Member of the Month

theabortionator
April, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Why so wide?

profile picture
LineSkier
Posts: 243 - Karma: 446
I really don't understand why skis (even powder skis) keep getting wider and wider. Soon everyone will have a snowboard on each foot. I know I am dating myself by saying this but *cough*I am an OG here*cough* and I realize people were saying it 10 years ago. But when is enough enough? People in the 90's ripped trees on Snow Rangers. Who remembers when the Pocket Rockets first came out? They looked like zeppelins. When was that? '04? They're only 90cm under foot! The idea that you can't ski "real" pow well without full rocker and at least 100cm underfoot is bunk, bitches.
13 years ago
2 8
profile picture
Julian.F
Posts: 2738 - Karma: 1,281
read ski descriptions on online ski sites. they will tell you why they are as wide as thery are.
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
JWeinstock
Posts: 3439 - Karma: 1,352
people just keep getting dumber
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Twig
Posts: 6469 - Karma: 62,032
I had those pocket rockets and they sucked in pow compared to the skis we have today. Of course people were doing gnarly stuff in pow on skinny straight skis but the new skis are better, simple. Try and take your pocket rockets and do what someone like Pollard or Charley Ager does and you will have your answer.
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
because the industry adapts to the customer needs and wants? is that not obvious?

13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
El_Barto.
Posts: 11661 - Karma: 24,358
cause thats how your mom likes it
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
AndyGreen
Posts: 827 - Karma: 61
i lol'd
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7290 - Karma: 18,698
Its funny how often I hear this. I have been working in the industry for over 10 years and skiing for more then 25 years. I remember skiing on the old straight skinny skis. Yes we managed but was it as fun, no. Well at the time it was fun, but not compared to what we can do now.

I remember testing skis with the, at the time designer of scott skis. Rocker was just coming in and I asked when he thought he would make his first rocker ski. He replied it was a fad and he would never make a rocker ski. Well that did not last long did it.

The way I always put it is this. Back in the 70's cars did not have power steering. People still drove but how many people would go back to non power steering now. Not many. Its the same with skis, why would you want to make skiing harder?

And to those that say its cheating, its not it just lets you do things that were not possible in the past. The level of skiing has progressed with the skis. If we were all still doing jump turns on fat skis I would agree there is little point to them, but thats not how we ski now.
13 years ago
3 0
profile picture
Sneaky_Aziz
Posts: 691 - Karma: 230
hey you don't even have any internet points don't make threads.
13 years ago
2 0
profile picture
acpowman
Posts: 23 - Karma: 10
and there you have it folks !
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
gnartogue
Posts: 1005 - Karma: 417
90cm underfoot is quite a lot...
13 years ago
2 0
profile picture
no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,273
because you can go really really fast in deep snow and going really really fast in deep snow is more fun than going really fast in deep snow or going fast in deep snow or going sort of fast in deep snow
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
Why would you try to ride up a steep hill on a single-speed bike when you could just hop on a road bike and switch gears? Change isn't always bad.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
wider skis allow you to stick uphill ice .....
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Peach.
Posts: 3879 - Karma: 933
Ride a wider ski and then ride a skinny ski.

Personally wider skis feel more stable and playful to me.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
snakerton
Posts: 2434 - Karma: 1,977
It because you can't land in pow with skinny skis unless you are way back seat and the progression of skiing is being more balanced and up right
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
blindside
Posts: 5619 - Karma: 1,201
Why so whiny? Nobody is forcing you to ride wider skis. For a less conservative skier like myself, who isn't mired in the past, they are the best thing to ever happen.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
doitbig
Posts: 4818 - Karma: 315
I only get the chance to ski pow a few times a season...I own 100mm rockered skis for these days b/c they perform SO MUCH BETTER. i would never go back.


13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Chute-E
Posts: 162 - Karma: 346

I miss the faceshots only. Wider skis preform way better but, one day a few years back, I skied down a foot of powder on my head mojo 90's next to a friend how was on Kiro's. We got down to the bottom, and I was completely caked in snow. Faceshots the whole way down. My friends had hardly a spec on him from floating down the whole way while I was basically trenching. I miss that a bit. I feel it takes a little deeper snow to get more faceshots now on wider skis.

OP, you'll notice that Pollard has really scaled back his ideal pow ski from the earlier width of the EP Pro's to the Opus.  We're not going towards two snowboards.

13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
vault.
Posts: 469 - Karma: 92
All because of the progression of skiing.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
acpowman
Posts: 23 - Karma: 10
faceshots on fat skis have become more selective rather than mandatory, they are there for the taking whenever you want them, just need to throw a little slash or smear, bury hard into a turn, and because your going much faster on fat skis you can usually get a decent gob full whenever you want.
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
Your friend, he's doing it wrong...
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
onenerdykid
Posts: 6744 - Karma: 11,760
well, "powder skis" are becoming narrower. They topped out (commercially speaking) at about 130 underfoot and most are now between 115-125. So, the idea of fatter is better is no longer.
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Stickity
Posts: 7750 - Karma: 769
someone remind me why we have cars. horses worked just fine in the colonial era
13 years ago
1 0
profile picture
JacheOReally
Posts: 3597 - Karma: 253
I've got 105's and they feel super wide haha
13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627

Wait, so I should be buying skis based on what you think is cool or necessary rather than what feels the most orgasmic underfoot and blasting though pow? 

Right.  I'll get on that. 

13 years ago
0 0
profile picture
rubberpantaloons
Posts: 506 - Karma: 3,102
gnartogue90cm underfoot is quite a lot...


aged like milk
4 years ago
4 0
profile picture
dolanslebensraum
Posts: 5959 - Karma: -13,095
gnartogue90cm underfoot is quite a lot...


rubberpantaloonsaged like milk

*mayonnaise
4 years ago
1 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 3:56PM