Guide to Ski Anatomy
When looking for the perfect ski, you will come across some numbers for width, length and turning radius. What do all those numbers mean?
We measure the width of a ski at its center point. If the width of the ski falls into the 80 mm to 110 mm, this ski will keep you afloat in fresh powder and help you blast through the snow after it has been tracked a little bit. These are called Big Mountain skis or “fat-boys”. If the width of the ski is between 68 mm and 80 mm, these are considered All-Mountain skis or mid-fats. These skis are narrow enough to carve, but wide enough to keep you afloat in a few inches of fresh powder. Skis in the 64 mm to 70 mm width range are geared for carving on groomed terrain. The narrow waist makes it easy to just lay them over into a turn. The last width category is for skis 62 mm to 67 mm wide. This puts the edge right under your boot and these skis are ideal for recreational racing and for carving turns on hard snow.
Today, the longest skis you’ll find top out around 195 cm. These long skis usually fall into the Big Mountain ski category. All-Mountain and carving skis generally fall into the 165 cm to 180 cm range, while slalom race skis work best in the 155 cm to 165 cm range. Some manufactures do make short, fat all-terrain skis with even deeper sidecuts. These are best for skiers who move from the groomers to the glades and back all in the same day. Testing a variety of sizes of the same ski will help you to zero in on the right length.
Ever wonder how much a particular ski likes to turn? The is where the turning radius number comes in to play. Inspect the curvature or sidecut of the ski. The deeper the sidecut, the smaller the turning radius. A slalom ski, designed for quick short turns, will have a low number, maybe an 11. A Big Mountain ski may have a turning radius of 34. All-Mountain skis will fall somewhere in between.
We measure the width of a ski at its center point. If the width of the ski falls into the 80 mm to 110 mm, this ski will keep you afloat in fresh powder and help you blast through the snow after it has been tracked a little bit. These are called Big Mountain skis or “fat-boys”. If the width of the ski is between 68 mm and 80 mm, these are considered All-Mountain skis or mid-fats. These skis are narrow enough to carve, but wide enough to keep you afloat in a few inches of fresh powder. Skis in the 64 mm to 70 mm width range are geared for carving on groomed terrain. The narrow waist makes it easy to just lay them over into a turn. The last width category is for skis 62 mm to 67 mm wide. This puts the edge right under your boot and these skis are ideal for recreational racing and for carving turns on hard snow.
Today, the longest skis you’ll find top out around 195 cm. These long skis usually fall into the Big Mountain ski category. All-Mountain and carving skis generally fall into the 165 cm to 180 cm range, while slalom race skis work best in the 155 cm to 165 cm range. Some manufactures do make short, fat all-terrain skis with even deeper sidecuts. These are best for skiers who move from the groomers to the glades and back all in the same day. Testing a variety of sizes of the same ski will help you to zero in on the right length.
Ever wonder how much a particular ski likes to turn? The is where the turning radius number comes in to play. Inspect the curvature or sidecut of the ski. The deeper the sidecut, the smaller the turning radius. A slalom ski, designed for quick short turns, will have a low number, maybe an 11. A Big Mountain ski may have a turning radius of 34. All-Mountain skis will fall somewhere in between.
