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Wide Skis and Your Knees: Bigger Isn't Always Better.

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
After a season on my beloved Sheeva 9's (which going by this article are considered fat) my knees are at the point of blowing up !!! Not sure if its the width of the ski? The canting on my boots? (the leg with the most canting is the worst). Technique? Old age? The fact that I got caught up in the T Bar last week and my ski didnt release? Or a combination of all of those things? End result I managed one very slow and painful run yesterday before packing it in :cry:
I'm demoing a pair of Rossi Experience 82 Ti's today to see how I go on a narrower ski so stay tuned.
I've actually had trouble with knee discomfort this season as well, although the Kenjas became my daily driver last season I wasn't bothered as much by the width. I suspect taking more jumps/drops and snowboarding has exposed my lack of knee prehab. I actually took the Flairs with me for my second trip to try to minimise this, but still noticed my knees were fairly uncomfortable by the time of my flight home!
 

Mudgirl630

Angel Diva
After a season on my beloved Sheeva 9's (which going by this article are considered fat) my knees are at the point of blowing up !!! Not sure if its the width of the ski? The canting on my boots? (the leg with the most canting is the worst). Technique? Old age? The fact that I got caught up in the T Bar last week and my ski didnt release? Or a combination of all of those things? End result I managed one very slow and painful run yesterday before packing it in :cry:
I'm demoing a pair of Rossi Experience 82 Ti's today to see how I go on a narrower ski so stay tuned.
Oh no. I am so sorry to hear that.
Hoping that your knees are feeling better.
 
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AJM

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've actually had trouble with knee discomfort this season as well, although the Kenjas became my daily driver last season I wasn't bothered as much by the width. I suspect taking more jumps/drops and snowboarding has exposed my lack of knee prehab. I actually took the Flairs with me for my second trip to try to minimise this, but still noticed my knees were fairly uncomfortable by the time of my flight home!
Stupid knees !!! I took the Rossi's out this morning but quickly switched back to the Sheevas. In the Rossi's defence I was feeling super cautious due to the knee and the conditions were super sticky from the get go so I basically just rode them down rather than skied them as I didnt know how they would behave and didnt want to take the risk of them pulling any random moves that might have finished the knee off totally. I felt much better on the Sheevas but only skied for an hour or so.
 

AJM

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh no. I am so sorry to hear that.
Hoping that your knees are feeling better.
Thanks @Mudgirl630, its feeling a little better but I'll be taking it super easy for the rest of the season. I should really go to the physio but I know he'll stop me skiing altogether and we can't be having that !!
The fact that its slowly recovering is reassuring :hail:
 

steezeling

Certified Ski Diva
I think this video helped me understand this issue the most, especially the later parts about foot width.

It also might explain where the reps are getting the 90mm waist width cut-off number from. At13:06 it looks like 92 mm is probably the average foot width for a woman.

I agree w/the video in that the main consideration for an upper limit of the ski width for an in-bounds 50/50 skier should probably foot width (which likely scales with knee width). I'm sure people can comfortably and safely ski something wider if the snow conditions are right or the individual is a stronger skier. Ski shape (amount of sidecut) and length (probably influences leverage to some extent) could also factor in.

I also like this video because it explains exactly what the stresses on the knee are and what knee pain to look out for if you're concerned your skis are too wide. If the boot cuff of your outside knee starts pressing into the medial part of your knee when carving that might be a warning sign.

I hate hard and fast rules when it comes to sports like skiing because everyone has different body types and skill levels, so I like that this video gives some general thoughts on guidelines to follow and what to look out for.

I'm curious about people that are really comfortable with wider skis how the waist width matches up with their foot width, perceived strength and/or ideal snow conditions.
 

Elizabeth.I

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I think this video helped me understand this issue the most, especially the later parts about foot width.

It also might explain where the reps are getting the 90mm waist width cut-off number from. At13:06 it looks like 92 mm is probably the average foot width for a woman.

I agree w/the video in that the main consideration for an upper limit of the ski width for an in-bounds 50/50 skier should probably foot width (which likely scales with knee width). I'm sure people can comfortably and safely ski something wider if the snow conditions are right or the individual is a stronger skier. Ski shape (amount of sidecut) and length (probably influences leverage to some extent) could also factor in.

I also like this video because it explains exactly what the stresses on the knee are and what knee pain to look out for if you're concerned your skis are too wide. If the boot cuff of your outside knee starts pressing into the medial part of your knee when carving that might be a warning sign.

I hate hard and fast rules when it comes to sports like skiing because everyone has different body types and skill levels, so I like that this video gives some general thoughts on guidelines to follow and what to look out for.

I'm curious about people that are really comfortable with wider skis how the waist width matches up with their foot width, perceived strength and/or ideal snow conditions.
I have extremely narrow feet (the last on my 23.5 head raptors is about 87mm) and I'm totally comfortable skiing on my 116mms all day for days in a row. Even if it's only 15cm fresh I might take them out if I feel like skiing fast and aggressively or if it's really choppy. I think the terrain you're skiing all day makes a big difference. I'm always off-piste, with the exception of getting to lifts. Since I'm generally skiing double black steeps, trees, and chutes, this means I'm pretty much never carving or engaging in aggressive edging and therefore, I'd imagine less stress on my knees. Even on the groomers I do ski, I'm not really making any effort to carve. As cringe worthy as it sounds, I'm mostly just skidding my turns to get back to the lift. It's really hard to get a 116mm on edge enough to carve haha.

My daily drivers are 112mm but same thing as above, always off piste and at worse, it's shallow chop. If it is a dreaded dry spell and firm off piste (or I'm at Lake Louise haha), I'm on my 102 mantras. Looking into the 97mm bonafides as a replacement though! Still never had knee problems on the 102s but then again, not really aggressively carving.
 

skibum4ever

Angel Diva
Up until a couple of years ago my daily driver was 102 underfoot. However, I had a pair of 90's in my quiver and started using them on firm and early season days.

When I return I intend to go much narrower and probably will never again ski anything over 90.

I don't think that the wider skis ever bothered my knees, but these days I have to be especially nice to them.
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I think this video helped me understand this issue the most, especially the later parts about foot width.

It also might explain where the reps are getting the 90mm waist width cut-off number from. At13:06 it looks like 92 mm is probably the average foot width for a woman.

I agree w/the video in that the main consideration for an upper limit of the ski width for an in-bounds 50/50 skier should probably foot width (which likely scales with knee width). I'm sure people can comfortably and safely ski something wider if the snow conditions are right or the individual is a stronger skier. Ski shape (amount of sidecut) and length (probably influences leverage to some extent) could also factor in.

I also like this video because it explains exactly what the stresses on the knee are and what knee pain to look out for if you're concerned your skis are too wide. If the boot cuff of your outside knee starts pressing into the medial part of your knee when carving that might be a warning sign.

I hate hard and fast rules when it comes to sports like skiing because everyone has different body types and skill levels, so I like that this video gives some general thoughts on guidelines to follow and what to look out for.

I'm curious about people that are really comfortable with wider skis how the waist width matches up with their foot width, perceived strength and/or ideal snow conditions.
Well, this is definitely not the knee pain I'm getting, so I think for me it's not just ski width but also general lack of strength/fitness before snow trips especially now I'm getting a bit more air (very small air, but more than I used to)
 

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