Is a dumbed down children’s ski that much worse?

#1 If you call it "dumbed down" she's not gonna be stoked about it. What you're looking for is an appropriate ski for her size and level of experience. That appropriate ski might have been marketed to kids, or adults initially, but if it's the right ski for her, it doesn't matter.
#2 She only cares about topsheets because she's a girl?! Folks can be more interested in aesthetics than performance regardless of their gender. This attitude is a rough start to reintroducing your partner to your pastime. Even if she's not super interested in nerding out over skis with you, have a conversation with her about her goals. What parts of skiing does she miss the most? What sort of terrain would she like to ski? As more experienced skiers it's our responsibility to have those conversations with the less enthusiastic folks we help introduce to the sport.

That said, for smaller folks, kids' skis can be awesome. Some kids skis come with a foam core, cap construction, minimal rocker, and a narrow waist, so look for something with a wood core, that's got dimensions similar to the adult equivalent. I know folks who have had great experiences with the SFB Shorty. The Moment Carson and Sego's kids skis are other good examples of kids' sized skis with the same build and performance as adult skis.

Between SLC and Bozeman I'm sure you can dig up a nice used pair of skis in her size for the price of a new pair of kids' skis. That would be my first route, and don't worry about getting something wider, in the 100-110 range. She can re-learn her fundamentals on groomers no problem on a wider ski, and have fun everywhere else quickly,

My wife and our oldest daughter used to share my daughters moment sierras, worked well for them both til my daughter grew, and once my wife made it to blues they were waaay to soft and she prob 120ish, but as already said, find her the ski that’s appropriate for her, there’s always sales, Corbett’s.com has some good deals and your USA price will be %20 less than what’s it’s listed, and if you “dumb it down” as you so eloquently put, she’ll have nothing to grow into when she improves, and no beef but if your gonna be cheap with your lady, she may find someone who doesn’t try to dumb her down.
Also I’m male, and I care a great deal about my topsheets, and style, they’re a part of the overall experience, everyone of my skis is a part of me in more ways than one, but none have touched me or been so a part of me as my pivots, think I still got a brake in there somewhere.

gnarwhaleI finally convinced my girlfriend to start skiing with me and I’m trying to find a setup for her. She’s really small (5’1” 130 lbs) so I was looking in the 150 cm range. She used to ski but hasn’t for 6 or 7 years but she’s athletic and I used to be a ski instructor so I’m sure she will be quickly be at intermediate skill level. I was thinking “oh hell yeah you can save a ton of money cause you can fit on children’s skis” but I’m now worried about the performance of said children’s skis. If we were to go the children’s route, it would either be the blackcrows junius or armada arw junior. Does anyone know if there is a children’s ski that isn’t completely dumbed down or even somewhat similar to the adult version? Or do we just fork out the extra dough to get the adult version? She’s a girl so topsheet is the #1 thing for her lmao. (Located in Bozeman and SLC but I doubt she’ll be off piste very much this first season back)

Don't mind Mr. WokeWhit there^. He's always trying to tell people how to talk what to think.

To answer your question, yes, a kids ski can work fine. Almost all kids skis are available in "boys" or "girls" versions and literally the only difference is the topsheet. Check out wood-core skis rather than foam (which are way more common). Volkl and K2 have great, more inexpensive wood-core options. Moment has the Sierra, which is siiick but more pricy.

**This post was edited on Oct 14th 2021 at 2:31:11pm

gnarwhaleI finally convinced my girlfriend to start skiing with me and I’m trying to find a setup for her. She’s really small (5’1” 130 lbs) so I was looking in the 150 cm range. She used to ski but hasn’t for 6 or 7 years but she’s athletic and I used to be a ski instructor so I’m sure she will be quickly be at intermediate skill level. I was thinking “oh hell yeah you can save a ton of money cause you can fit on children’s skis” but I’m now worried about the performance of said children’s skis. If we were to go the children’s route, it would either be the blackcrows junius or armada arw junior. Does anyone know if there is a children’s ski that isn’t completely dumbed down or even somewhat similar to the adult version? Or do we just fork out the extra dough to get the adult version? She’s a girl so topsheet is the #1 thing for her lmao. (Located in Bozeman and SLC but I doubt she’ll be off piste very much this first season back)

If you're looking for a 140 or 150cm ski, we make that size built exactly of the same materials and high performance construction as our adult sized skis and lots of smaller skiers buy them for that reason. Check the reviews and more info here https://jskis.com/collections/max

skeirmanDon't mind Mr. WokeWhit there^. He's always trying to tell people how to talk what to think.

To answer your question, yes, a kids ski can work fine. Almost all kids skis are available in "boys" or "girls" versions and literally the only difference is the topsheet. Check out wood-core skis rather than foam (which are way more common). Volkl and K2 have great, more inexpensive wood-core options. Moment has the Sierra, which is siiick but more pricy.

**This post was edited on Oct 14th 2021 at 2:31:11pm

Yeah definitely stay away from the foam core. I learned how to ski as an adult. The friend that taught me loaned me a pair of foam core skis that were 145s and I "outgrew" them in 8 ski days. I am also a small lady of similar size to your gf.

i had the arv 84 pretty cool beginning park ski and i dont see why someone the size of a me then couldnt use the despite their age.

Great ski designed for women’s skiers her ability, looks good and $455 CAN/$370 US at Corbetts and they have 149cm or 156cm sizes. Match with some cheap 2021 bindings like Attacks and you’re good to go!

When I was younger I had the faction ct 2.0 Jr and loved it. It is like a softer version of the adult Ct. When I had them I weighted like 115 pounds so they were really easy to nose butter and were soft. I loved those and would totally recommend them. The have prodigy's now and the adult Ct and the performance was almost as good with a kids ski. The adult ct is symmetrical when the kid one isn't. The ski is 98 under foot so not the best in deep powder. Also they got a wood core. Super nice but kinda pricy.

**This post was edited on Oct 14th 2021 at 10:11:15pm