Ski Length Suggestions
The following suggestions are guidelines only. The best way to determine length is to test your choice in a couple of different lengths.
When in doubt, try it out!
[ lengths are for males of average build—females subtract 15 - 10 cm ]
Giant Slalom skis
Atomic D2 Race GS
Typical race length: 180+
Typical recreational length: 175-178
Race Carver
Fischer RC4 World Cup RC Pro
Typical length: 160-170cm
All Mountain Carver
Fischer Motive 76
Typical length: 165-180cm, depending on speed and weight
Big Mountain Carver
Elan Amphibio 82 XTI
Typical length: 175 - 180cm
Cross Carver
Head X-Shape MTX
Typical length: 165 - 175 cm
Slalom: race
Blizzard SLR Magnesium
Modern slaloms are meant to be skied really short. For example, some racers have been using sub 160cm skis on the World Cup, although new rules stipulate 165cm as the shortest legal length for males.
For racing: 165
For recreational skiing: 160 - 176
Deep snow, free ride, big mountain and powder skis
Völkl Gotama
Wide deep snow skis (90 to 101mm waist): 170 to 200cm
SkiLogik Ullr's Chariot
Salomon RockerUltra-wide free ride skis (102mm + waist): 175 to 200+cm
Poles
Traditional pole sizing was determined by donning boots, inverting the pole, placing the hand grip on the ground and grasping the shaft below the ring, with forearm parallel to the ground.
Modern technical skiers use poles about 1" shorter than traditional length.
Bumps skiers, hyper-carvers or extremely fast skiers may use a pole up to two inches shorter than traditional length.
But, be careful. Lifters and high-rise bindings add about 1.5" to the stand height of the ski. Simply using plates could make the pole effectively too short. Try to measure length while simulating stand height—the distance the sole of the foot is above the ground. Any competent shop can assist in this measurement.
