Confused...

[skikiwi]

Hi,
I'm new to this site and hoping some of you more experienced gals can help me with a question about ski length.

About me:
175cm tall, weigh 120 pounds, solid intermediate skier (hoping to improve now I've got a lot more opportunity to ski).
Mostly stick to groomers but wanting to get off piste more now. Skiing in New Zealand so not a lot of powder to play in.
So every ski shop I head into look at my height tell me to look at skis length around 167cm but they never ask me my weight.
Most of the info I've found on the internet and on this site suggests weight is the more important factor.
I'm kinda light for my height so I'm wondering what does everyone think? What length should I be skiing? Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Jilly]

175cm = 5'8" for our American Diva's not used to the metric system. Even though ski come in cm's/

Is there a ski you are interested in? Not only weight, height should be considered. Some skis ski longer than they are. Skis can be stiff or soft. The rule of thumb is that the top of ski should be somewhere in the face for the average skier. Chin length for novices, taller for more advanced. But it's what you're comfortable with too. Which brings me back to the question - is there a particular ski you are interested in?

 

[Robyn]

My guess is they are making the weight judgement by looking at you rather than asking for the number which most women don't like to talk about. 167cm sounds about right, maybe a bit short. I ski that length in my all mountain carvers but I'm shorter and heavier than you. Can you demo some skis to get a better feel for what length you like?

 

[skikiwi]

Sorry about that...5'9" I think is the height conversion.
I've demoed the K2 lotta luvs but the only length available was 156. I liked them but they seemed a little short. I'll probably keep trying ladies specifc skis...not sure what to demo next. Any suggestions??

 

[Robyn]

I ski a Rossi Attraxion V which I like but some hate. Volkl has a few different offerings that would probably be good, maybe the Fuego? Other posters are much better than me on this kind of thing and if they don't post tonight I'm sure they will in the next day or so.

 

[abc]

You're pushing the longest of the women specific skis.

Go ahead and try some unisex skis. There're more length suitable for you to demo on. That'll give you some idea of what you like or dislike. You can then "extropolate" to models you can't demo.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

The +- 170 cm sounds about right to me. Also, if you're are interested in off-piste skiing, you should be looking at skis in the "all-mountain" category. Those have wider waists, which fare better in those conditions and are generally more versatile for both - so 70+ underfoot. Skis vary greatly in terms of contact length, so try to get some numbers on how many cm are actually contacting the snow. Hard to believe the variability, but some manufacturers measure overall length and some contact length. Gets confusing. Bottom line is that if you can demo, you'll get instant feedback on what you like.

How is the snow down there?
Most of us northerners are really "jonesin'" these days!!

 

[skikiwi]

The season was off to a bit of a slow start, but we did have a big dump of snow last weekend which has set things up nicely!
I think you're right all mountain skis would be the way to go. Can anyone recommend any particular skis to demo in this range?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Here's a good site to start your search:
https://https://www.skipressworld.com:80/SkiFinder_Intro_W.php?regionId=1&languageId=1&section=skifinder&type=skifinder

 

[skikiwi]

Great site, thanks!

 

[Jilly]

Just remember that those skis are for the 07-08 season. You might have 08-09 downunder now. But it will help narrow down the field. (It's a Canadian site and their magazine is good too!)

 

[skikiwi]

I think we are 08-09 down here. I notice the Head "thang" series is now head "one" mainly just a name change though I think.

 

[Jilly]

OMG, don't tell us Diva's that. Now you're going to get a list of skis to try. Actually take a look in the gear thread for 09 demo's. A few of us got to try some of the skis in our winter. I actually bought a pair of Nordica Conquer's. Haven't even tried them yet. But they are all mountain, which I needed. My Rossi's are groomers. (Z5's now Z6!)

 

[RuthB]

Yes we are 08/09 down here - one of the few things in the world where we get to try things first.

Since we don't get really dry powder here in NZ and the grooming is more limited and also not always as consistent as it is in North American resorts all mountain skis are generally a good bet. They will certainly gove you more scope. Once you narrow your choices down most shops around will let you hire their demo skis on the days that they are not out on the mountain and I have found that a really good way of confirming that what seemed great in the few runs that you get on a demo day.

I'm looking forward to trying the Volkl Aura's in Wanaka soon - they are proving somewhat distracting when I am should be getting through my mountain of work.