Selecting the right ski can be overwhelming with the abundance of products on the market today. To help identify the right ski for you we’ve created a number of visuals below to help you find the right one to fit your needs.
Ski Selection Guide – Fundamentals
Use the two sliders below for ski length and width to narrow down your options to fit your body and skiing style
- General recommendation for ski length
- Min Length: Skier Height – 13 cm
- Max Length: Skier Height + 7 cm
- General recommendation for width
- <85mm: Resort – groomed, hardpack snow
- 85-95mm: All-mountain narrow – groomed or packed powder with some powder
- 90-110mm: All-mountain wide
- >110mm: Powder
Skiing Style Guide – Turn Radius
A ski’s sidecut is one of the many attributes that defines its character on the snow. By removing material from the middle of the ski to create an arc from tip to tail, ski manufactures can change the shape of a turn. For example, a large sidecut creates a smaller turn radius while a small sidecut creates a larger turn radius as illustrated below. For beginners, a shorter turn radius is recommended to help initiate turns and control speed. For more advanced skiers, selecting a turn radius is down to a matter of where it will be used and your preferred skiing style.
- General recommendation for width
- <15m: Short radius – great for beginners and advanced skiers looking for quick turns on moguls and glades
- 15-20m: Medium radius – jack of all trades and master of none territory. A great all round option
- >20m: Large radius – great for big mountain skiing with long and fast turns
Backcountry Ski Selection Guide
- For those looking to get into the backcountry where weight and ski float is a priority, explore the interactive graphs below to find the perfect ski and retailer to outfit your next adventure.
- Select the data point to view more information and compare retailers once you’ve found the ski that matches your needs.
Powder Ski Selection
- Looking for the fattest, lightest ski on the market perfect for floating across the deepest snow and effortlessly skinning up the mountain; well look no further than the chart below
- Tip: Data on Left = Less Float; Data on Right = More Float
Graph Tips:
- Data Selection: Select each data point to pull up more information
- Zoom: Left click and drag mouse to zoom in on an area. Right click to reset