 Poster: A snowHead
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Other than colour, print design and model name, what is the difference between men's & women's skis, if any ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Length and stiffness, women being lighter and smaller don't usually 'need' as beefier planks.
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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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Generally stiffness (and thus weight), sizes offered (as meh says) and mounting point! All of the ripping girls I know ski on guys skis to be honest
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The lengths on men's skis is quoted differently to compensate for our tendancy to overexaggerate length and width. 
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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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AndrewsPeppers, women's skis may also have lighter bindings.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Men's skis seem to have a lot faster bases!
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Kersh, maybe you could have Mrs Kersh's skis "looked at!" 
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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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No such thing as men's skis. There are unisex skis and then pink noodle things with different mounting points.
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| Dot. wrote: |
| pink noodle things with different mounting points. |
You talking about the skis or the ladys here? 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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How much to the mounting points differ and more to the point why? (in womens skis not women as I'm aware of the latter)
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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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meh, this barrowed from "www.ski.lovetoknow.com"
Binding Mount Positioning for Women's Skis
In recent years, a new theory of binding positioning for women's skis has become popular. Thanks to Jeannie Thoren, many women are discovering the benefits of a forward binding mount position. According to Thoren, a women's center of gravity is about one inch lower and further back than a man's. A female skier also carries more weight below the waist. In general, women have larger hips, buttocks, and thighs than men. In contrast, men are broader in the chest and shoulders. As such, they carry their weight above the waist.
When it comes to optimal skier alignment, these anatomical differences often put women at a disadvantage. The extra weight in the lower body pushes their weight towards the back of the ski, and into a position known as the "backseat." As such, when a female skier flexes forward, her center of gravity is over her heels. If you consider the mechanics of a ski turn, you will understand why this is a problem. A skier initiates turns from the front end of the skis. If a skier's weight is concentrated on the tail of the ski, the unweighted tips can either shoot forward, wander or cross. Many experts, including Thoren, believe that mounting the ski bindings in a position that is forward of center can help a female skier keep her weight over the ski's sweet spot, and thus gain more control.
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Ahh, marketing to sell skis based on an unproven theory and some big generalisations about bodyshape then.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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slightly unfair, I think women's skis have improved in the last few years and a few of the Volkl women's skis I tried were pretty nice. The Jeannie Thoren thing is pretty old and it was only ever one company who followed her. I have a pair of Auras and while not super stiff are not noodles and definitely stiffer than Rossi S3s. I also tried the Volkl Fuegos which were a great piste ski and a pair of K2 Tough Luvs which I didn't like but which were pretty beefy, Nordica women's skis also get a good name. Personally I don't like the forward mounting point of women's ski and have my Auras mounted -1cm and will probably mount -2cm as they are getting remounted soon.
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Poster: A snowHead
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lynseyf, touche my beef with most women's skis is on the whole many brands just use a softer ski, change the mounting points and put a feminine graphic on it. In my experience most women i speak to don't want a girlie graphic and like you said, change the mounting point back to where it would be on a unisex ski.
I don't like it when people refer to skis as "mens skis". when in actual fact they are unisex.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My friend bought women's skis too short and slightly wider than she wanted because she liked the graphics. They had pink on. Atomic Affinity Storms maybe?
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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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| Dot. wrote: |
lynseyf, touche my beef with most women's skis is on the whole many brands just use a softer ski, change the mounting points and put a feminine graphic on it. In my experience most women i speak to don't want a girlie graphic and like you said, change the mounting point back to where it would be on a unisex ski.
I don't like it when people refer to skis as "mens skis". when in actual fact they are unisex. |
... but where should that be? This article is old but still relevant.
I recently compared a pair of Salomon and Atomic skis (both Unisex, both piste-biased and the same length). The bindings on the Atomics (actually the same bindings as the Salomons) were some 2.7cm further back than the Salomons. These were rail bindings (i.e. set up at the factory) and set for the same boot length.
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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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jtr, what shape were the two skis?
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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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Dot. More or less the same. The Atomics were a bit wider (3mm at tip and waist, bit more at the tail), turn radius around 14 metres for both.
Over the years, I've found I prefer to move the bindings on Atomic skis forward a bit (1.0 to 1.5 cm).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Mounting points on different manufacturers skis are all over the place and it also depends on the intended use of the ski and good old personal preference. Park skis are typically mounted close to centre, while powder skis are usually a lot more rearward for obvious reasons. Manufacturers also have quite widely differing views on the optimum mounting point of any particular type of ski.
I also think it's unfair to label women's skis as 'pink noodles'. Some of them are excellent. My wife has a pair of Movement Spicys (super light and quite stiff) and Atomic Centurys (again super light for a powder ski and reasonably stiff). She only weighs 55 kg and doesn't ski very aggressively, so a lot of 'unisex' skis are either too long or too stiff for her. Plus she does tend to prefer girlie graphics!
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I was kinda teasing anyway Dot., I actually have a problem with the whole women's skis thing, I would like ski manufacturers to make a variety of skis in different stiffness and with a few recommended mounting positions on them. I bet there are some men who would love some women's skis but would never ski them because of branding. Likewise the mounting point, some men would prefer the forward mounting point typically associated with women's skis. Take for instance Volk skis, rather than have an Aura and Mantra you would have one ski (a Maura?) available in soft or stiff and with regular, forward and rear mounting points. When you demoed the skis you would try the soft and stiff ones and try them at all the mounting points and actually get a ski that suits you, not one that has been marketed at some mythical average female or male.
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I've skied women's skis, mine actually had acceptable graphics on them, but later versions of the same ski had far more flowery girly tops and I didn't like them at all. I skied the top range women's skis in the same class by the same manufacturer and there wasn't much difference. I ended up a unisex ski from the same manufacturer which was a step up in width and length and stiffness, but I do think the overall build quality seems more 'beefy' than the ladies skis that I've seen and that's despite the fact that I know that skis of this type should be bigger in all respects anyway.
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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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For a good few years we've used the same hire shop and got to know the owner well. I just ask him to give me what is right for the conditions and where I'll be skiing. He runs a ski school as well and I've had the odd private lesson so he knows how I ski. I decided I wanted to improve on the bumps and off the side of the piste so asked for a recommendation.
I forget what the skis were but at the end of the week he asked me how I'd got on. Great! That was when he told me they were ladies skis. Maybe his message was that I ski like a girl but I think they were just a bit softer and more forgiving.
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I put two identical pairs of kids 3v skis side by side, one pair had z10 bindings the other had L10s, both set correctly for boot sole length but about 2.5 cm difference in position!
Play with them, find where they feel most well balanced, don't worry if they end up a little fwd or aft for your gender! 6mm fwd on my latest pair feel great for me even if it is the "wrong direction for a man"
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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lynseyf. I agree. It would seem to make much more sense for manufacturers to make more unisex skis with different flexes and mounting positions. My wife hates girlie graphic skis and keeps borrowing mine. Would surely save on manufacturing costs and mean less dead stock for retailer's too.
Matching the flex to your weight and height seems much more important than what sex you are. I'm 5'7" and 72kg and have sometimes ended up testing women's skis because the men's version wasn't there in the length I wanted to try. The Atomic Elysian is just the same ski as the Theory except for the girlie graphics and a Barbie pink base.
Skis generally seem to get proportionally stiffer as they get shorter as the stiffer section under the foot often doesn't vary with length e.g the stepdown sidewalls on Atomics or any rail system piste ski. This seems to be magnified with metal/titanium layers. I was interested in Mantras but just found them too stiff for my weight and ability so ended up getting a pair of Bridges with a carbon layer instead of metal. A "Maura" sounds good. Ideal for a short back bottom guy who skis like a girl.
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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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Snow_Dog, I've got a pair of 177cm Auras which are really nice skis but they don't make them in that length anymore, I could see a lot of guys liking them if they were sold as a more easy going Mantra in that length.
gatecrasher, completely agree about mounting points, there has to be as many men who would prefer a forward mounting point as women who hate it!
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I was at the Hemel Fridge today and there was some Atomic skis to test, most of the skis they had were a bit full on FIS stuff so I took out
a pair Atomic Cloud 12s .. I really enjoyed skiing them but I find I'm walking a bit different now.
(I'm a 13stone Hairy fella. with 46" chest and a rear).
Now where did I leave my lippy?
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You know it makes sense.
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@DrLawn, is it not a wee bit whiffy after 10 years?
Also "a bit" is not "full on". Can't imagine any uk retailer demoing full bore FIS sticks.
"I'm walking a bit different now", well, when the big lad says "bend over", it's to check your boots ...
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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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@under a new name, .. the old ones are the best 
The retailer was from Hillingdon and I'm pretty sure they were the full fat FIS slalom skis, but I could be wrong.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Back on topic, it depends on the manufacturer. Some (e.g. Faction) only change the topsheet and lengths for women's skis. Some others, I've heard, make them softer / more easygoing. The best ones (e.g. Blizzard, K2) have a dedicated team devoted to making better skis specifically for women, not ladies' versions of the men's ones. I used to be a dedicated unisex ski buyer, but when I did a side by side test of the Blizzard Black Pearl 82 vs. the Brahma 82, I preferred the Black Pearl. Ditto the K2 Mindbender 106C Alliance vs. the 108ti.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| under a new name wrote: |
@DrLawn, is it not a wee bit whiffy after 10 years?
Also "a bit" is not "full on". Can't imagine any uk retailer demoing full bore FIS sticks.
"I'm walking a bit different now", well, when the big lad says "bend over", it's to check your boots ... |
Ski Bartlett demo atomic fis sl at hemel. I bought a pair from them back in 2019 after trying them out.
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FAQ
I have a decent length of ski too, hers are comparatively short. Salomon vs 
