XC Ski Sizing

[Alex Wotton]

What's the rule of thumb with ski sizing? My understanding is that they used to size skis based on height but changed to weight. I still see people referencing height for sizing though. What's the general rule?

[Woodserson]

It's all over the place depending on what you are trying to do and what kind of skis you are picking. Can you give us more info?

What kind of skiing (groomed tracks, snowmobile trails, breaking trail in deep snow, golf courses, turning or traveling?)
What kind of skis
How much do you weigh and how tall you are
What's your experience

[bauerb]

well if you want to win a 10km freestyle world cup race like Rosie Brennan ( Swirbel was 3rd), you size your skis like they do. Rosie's look a littler longer than the other women. Note they may be holding "podium skis" rather than what they actually raced on, so other pics might help more

[cwdz]

Google the question and you'll find most XC manufacturers and gear purveyors say the same thing. Backcountry and REI's sites are as good as any.

[Alex Wotton]

It's all over the place depending on what you are trying to do and what kind of skis you are picking. Can you give us more info?

What kind of skiing (groomed tracks, snowmobile trails, breaking trail in deep snow, golf courses, turning or traveling?)
What kind of skis
How much do you weigh and how tall you are
What's your experience

I'm 6'0" 160lb and I recently picked up some s-bound 98s in 189 for backcountry touring with some more moderate downhills, like ski hiking or even just exploring in the woods. I went a little longer than the recommended 179 to hopefully aid in the touring sections. I'm pretty new to XC but I'm an experienced winter hiker. I was hoping to just get some more fun out of milder local terrain rather than driving to the White Mountains all the time.

I've also got some cheap skinny waxless rossis I took out in the groomers to try to find my ski legs and had an absolute blast.

[Eärendil]

For someone who grew up first skiing on tar treated wood skis, the rule of thumb when choosing ski length was to place the ski upright in front of you, reach your arm upward. The ski which you can reach with the bottom of your palm is a good length. For me at 5’11”, 205-210 cm is the sweetspot. For me, it would feel strange to ski something shorter than 195 cm. That said, I can see the benefit for beginners to start their career on shorter skis.

//Rickard//

[Woodserson]

I'm 6'0" 160lb and I recently picked up some s-bound 98s in 189 for backcountry touring with some more moderate downhills, like ski hiking or even just exploring in the woods. I went a little longer than the recommended 179 to hopefully aid in the touring sections. I'm pretty new to XC but I'm an experienced winter hiker. I was hoping to just get some more fun out of milder local terrain rather than driving to the White Mountains all the time.

I've also got some cheap skinny waxless rossis I took out in the groomers to try to find my ski legs and had an absolute blast.

I think you did well. I'm 6'2" and have had the 189cm S98 and currently have the 179 S98. This is a compact geometry ski, what lengths work in this type of ski don't work in other types of skis, like traditional length skis like the E99, which are sized much longer.

Fischer puts us both on the 179 S98, but the target demographic is the snowshoe shuffler who needs to be kept happy. If you have any sort of skill or athleticism the 179cm is quite slow as the ski is compressed when kick & gliding and the scales drag a bit much for efficient travel. I exclusively use the 179cm ski when I know I am going up & down in conditions that merit a waxless ski. I don't mind draggy if I'm climbing a hill, I'm not going to gliding anyway. THAT BEING SAID I found the 189cm more difficult to bend and subsequently turn, but I found them to be far superior in terms of kick & glide and touring around, knowing I would have to muscle the ski a bit more in the longer length to turn it. There was some struggle with this ski on the way down, but it still "turned" and so it goes... there are trade-offs.

And as far as the cheap Rossis, the best skis are the ones on your feet at the time you are skiing! Sounds like you are getting hooked.... OOOOooOOOooooooOOOoo

Welcome to this little weird corner of skiing!

[Alex Wotton]

I'm 6'0" 160lb and I recently picked up some s-bound 98s in 189 for backcountry touring with some more moderate downhills, like ski hiking or even just exploring in the woods. I went a little longer than the recommended 179 to hopefully aid in the touring sections. I'm pretty new to XC but I'm an experienced winter hiker. I was hoping to just get some more fun out of milder local terrain rather than driving to the White Mountains all the time.

I've also got some cheap skinny waxless rossis I took out in the groomers to try to find my ski legs and had an absolute blast.

I think you did well. I'm 6'2" and have had the 189cm S98 and currently have the 179 S98. This is a compact geometry ski, what lengths work in this type of ski don't work in other types of skis, like traditional length skis like the E99, which are sized much longer.

Fischer puts us both on the 179 S98, but the target demographic is the snowshoe shuffler who needs to be kept happy. If you have any sort of skill or athleticism the 179cm is quite slow as the ski is compressed when kick & gliding and the scales drag a bit much for efficient travel. I exclusively use the 179cm ski when I know I am going up & down in conditions that merit a waxless ski. I don't mind draggy if I'm climbing a hill, I'm not going to gliding anyway. THAT BEING SAID I found the 189cm more difficult to bend and subsequently turn, but I found them to be far superior in terms of kick & glide and touring around, knowing I would have to muscle the ski a bit more in the longer length to turn it. There was some struggle with this ski on the way down, but it still "turned" and so it goes... there are trade-offs.

And as far as the cheap Rossis, the best skis are the ones on your feet at the time you are skiing! Sounds like you are getting hooked.... OOOOooOOOooooooOOOoo

Welcome to this little weird corner of skiing!

It sounds like sizing really depends on the specific ski then.

Yeah, I'm totally hooked. With $50 skis some gently rolling terrain became a blast. I watched the Telemark Movie and ordered a copy of Steve Barnett's book. Here we go!

[bauerb]

I remembered last night that all my old XC racing gear is still in my parents barn. its all vintage 80s racing skis, boots, bindings, poles. It would be fun to pull it out and be "that guy" happily skiing on stuff that is 30 years old