Ski Weight

A snowHead

Ok, so this may seem like a silly question but I'll ask it anyway.

What are the effects/benefits of lighter or heavier ski's..?

I'm 6'2 and have a pair of Head ski's generously given to me by a relative. They are probably 3/4 years old and I have been skiing on them for 2 years. I'm guessing they are around 180cm and those bad boys are the heaviest ski's I have ever lifted! I'm no weakling (16 stone and all muscle Laughing

) and those things just drain my legs on a long day on the slopes.

Can I get lighter ski's..?
Is it beneficial..?
Are they more expensive..?

Any other additional info would be greatly appreciate

~Mac

A snowHead

Mac22, I don't know the answers to your specific questions, but I can tell you what I found as an intermediate skier who went from a pair that were softer and physically lighter to a pair that were stiff and considerably physically heavier. The heavier skis seemed to me to offer advantages when it comes to cutting through crud and icy cobbles/chopped up ice etc. Their physical weight seemed to power through cruddy stuff where the lighter skis were deflected more, and I think this was as much to do with their physical weight as with the fact that the heavier skis were also stiffer (which I do accept will also have helped in this area). Though they were initially more difficult to ski (due to the stiffness and width rather than the weight) I wouldn't go back to the lighter set (though my right shoulder might argue with me after a week of lugging them round on holiday!)

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

Mac22, I had a light-bulb moment when I first skied Atomic's SX range about 10 years ago, and those mothers weighed a ton (and physically I'm a dwarf compared to you). But put them on the snow and they edged like they were on rails.

Afraid it's the same old story - book a couple of lessons.

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

Mac22, ....this is an interesting one. During the 1990's mountain biking went through an interesting phase of trying to go as light as possible (as well as a dreadful phase of truly dire purple clothing) and the end result was bikes that wouldn't go straight (my full suspension AMP was 23lbs and wriggled along a downland track like I was on a piece of wet spaghetti) and broke all the time. Flip to 2011 and skis - there's a lot of discussion about this hidden in the ski reviews - and the consensus is that weight matters in the lift queue but not on the snow. I've skied some very heavy skis - rossignol 9s and atomic metrons (the latter seemed to have small black holes integrated into the design, which created additional gravitational pull) and although they were a pain to handle when putting them on the car, walking around etc, the extra weight seemed to evaporate when on the slopes. And they just feel stronger, surer and smoother than light weight skis - kick around less. I think that technique has everything to do with it. I looked at a film of juan fangio recently. Although the car was bucking all over the place, and he was putting it into power slides, he was notorious for just resting his fingers on the steering wheel, He did not wrestle with the wheel like his contemporaries. Back to skiing. the key thing in skiing is not pulling the skis around through brute force - it's carefully putting them on the right trajectory - strength of course plays a role, but it's the finesse of balance and the control of direction of each ski which is the key thing. Andyph is right...get the lessons and the hours in.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Like Andyph, I had a pair of Atomic SXB5 a few yearts back. Mega heavy vs todays skis, They used to knacker me carrying them to the lifts, but once on the piste (certaintly not an off piste ski) they were superb, fast, precise, they loved anything with a hard base. Best described to me by one of the Ski shop owners in austria as 'A weapon'. Most defineately a full on ski that required you to take control.
Getting back to Mac22 s original post. Yes there are light skis (had a pair of hexel 532 my self a very long time ago), However the challenge really is to select a ski that suits you, what you ski, how you ski. It is fair to say that nothing out there at the moment is in appropriately heavy, or light for that matter. Bindings can add a chunk of weight, integrated binding and rail systems are he norm now days, rental bindings can be noticeably heavier than std retail units. depending on your ability level, 180cm works for someone 100kg @ 1810cm No easy answer I'm affraid, be honest about ability when selecting skis, get the length right, choose the correct type of Ski (a 100mm fat ski won't ski sheet ice too well - generally). take a look at some of the ski selector on the manufacturers websites, these will give you a general indication of what may be appropriate. And remember anyones ski technique constantly evolves, spend a couple of hours (half day) with a quality instructor, to iron out any nasty habits, andpolish the technique.

http://www.elanskis.com/pcc.asp#xpath=/products/skiselector#xpathid=#lang=eng

http://www.fischersports.com/en/Alpine/Products/Product-Finder

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How very refreshing to see a general consensus that weight doesn't matter (for downhill).

I would also suggest that where posters have suggested that heavier skis do better in some conditions, it' a function of the ovall ski design and the increased weight has little or nothing to do with it.

Technique however, is everything...

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

can i buck the consensus? yep. Reckon hooning around pistes it probably doesnt matter, but from persoanl experience I have a sneaky suspicion it may have an effect in moguls and steeps (jump turns) and park, powder, that sort of thing. Technique of course is a huge one, totally agree and a day of piste hooning with good technique i wouldnt think weight would have much difference. So kinda consensus and kinda not?

After all it is free

Bob, + 1 =Atomic metron titanium betas: you need a sherpa, but they were way ahead of their time on ice/piste and pretty good on powder by the standards that were current in 2005 ish. Now there are many better skis, but on piste, I'm still very happy on them Cool

Thanks for the info guys.

Will be in much better shape for this years ski trip (if it goes ahead) and hopefully the heavy ski's will not be a factor

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

bitoffluff, no difference in bumps in my experience, jump turns, well maybe, but not so much (angular momentum as important so short heavy skis may well be as hard to get round as long light ones...((and much of the weight is in the binding which is close to the axis anyway))), park, who cares?, it just accelerates the Darwinism going on anyway (I am an old git), powder, if it's that good you won't care anyay and I don't see how +1 or 2 kgs makes a difference to an 90kg body mass (average) anyway.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

under a new name, +1

With the jump turns (and park) swing weight (ie distribution of weight) is the important thing, rather than overall weight.

snow reports

Mac22,

You know it makes sense.

I think conditioning is definately a factor (although I wasn't entirely joking earlier, my fitness levels are pretty decent)

Will ensure this year before I go out I will be working hard on my quads/hamstrings/gluets

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Mac22, I wasn't questioning your fitness -just suggesting that given your strength and size, your legs aren't hammered 'cos of the ski weight, so I'm suggesting that the obvious place to start is food, length of stops, hydration etc.
Fitness apart, could this be the answer?

A snowHead

No actual weights have been given. Binding weight is also an important part of ski weight (and can vary widely, especially if you use touring bindings).
I was surprised to find that my old (2006) Scott Missions with Fritschi Freeride X bindings (and now with very thin bases after repeated grinding) weigh 5.7kg (2.85 each), but my new ones (same length) with Barons weigh 6.2kg (3.10 each). ie an extra half pound on each foot. I have yet to try the new ones on a mountain but they feel like I'm on rails at Hemel. The difference of handling, however, is probably simply that the old ones had got floppy with age.

Help!!

Ski Weight

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