How to select the appropriate ski gear

In recent years the traditional long ski had been replaced with shorter, faster and on the whole more aggressive carved skis.

 

1. How many days a year I spend skiing ?

2. What kinds of routes I choose ( easy, or difficult )

3. How many years do I ski ?

4. What style do I prefer ? ( technical ,more aggressive or traditional, but fast  )

 

The price shouldn’t be the most important factor. You should find skis which would be suitable to your skills.

Don’t let the fashion to dictate you what to buy. Be reasonable and try to find not too short skis.

 

The best length is when your ski reaches between your chin or forehead. For the beginners it is best when the skis are 15 cm shorter than the person’s height, for more aggressive skiers the optimum length is similar to person’s height. You also need to set right the bindings in accordance to your weight .The best idea is to ask professional staff to do it for you.

 

 If you are a woman you should seek a skis designed especially for women. They are lighter than male ones and their centre of mass is lower than with men. Therefore they need a skis which are lighter more flexible and with ski bindings set more to the front to accommodate to lower centre of mass.

 

The skis for children are easier to buy.

If your child is not very experienced and still needs to learn a lot buy him or her light, more elastic skis.

For kids who feel confident and like to compete or move fast you can choose a skis of wooden construction, more stiff and more difficult.

The length of the skis is decided on a similar bases as with adult people, just around 15cm below person’s own height.

 

The only exception is 3-5 year –old kid who needs to get ski up to his/ her metasternum.

It must be also remembered that our children will need a new pair very soon, maybe the next season. If we will try to buy a longer pair of skis in order to save money it may cause a lot of problems for the kid to master skiing and finally he or she might give up. We don’t want that so we have to find some compromise.

 

When buying boots we definitely need to seek professional help.

The most important in the whole boots business is the hardness of the shell, in ski language it is called FLEX INDEX.

 

There are three main grades of boots according to flex index:

1. Soft boots – between 40-60 (flex index) designed for the beginners who like comfort. In addition those boots prevent you from skiing with dangerous speed. You have much better control over the skis.

 2. Medium stiff boots - between 60-80 (flex index) The most popular boots in Poland for skier of different abilities and skills.

3. Stiff boots- between 90-140 (flex index) Those are boots for experts, ski instructors or competitors.

 

Never try to buy boots one size bigger. It will spoil your comfort and your technique. The boot is working along with the body and skis and gradually it will become 3- 5 mm bigger on the inside. You should give your feet as much comfort as possible and bigger size is not adding to that.

 

Women’s boots are less heavy,  slightly differently shaped and have more liner to keep feet warm. The stiffness grades are similar like in men’s case. 

Your child’s boots also can’t be too stiff and too big. It is possible that the boot can be 1-1,5 cm longer than the foot but no more .

 

How to choose right sticks. To fit your ski poles to you, stand in your ski boots. With your poles upside down - grips touching the floor - grab the pole beneath the basket so that the top of your thumb touches the basket. Your elbow should now be at a 90-degree angle. If the angle is less than 90 degrees, get a shorter pole. If the angle is greater, get a longer pole.