3 replies to this topic

[russ1]

Anyone know what recommended ski lengths would be for a Mono Ski - or how to work them out.

Cheers

[KayDub]

From my experience a ski in the 160ish cm ballpark has worked the best. Prior to my SCI I skied a 167 cm even though I'm 6' 3"... I was in the process of buying a new pair in the upper 170s when everything happened. You can also play around with lengths. If you're using a new shaped ski, stay on the shorter end, the camber and side cut and shape make it easier to turn with a shorter ski. If you have an older straight ski you might have to go a bit longer. It also depends what kind of skiing you're doing in the mono-ski, racing = longer, all mountain = medium, freestyle and moguls = shorter. Hope that helps.

[Erica]

not sure how sit-skis work but normal skis are based on height and weight.
I know that this is true as well:
Longer the ski=faster & harder to turn....but too short you get stuck easier

Good luck!

[KayDub]

Erica, on 14 January 2012 - 06:16 PM, said:

not sure how sit-skis work but normal skis are based on height and weight.
I know that this is true as well:
Longer the ski=faster & harder to turn....but too short you get stuck easier

Good luck!

Yep you're mostly right Erica. Very little about ski length is based on weight though. I'm 6' 3" and was at one point 120 lbs (now 135 lbs). This is on the very very light end for my height. When I was in high school I skied on much shorter skis but I was transitioning to longer skis. If you're on the incredibly heavy end the length wouldn't change much either. Skis are mostly based on height. Although things are changing a bit. The old straight skis were based exactly on height, you stuck out your arm and whatever height reached your fingertips. With the newer shaped skis, things have changed. People generally ski on shorter skis, for beginners skis often go to the chest or around there. The shaped skis have something called camber (or reversed camber) where the ends either bend up or down. They also have a thicker sidecut (how thick the middle is under your boot). This allows you to turn the ski with much less effort, making the longer skis unnecessary. Advanced skiers don't ski on anything longer than their head, though most are on much shorter now. Also your discipline determines your ski length regardless of height. A short female racer may have longer skis than a tall, bigger man who only skis all-mountain.