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? Right ski length for me

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
Hello. I recently purchased the atomic maven 93c, 164cm.
Im 5”4, advanced intermediate, 125 pounds. Ski does come up a few cm above my head.
Have I pushed it too far? And not be able to ski properly. Thanks!
Mainly used in NZ snow conditions.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Hello. I recently purchased the atomic maven 93c, 164cm.
Im 5”4, advanced intermediate, 125 pounds. Ski does come up a few cm above my head.
Have I pushed it too far? And not be able to ski properly. Thanks!
Mainly used in NZ snow conditions.
Welcome!

I think that's the perfect length actually. I'm pretty much your exact height and weight and have skis between 161cm and 168cm with the sweet spot for me being around 165cm. :smile: Have you tried them out yet? What length were you skiing previously?
 

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
Welcome!

I think that's the perfect length actually. I'm pretty much your exact height and weight and have skis between 161cm and 168cm with the sweet spot for me being around 165cm. :smile: Have you tried them out yet? What length were you skiing previously?
Thanks:smile:
No I have not tried them yet, I did demo the black crows vertis birdie 159. I really liked it and definitely felt more confident speeding down. After doing some research I gathered the orb orbie was the better choice for the type of skiing I want to do, but it was too expensive.
I ended up getting the maven, more of what I was really looking for.
 

fgor

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Welcome! :smile:

As it happens I've demoed that exact ski, at Mt Hutt a couple of weeks ago. I am 5'3 120lb intermediate skier and demoed it in 164 cause they didn't have any shorter lengths. It was fine! I found it quite a surfy feeling ski especially in the slush, feels quite light and nimble.

Enjoy!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Hey @Skylar_30 ! We are glad to have you here! You are getting advice from people who know about these things. Happy winter!

:welcome:
 

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
Welcome! :smile:

As it happens I've demoed that exact ski, at Mt Hutt a couple of weeks ago. I am 5'3 120lb intermediate skier and demoed it in 164 cause they didn't have any shorter lengths. It was fine! I found it quite a surfy feeling ski especially in the slush, feels quite light and nimble.

Enjoy!
I feel better now. Lol. Probably just anxious as I have not demoed them. I
Hey @Skylar_30 ! We are glad to have you here! You are getting advice from people who know about these things. Happy winter!

:welcome:
thanks for the warm welcome! Excited to be part of this group and hopefully learn from you all
 

newboots

Angel Diva
thanks for the warm welcome! Excited to be part of this group and hopefully learn from you all

Ahh, you're just getting started. Ask a few more questions, and you'll likely get an exponentially larger number of answers!

Then the discussion will veer into side topics . . .

But it's all fun!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hello. I recently purchased the atomic maven 93c, 164cm.
Im 5”4, advanced intermediate, 125 pounds. Ski does come up a few cm above my head.
Have I pushed it too far? And not be able to ski properly. Thanks!
Mainly used in NZ snow conditions.
I just checked. 164cm = 5.4ft (maybe 5'4"). The 164 written on your skis may be an approximation.

So these skis are close to your height. This ski only comes in three lengths, 156, 164, and 172. That means the shortest length is for the shortest skiers, the longest is for the tallest skiers, and the middle one that you bought is for everyone else. At 5'4" you fall into that middle group, so it's the right length for you for this particular ski.

How long are your current skis? If you've been renting, how long were those rental skis? If you are making a big jump in length, it will take you a little while to get used to longer skis. But you will.

Is the width at 93 a big jump as well from your current skis? That width may be a bigger issue if it's a big jump.

Calling @fgor, @Eera, and any other NZ/Aussie skiers to give advice.
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Where in NZ are you skiing? If the South Island, I'm sure you'll be fine. If Ruapehu, you may find the extra length and width is trickier on the ice and narrower cat-tracks initially but you'll likely just need a little while to adjust.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
^^ I don't ski in NZ, but the idea in @scandium's post is accurate. Wide (90+) longer skis are made for soft natural snow with some depth that is not groomed. Narrow shorter skis are made for groomers with hard firm snow. If you ski both, you have to choose which you spend more time on in order to pick an appropriate ski. 93mm width in the waist is kinda wide.

@Skylar_30, will you be spending a lot of time on ungroomed soft recently-fallen snow? Or will you be on groomers that are nicely polished to firm flatness? That 93 ski wants the former, not the latter. Which is why it comes up to the top of your head. Wider and longer for soft snow that your skis penetrate instead of staying on top.
 
Last edited:

Eera

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm firmly in the groomer camp, and based on my experience on limited bits of South Island, you do *tend* to get more hard pack than fluff - but of course that's going to be highly variable based on given conditions and which bits you like skiing on. The waist is wide for groomers but would be nice and floaty on the soft stuff. Personally I prefer a shorter ski which suits the more packed snow I generally encounter - but being 175cm a lot of skis don't come in the longer lengths relative to my height anyway.
 

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
I just checked. 164cm = 5.4ft (maybe 5'4"). The 164 written on your skis may be an approximation.

So these skis are close to your height. This ski only comes in three lengths, 156, 164, and 172. That means the shortest length is for the shortest skiers, the longest is for the tallest skiers, and the middle one that you bought is for everyone else. At 5'4" you fall into that middle group, so it's the right length for you for this particular ski.

How long are your current skis? If you've been renting, how long were those rental skis? If you are making a big jump in length, it will take you a little while to get used to longer skis. But you will.

Is the width at 93 a big jump as well from your current skis? That width may be a bigger issue if it's a big jump.

Calling @fgor, @Eera, and any other NZ/Aussie skiers to give advice.
i have just sold my ski’s before but it was 148 cm, width was 74.

I did demo the black crow vertis birdie, 159cm, width is 88. Did feel the difference on my first two runs but eventually adjusted after and loved the stability it gave me when picking up speed.
 

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
Where in NZ are you skiing? If the South Island, I'm sure you'll be fine. If Ruapehu, you may find the extra length and width is trickier on the ice and narrower cat-tracks initially but you'll likely just need a little while to adjust.
Im in South Island. Mostly mt. Hutt, would occasionally go to Remarkables if days off allow.
 

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
^^ I don't ski in NZ, but the idea in @scandium's post is accurate. Wide (90+) longer skis are made for soft natural snow with some depth that is not groomed. Narrow shorter skis are made for groomers with hard firm snow. If you ski both, you have to choose which you spend more time on in order to pick an appropriate ski. 93mm width in the waist is kinda wide.

@Skylar_30, will you be spending a lot of time on ungroomed soft recently-fallen snow? Or will you be on groomers that are nicely polished to firm flatness? That 93 ski wants the former, not the latter. Which is why it comes up to the top of your head. Wider and longer for soft snow that your skis penetrate instead of staying on top.
Thanks for this @liquidfeet, I do want to venture on to ungroomed recently fallen snow eventually. Hence I opted to buy the maven, will still occasionally ski on groomers if there is no dump of snow.
 

Skylar_30

Certified Ski Diva
I'm firmly in the groomer camp, and based on my experience on limited bits of South Island, you do *tend* to get more hard pack than fluff - but of course that's going to be highly variable based on given conditions and which bits you like skiing on. The waist is wide for groomers but would be nice and floaty on the soft stuff. Personally I prefer a shorter ski which suits the more packed snow I generally encounter - but being 175cm a lot of skis don't come in the longer lengths relative to my height anyway.
True, I guess I just need to try it for myself. snow dumping this week in South
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Im in South Island. Mostly mt. Hutt, would occasionally go to Remarkables if days off allow.
I think you'll be fine then...you can always get a dedicated groomer pair of skis as well if you need to!
 

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