Questions on Sizing Up

A

Antaeus

New member
Hi all, I'm looking for advice about sizing up my skis. I'm currently riding 171cm Volkl Bridges on the East Coast that I got on the cheap (fully rockered '11/'12 model). I have a season and a half on them, and they were great for learning and increasing my confidence/aggressiveness. I'd say I'm an advanced intermediate... mostly blues, some blacks, getting into the trees now. I generally stay out of the park, so it's mostly dealing with the combination of corduroy/ice/crud/fake snow/some trees/minimal real snow that the VT/NH has to offer. I'm 6'0 and 165-170, so i feel the 171 is just too short and playful for me, especially staying out of the park.

I'm trying to decide if i should just size up to the 179 Bridge, or if I should be checking out some of these other skis I keep hearing about that aren't fully rockered as a better East Coast weapon, i.e. Jeronimo, PB&J, ARV, Theory, S3, Rocker2, Kung Fuja, Mantra. I realize these are all different skis and will be better at different things. I still like the idea of a midfat twin or semi-twin as an all-mountain tool. Does anyone have any thoughts?
 
First you're truly riding on short skis. IMO, guys taller than 6'0 should always choose a ski length over 178. I'm 6'1 I have skied for the past 3 seasons 178 Line Chronic, which I found a bit short on big jump. I skied 185 chronics from last year (orange one) and the feeling was way better, but I found them a little too long on rails . And now I'm looking into 182 halos, a bit taller than my original skis and really playful. As the halo is a bit shorter in term of carving, (the little rocker profile dimunish the carving possibility) i went on a bit taller ski. In fact, ski sizing is really personnal but I must say to you that 171 cm for a 6'0 guy is not really recommended. 179 should fit you well if you know that you're not going to grow 2 or 3 inches from this season to next season. Also, you could go up to 182-185 rocker profile skiing without any hesitation.

Good luck !
 
And for ski choice, look over Armada or Line for the east coast, Chronics from Line are beast on the East Coast. Skied in Stowe, Whiteface and Sunday River, and living in Quebec. K2 also offers pretty durable and good skis for the East Coast. ARV are a great choice, but if you're looking for a ski that will hold on your feet and lets you play and learn new stuff, AR7 or Alpha X.
 
Yeahhh, the Bridge is a great ski IMO, but I really regret getting the 171. Someone had returned them after skiing them once, so it was a steal, but probably should have held off anyway. Line skis are readily available in all the crappy little ski shops down here in southern New England (I come north to ski)... the Blend seems like it may be a solid choice. As for Armada, it seems like the new ARVti will be really nice, but obviously I'd be paying full price. I'm also looking at the Atomic Theory.
 
I am 5'9 and try to ride in the 176-180 range generally. A good general (I stress general) rule of thumb, is that your skis for an intermediate-advanced rider should fall between your nose and the top of your head. Weight does play a factor though, if your a heavy mo-fucka you want to look for something about as tall as you. Keep in mind though that things that more skis are incorperating like early rise tips/tails will make the skl ride feel substantially shorter than it actually is. Keep in mind though that although something real long will help you turn on groomers, it will kill you in the glades if they start to get real tight just due to sheer length.
 
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