Question: 146 vs. 154 cm Olympia Victory for a 153 cm woman

[BlueGirl]

Hello divas,

I have been demoing skis like mad and I have fallen in love with the Nordica Olympia Victory. My problem is that I have only been able to demo it in 154 cm. It felt great for the several hours I was on it but I'm worried that when I have more time on the ski I will wish I had bought the shorter length. In my stocking feet, the ski is just a little taller than me. From looking at the comments on this and other forums, it seems that women a lot taller than me are skiing the 154 length. I have also read that some women were surprised that a ski so short worked so well for them.

My stats: 5' tall, 115 pounds, advanced skier I guess - I have done my CSIA Level 1 but I'm not an incredibly aggressive or fast skier. I usually ski at Blue Mountain, where I do all the groomed runs but spend most of my time on the black and double blacks. I plan to keep improving my skiing and I want a ski that will support that. I'm currently on 143 cm Blizzard X-Spirit skis.

So what do you all think? If I can't demo the 146s would it be crazy to buy that length? Is having a ski taller than me going to work against me? I did love the stability of the 154 and I know that at least some of that comes from the length.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Jilly]

Welcome to the forum BlueGirl, from another Ontario skier. This Blue Mountain is in Collingwood Ontario for your Penn Diva's!! (Although I ski that other eastern ITW mountain now!!)

I usually ski a 154cm, Rossi Z5 and I'm 5'4 or 5'5, and 160 lbs. My other ski is a Nordica Conquer at 162cm. I'm looking at new skis anywhere from 154 to 161, depending on the model and company. Some skis do seem to ski shorter or longer than their stated length. So if you're happy with the 154 on Blue, get them. If you're unsure try the 146. That is exactly what I'm going to do this weekend with a Salomon model, just to see the difference.

Now you need to work on changing that yellow circle on your CSIA pin to a white one!!

 

[Skier31]

I am 172 cm (5"8) and ski the Victory's in a 162. I demo'd the 154 and did not notice a whole lot of difference in the skis. My prior skis were 150's as I was a beginner and I really wanted something longer so I went with the 162s. Given your height and weight, I would think the 146's would be plenty of ski for you as the 154 was plenty of ski for me.

 

[BlueGirl]

Thanks for the advice, Jilly. Unfortunately, I don't think I will have a chance to demo the shorter length. None of the stores around Collingwood have them. Nordica is doing some demo days over the next two months but they are all at private clubs. I will keep hunting, though.

 

[Jilly]

Yeah, Nordica is doing a great promo tour. They're are not going to Tremblant, but I know the rep. I'm going to email him for you and ask about the length issue. The director of marketing for Nordica is Isabelle Savageau a CSIA 4. Neat eh!!

 

[Pequenita]

BlueGirl, as a point of reference, I am 5' on a good day, 94lbs and ski the Victory in 146. Did not demo the longer length before purchasing, so I can't really make a comparison but can tell you that this length for this ski is perfect for me.