% blue, 35% red and 0-5% black tracks Wink

. travelling abroad, doing heli skiing or so is not that cheap so I could practice my beloved sports on weekly basis, you know Smile

so what I needed to hear is that 170 cm will be enough and there is no specific rule, just to buy skis that will be able to hold you on the snow. maybe even 130-140cm long skis will be enough? (considering the level of tracks in slovakia, see previous paragraph).

my snowblades/snowskates (this is how do they call them in shops, I just call them bigfoots) are 80 cm long and fit me perfectly on 95% of tracks. but I think its wort to buy thanks to those remaining 5%

Help!!

optimal length?

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