At what point to park skis become too big?

Bock

Bock

Member
I know a lot of it depends on a persons size and wieght but I have only ever had two non junior park skis and they were 169cm and 171cm which doesn't give me a lot of experience judging how big of a ski i would feel comfortable riding. Im 5'11'' 165lbs and still growing (starting to slow down)

My current skis are armada t halls 171 and Im looking to get new skis next year. I looked around and found the armada ARV's but they only come in 175 and 185. 175 isn't a big step up from 171 but is 185? an aditional 14cm is only like 6inches which equates to 3 added to tip and tail which doesn't seem like much but I don't know what type of difference it would make

Either way I was wondering what you guys would recommend based on experience in riding different skis with different lengths.

if this a repost please give me a link to the original because i couldn't find it.
 
yeah I have the same problem, I just started skiing a few days ago on some skis I got for cheap. They are 169cm camber, and I weigh about 190 and am about 5 11. They feel fine, and I have progressed pretty quickly with them. I have also gone to a few ski shops and they recommend me to get a ski that is basically the same size. Though on ns, I feel like everyone that is smaller than me in both weight and height are rocking like 78s or higher. so should I stay with a ski in the 169-174 range or go for a bigger size?
 
You might want to look at a larger ski. I am 5'11" and 145ish and I ride 179 k2 domains. Which actually measure out to like a 183....you might want to try a larger ski, but some people like to rock smaller skis too. It all comes down to personal preference.
 
It's all personal preference, try the 185s out and see how they feel. Personally I like a longer ski, I'm 6' 170 and I ride 189 bents that measure out to 194 as my park ski.
 
eh, like everyone else has said, personal preference, I'm just about your height, maybe a little bigger, and I ride a 182
 
Wait Really? You guys all rock skis that big? Why do you want a ski that large? doesn't it make spins harder and the skis harder to manuever?
 
It makes the ski a lot more stable for one, but the whole spinning thing is part of it, I feel like tricks don't look nearly as good if someone's skis are too short. It looks squirmy and stuff, hard to describe
 
haha that's interesting, I am the exact same height/weight and used the same skis and size last year!

Anyway, longer skis will make spins harder, but I feel like they force you throw things right/better, not sure if that's true or not, but to me it seems like it. Also they will ski much better if you do anything other than park
 
189 bents? What are these "bents"? Are you referring to hellbent s? Bentchetlers? Or something else? I've always thought "bents " were reference for k2 hellbents. Please correct and bring me up to speed!
 
for your size, and assuming youre a decent skier, def get the 185s. i adore my ARVs but always wish i had gotten 185s instead of 175s. it's not like theyre an unforgiving ski anyway
 
yeh I'm 5'8 ish and like 135 lbs and i ride 178s, i feel like that's pretty normal. 185 will be ok. Next year Henrik's ski may replace the ARV (not sure but they are similar) and may come in a different range of sizes, worth waiting to see? Ideally i'd say you should probably get 181s.
 
Yeah I'm referring to Hellbents sorry for the confusion. Since the Bentchetlers came out 'bents' is a bit ambiguous.. But in my mind bents will always be Hellbents, even though as of this year they are no longer in production.
 
instead of making a thread, I'll post here.

I'm going to purchase some Armada Alpha 1s, but I'm torn over what size to get!

I'm 5'10, 155lbs.

Right now I'm riding 181 AR7s. and with a 21.5 sidecut, these skis are big

I'm riding my buddy's 170 Alpha 1s right now, and I always loved buttery skis, so im stoked on getting alphas. 170 is small, i can feel it. I just cant decide between 176 or 182!

If I can ride 181 AR7s, do you think 181 Alpha 1s would be a good call? They're bigger, but at the same time, the Alphas have rocker.

For the alphas, the 176 sidecut is 14

and the 182 is 15.5

My AR7s are 21.5

i just want opinions.

i dont want to get skis that are too big haha
 
I would go 182.. With the Elf Shoe tips and center (or near center) mount they'll ski shorter than your AR7s (just look at the sidecut difference), plus they're on the lighter side..
 
I work in a ski shop and one of the longest skis we have is the 185 t halls. We sold a 178 to a kid who was 6 feet tall and when he came back to buy poles a few weeks later and he said they were fine.
 
I'm 5'10, roughly 130lb and I shred on 181 park skis and 193 pow skis.

Don't have any problem whatsoever spinning on my park skis and the pow skis turn with minimal effort.

I do however get constant abuse from the people I ski with (they're all boarders) that my skis are "too big". I've got to the point where just ignore them now...
 
just went though the same delima iv been on 173 chronics for the last 2 seasons just bought 179 kung fujas im in NH so i need a ski that can rip any condition form ice to some new fresh in the trees and i ski ALOT of park i was a little worried about catching my tips on flips and longer skis hampering my rotations ( im 6'1 160) and love a softer ski i can butter but i have had no isses with the length yet i would suggest ripping a friends longer pair or demoing a longer pair if your really worried about it but i dont think you will be fine with a little longer ski....
 
thanks blindside! How long have you ridin bents in park? Did you have much adjustmanet to size? or did you take backcountry/ pow trick/skills into park? I picked up the 2012 obsethed this summer and I love landing airs with them, as the soft tail absorbs alot of impact off my old shins! ( compared to my volkl Karma) I have been hesitant to spin with them worried about swing weight/size. wanted to get on the air bag to start this season, but the tour date ( us air bag) was canceled by me due to " global warming" lol!
 
I've been riding bents in the park (Eastcoast) on and off for about four years.. And this year I decided to go with bents as my every day park/all-mountain ski. I've honestly never really skied any serious pow with them, but their definitely is an adjustment period taking them into the park for the first time.. Even now I'm still adapting to the bigger size (I used to use 179s in the past), which is all part of the fun for me.
 
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