Member of the Month

PartyBullshiit
March, 2024

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!

What is the ideal ski length for 5'8"?

profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
Hey,

What would be the best length for a park ski for someone 5'8' and 155lbs. I've seen a lot of post that say around 176, but that seems pretty long. What do you guys think?

Thanks
Mar 29 2014 4:18PM
8 2
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
Atomic Punk btw
Mar 29 2014 4:45PM
1 0
profile picture
vinnypaz
Posts: 146 - Karma: 540
im 5'7 and ride 176, dont go below that or you'll be a pusssy
Mar 29 2014 4:59PM
0 0
profile picture
Scotty_Boy
Posts: 777 - Karma: 1,449
Mid 170s to lower 180s. I both pairs of my skis are near or at 180cm
Mar 29 2014 5:23PM
0 0
profile picture
p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,155
175+ for sure. I weigh almost 20lbs less and I'm going for 175ish park skis next year.
Mar 29 2014 6:02PM
0 0
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
How tall are you?
Mar 29 2014 6:39PM
1 0
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
How tall are you?
Mar 29 2014 6:39PM
0 1
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
How tall are you?
Mar 29 2014 6:40PM
0 0
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
What's the benefit of the longer ski? Does it affect rails? I know it would benefit riding on the mountain by increasing stability
Mar 29 2014 6:42PM
0 0
profile picture
b-kul
Posts: 4350 - Karma: 1,111
stability, and long park skis are trendy.
Mar 29 2014 6:46PM
0 1
profile picture
Scotty_Boy
Posts: 777 - Karma: 1,449
5'9" and 170 lbs. My domains are 176 cm and I feel that that is a good ski size for them. My CRJs are 180 cm and are a good size for a playful pow ski. Just justifying my reply.
Mar 29 2014 7:56PM
0 0
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
How does the length affect rails? thanks for all the replies
Mar 29 2014 8:41PM
0 0
profile picture
vinnypaz
Posts: 146 - Karma: 540
way more stability on landing from jumps and/or rails. however you have more chance of hitting the rail with your tips when spinning out.

you should go with the 176 youll see its way more fun cruising all around the mountain with these
Mar 29 2014 9:58PM
1 0
profile picture
b-kul
Posts: 4350 - Karma: 1,111
it depends how good you are. longer skis will be tougher to handle on rails but if your good enough the pros outweigh the cons.
Mar 29 2014 11:05PM
1 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,034
Ok op overall a longer ski will give you good stability when carving and also for landings. They will also offer more speed. However the swing weight will be heavier so you need to spin harder. They will also be less fun on rails. Slower jibs certainly favour a shorter ski. Generally a longer ski will be more suited to hitting features fast so if your still progressing and learning you will overall find a shorter ski will prob be easier.

For you. If you prefer rails to jumps go 171 if your more into riding the mountain and hitting features in te park fast the 176 will be good.

For reference I rode the imfamous in 176 and I'm 5'11 and 175. They felt great size of general park use.
Mar 30 2014 5:50AM
1 0
profile picture
charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 372
at 5 10 180 lbs my shorttest resort ski is a 189, but for park the 176 should be ok
Mar 30 2014 9:26PM
0 0
profile picture
K-Dot.
Posts: 3703 - Karma: 7,375
5'8'", 130 lbs, I ride 175 joystick these (only length that they make) and I find the length to be perfect. I primarily hit rails and they don't feel overly clumsy at all. They're also pretty light skis, I'm pretty sure they're comparable to the punx
Mar 31 2014 11:50AM
0 0
profile picture
b-kul
Posts: 4350 - Karma: 1,111
these are quite a bit wider and i believe much softer.
Mar 31 2014 1:16PM
0 0
profile picture
will_powder
Posts: 3194 - Karma: 5,445
NS has a fetish for long skis. I'd say 171 ish for 5'8
Mar 31 2014 3:47PM
2 0
profile picture
integralmgmt
Posts: 476 - Karma: 921
Yeah 171 is the length i really wanted, but I'm stoked to hear 176 will work fine, as I just got a great deal on some Punx
Mar 31 2014 8:22PM
0 0
profile picture
K-Dot.
Posts: 3703 - Karma: 7,375
I meant swing weight wise, if I don't have any issues with throwing around a little wider ski, I don't see why a skinnier one wouldn't be even easier. Basically, the length doesn't have as much affect on swing weight as you'd think, at least when it comes to going for a longer ski. Of course short little skis are gonna spin easier but the trade off for a little bit more stability is worth IMO
Mar 31 2014 9:43PM
0 0
profile picture
charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 372
ns really doesnt, kids here ski pretty short stuff.

my quiver is reasonable by tgr standards, probably pretty long by ns standards
Mar 31 2014 9:57PM
0 0
profile picture
will_powder
Posts: 3194 - Karma: 5,445
Well I'm 6'4 so no complaints if more demand for long skis means longer skis get made :)
Apr 1 2014 1:52AM
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,034
No they really do. You see kids here that are under 5'10 on skis 189 and above. I understand it, when your younger its cooler to be on big stuff. I used to do it. But you will realise it does not always help. I'm 5'11 and 175 an I ski 176, 184 and 186 skis.
Apr 1 2014 5:40AM
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 811 - Karma: 763
So what? I'm 5'6 and mostly ski 188s. My favourite skis ever are those, a pair of 190 DPS, and a pair of 195 Hojis.

It's not because it's cooler and it's not because I'm young and naive - i'm way older than the vast majority of people on this site. It just comes down to the fact that i've tried a huge range of different skis in different sizes and I find I gain much more than I lose with longer skis, depending on the shape and rocker profile.

Just because you prefer a shorter ski and I prefer a longer ski doesn't mean either is wrong, and judging people because of the length of their skis is retarded. The bottom line is that everyone should try as many different shapes, sizes and lengths of skis as possible to find what they like and what suits their skiing, especially now there's such a huge variety in the types of skis made nowadays.
Apr 1 2014 2:37PM
0 0
profile picture
Jakey.
Posts: 329 - Karma: 3,000
im 5'9" and i ride 182
Apr 1 2014 3:04PM
0 0
profile picture
charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 372
yeah but are you a beater?

I jest but at 5 10 180lbs. my shortest inbounds ski is a 189, it has a speed limit and is easy to ski in tight trees. my touring ski is a 184 and is a lot of fun at slow speeds in the backcountry but isn't very stable for chargin and going big off natural features.
Apr 1 2014 4:38PM
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,034
I would totally agree with you to test differnt sizes. This is the issue I think though. Too few people actually demo. Most will buy skis online to save. So when the advice here is always to go long that can be problematic. Like you I test a lot of skis an have found what sizes work. And it does of course change ski to. I also don't ski a hard as I did 5 years ago. So the fact I now like shorter skis is somewhat explained by that. But I also think as ski tech has advanced I have found I can get the stability in a slighty shorter ski.

I'm sure you would agree that at your stats the size of ski you like is unusual. For most your size that size ski could be a bit much but for you it works. Hence why it's so important to demo but if you really can't try to get as many opinions as possible so you can try to guess what will work for you.

Apr 1 2014 4:39PM
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,034
Nope just a park skier as well as the whole mountain. In the park I'm mainly a rail rider so I don't need any more then a 176.

My pow ski is the rocker 122 in 184. I tried the 192 but I did not need the extra flair. I want them for trees and tight stuff so the 184 is plenty.

My all mnt ski is te longer a it's a on3p jmo. They are 186 but as try are soft and rockered they ski pretty short.

So what am I missing why woul I need bigger skis. Sure if I lived in Alaska I would get a big stiff charger ski but I don't need that where I ski.
Apr 1 2014 4:42PM
0 0
profile picture
s-hand
Posts: 1334 - Karma: 1,800
I am 5'8"  140lbs.  I have a pair of 177 AOS (full camber) and a pair of 181 Jeronimos (rocker, camber, rocker)  and I love them both.  I would never go shorter than 175 i think.
Apr 1 2014 10:47PM
0 0
profile picture
skier58284
Posts: 1705 - Karma: 5,365
170
Apr 3 2014 11:11PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4)