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I don't understand why companies men's and women's skis. The women I see who really rip almost always are on men's skis. Its not hard to imagine a lighter man not feeling like there are a lot of options especially if he's learning and not looking for something stiff. Maybe he's uncomfortable trying woman's ski. If he's from Red Deer other guys will take the pics out of him.
Eryka is on bigger mens skis than my fat arse in this photo 106 187s. Another Woman skiing for them left the sponsorship because she found all of the woman's skis too soft.
Listen. My fiance isn't going to put my old spice 69-in-1 shampoo-deodorant-2 stroke premix-clearcoat-epoxy-bodywash in her hair and she's definitely not gonna get some hardo deathshredder ti189 even if it's released in 154cm or whatever ski blade shit she skis. People have preferences and despite some weirdness in the past decade or so men and women are pretty different and may just want different things out of a product 🤷♂️
If your girl wears skis as a fashion accessory and doesn't mind that they are as small flexible as a Chinese acrobat Ill take you at your word that the industry understands her.
But. I keep running into women who rip big and the common complaint is complain that they can't rip on many of the women's skis so they use men's skis.
Not many athletes worth more than a dime care if there are flowers or cowboys on their sporting equipment if it is an awesome piece of gear.
BiffbarfListen. My fiance isn't going to put my old spice 69-in-1 shampoo-deodorant-2 stroke premix-clearcoat-epoxy-bodywash in her hair and she's definitely not gonna get some hardo deathshredder ti189 even if it's released in 154cm or whatever ski blade shit she skis. People have preferences and despite some weirdness in the past decade or so men and women are pretty different and may just want different things out of a product 🤷♂️
Agree that it doesn’t make sense, but at the same time who really cares? All the women who need a stiffer and bigger ski just ride mens skis and problem solved.
What about the small guy who wants to look macho, maybe he's from a Mexican farm town and he doesn't want to even try the skis with the pink bunny top sheet but if he did they would make him love skiing and live happily ever after?
dopesnowenjoyerAgree that it doesn’t make sense, but at the same time who really cares? All the women who need a stiffer and bigger ski just ride mens skis and problem solved.
I completely agree and think that the whole idea of it is ludicrous, but thats sorta just how its always been for sports, so the ski industry just decided to follow suit. I think it is really stupid especially when you have female skiers like taylor lundquist who would rather ride random mens skis than their own pro model. Maybe one day we will have unisex bisexual skis that will support everyone no matter their sexuality. oh wait a minute
dopesnowenjoyerAgree that it doesn’t make sense, but at the same time who really cares? All the women who need a stiffer and bigger ski just ride mens skis and problem solved.
I think the potential problem with some women being forced to ride men’s skis is that it can skew the data for companies and make the gap in profitability between men’s and women’s products seem larger than it really is. Maybe it’s not a big deal since it’s a pretty small group of women riding big men’s skis but I could see that happening
Often, performance women’s skis are the same as the men’s model with a different graphic and sold in shorter lengths. The skis are often tested by men, and the mount points are determined by men who are generally bigger with longer feet, which causes the mount point to be too far back on the ski for a smaller person with shorter feet.
When you’re behind the balance point of the ski, and the farther back you get from the centre of the running surface, the weirder the ski is going to feel.
skiP.E.I.Often, performance women’s skis are the same as the men’s model with a different graphic and sold in shorter lengths. The skis are often tested by men, and the mount points are determined by men who are generally bigger with longer feet, which causes the mount point to be too far back on the ski for a smaller person with shorter feet.
When you’re behind the balance point of the ski, and the farther back you get from the centre of the running surface, the weirder the ski is going to feel.
Mount location is determined by the center of the boot tho. A -5cm mount is the same whether you have a 255 or 335 bsl
BiffbarfMount location is determined by the center of the boot tho. A -5cm mount is the same whether you have a 255 or 335 bsl
My post was pretty unclear.
The mount point is placed by averaging the recommended points of people who are bigger with longer feet, so the recommended line is generally a few cm behind the sweet spot for everyone, ABS that effect gets magnified on women’s skis.
Then if someone is using boots that are even a little big it compounds the problem as their heel is being pulled further back, putting their boot center in front of the center of their foot.
The mount point is placed by averaging the recommended points of people who are bigger with longer feet, so the recommended line is generally a few cm behind the sweet spot for everyone, ABS that effect gets magnified on women’s skis.
Then if someone is using boots that are even a little big it compounds the problem as their heel is being pulled further back, putting their boot center in front of the center of their foot.
I'm not sure I understand. Isn't the mount usually boot center of the sidecut
BanffImageWhat about the small guy who wants to look macho, maybe he's from a Mexican farm town and he doesn't want to even try the skis with the pink bunny top sheet but if he did they would make him love skiing and live happily ever after?
I'm a bigger guy. My skis are pink. Am I gay? Should I tell my wife?
My sister (adult) would not buy skis with bland or manly graphics. She's still riding 15 year old women’s volkl park skis (doesn't ski park) because they match her outfit. If they're not pink, light blue, or mint green, she won't be buying them.
BiffbarfI'm not sure I understand. Isn't the mount usually boot center of the sidecut
Not necessarily, on some skis I'm sure it is but it's definitely not rule of thumb. Most "all mountain" skis are mounted slightly back from center of camber/center of sidecut. Race skis will be further back, freeride/freestyle skis will be further forward. Rec mount point generally is just the engineers saying that at this mount point, you will get the ideal performance profile intended for the ski
Imo the mount point gender thing dosen't have much validity in modern ski construction. The companies get women to test their shorter women's sizes, so it's not like it used to be where companies would "shrink it and pink it".
Fun fact, the current Solomon Stance construction used to be the women's specific construction, the athletes liked it so much they made it the standard build for the mens models. Same thing with the Zero series JJUL, that was originally just the womens JJ (named the VJJ lol)
**This post was edited on May 15th 2025 at 5:11:05pm
wait, i thought women were mad that ski gear wasn’t specific to them and the age old ‘shrink and pink’ of taking men’s skis and making them smaller with a feminine graphics was heavily criticized for not actually appealing to women and the differences in muscle structure, etc. op makes it seem opposite.
fun fact, my uphill ski is a women’s ski in a 188 and it’s stiff as fuck. not many women need a 188 so i bought it brand new 2 years after it was released.
Because ski companies aren't retarded and they make skis for the masses, not the 1%. Sure, there's a handful of girls that ski hard enough and weigh enough that they can ski a men's ski, but nearly all can't. Despite what your blue haired woke literature teacher says, men and women are different, physically and mentally. Sure, a ski company could market a 189ti board stiff ski with pink sparkles as a women's ski, but they'll sell 6 pairs of them. Or they could market a soft 156 ski with duck camo and skulls to men, but again, they'll sell 6 pairs of them. It's about what makes sense as a whole, not for the tiny fraction of outliers.
I find it even more bizarre when brands make a "women's" ski that's exactly the same as the "mens" one. I've bought women's skis before because the only differences were that they were 30% cheaper and a slightly different shade of blue.
partyandBSwait, i thought women were mad that ski gear wasn’t specific to them and the age old ‘shrink and pink’ of taking men’s skis and making them smaller with a feminine graphics was heavily criticized for not actually appealing to women and the differences in muscle structure, etc. op makes it seem opposite.
fun fact, my uphill ski is a women’s ski in a 188 and it’s stiff as fuck. not many women need a 188 so i bought it brand new 2 years after it was released.
probably a little of both going on in the consumer market. Around here we have filbert and hazelnut growers. Same nut but some people sell hazelnuts and some people sell filberts and some will sell you whatever one you want. Some farm stands put out two bins of the same nuts one labeled filberts and one labeled hazelnuts.
I have 4frnt Hoji Ws in a size 188. Supposedly they have some sort of contour core that was made to be more smooth like a lady or some shit but yeah it is all some weird marketing and they put a purple top sheet on them
Yes, fair. I've been hanging with athletes but they are 1% ers.
Your comment reminded me of an athlete I photograph talking about how the resorts use lame photos when they have access to the stuff we make. Maybe hucking a backflip off a cliff doesn't speak to the average 10 day a year customerwas my thought.
SeeeeemjiBecause ski companies aren't retarded and they make skis for the masses, not the 1%. Sure, there's a handful of girls that ski hard enough and weigh enough that they can ski a men's ski, but nearly all can't. Despite what your blue haired woke literature teacher says, men and women are different, physically and mentally. Sure, a ski company could market a 189ti board stiff ski with pink sparkles as a women's ski, but they'll sell 6 pairs of them. Or they could market a soft 156 ski with duck camo and skulls to men, but again, they'll sell 6 pairs of them. It's about what makes sense as a whole, not for the tiny fraction of outliers.
Could it be that women don't all share the same opinion? It's certainly possible. I'll have to consult a poet.
partyandBSwait, i thought women were mad that ski gear wasn’t specific to them and the age old ‘shrink and pink’ of taking men’s skis and making them smaller with a feminine graphics was heavily criticized for not actually appealing to women and the differences in muscle structure, etc. op makes it seem opposite.
fun fact, my uphill ski is a women’s ski in a 188 and it’s stiff as fuck. not many women need a 188 so i bought it brand new 2 years after it was released.
BiffbarfI know you're just clowning but... Damn lol
always clownin. but i was just pointing out how they are arguing the opposite of what has been said (and is continued practice) about women’s skis and then they had a bitch ass reply.
honestly from my perspective, this thread is very complainy and irrelevant. there are more ski options now than every before for men and women. multiple people in here have said they have bought other gender skis including myself (and i think the ARWs are stiff as shit). ski companies are more and more not even labeling gender on their skis unless they are targeting a specific market. no one is saying you need to be on a specific ski. and there is zero pink names up in here complaining about what op is.
idk. im just as woke as the next guy but i don’t think we need to cry sexism in a time when there are vastly more options for everyone than any other point in history.
yungSBI completely agree and think that the whole idea of it is ludicrous, but thats sorta just how its always been for sports, so the ski industry just decided to follow suit. I think it is really stupid especially when you have female skiers like taylor lundquist who would rather ride random mens skis than their own pro model. Maybe one day we will have unisex bisexual skis that will support everyone no matter their sexuality. oh wait a minute
SlushSeasonMy sister (adult) would not buy skis with bland or manly graphics. She's still riding 15 year old women’s volkl park skis (doesn't ski park) because they match her outfit. If they're not pink, light blue, or mint green, she won't be buying them.
BiffbarfListen. My fiance isn't going to put my old spice 69-in-1 shampoo-deodorant-2 stroke premix-clearcoat-epoxy-bodywash in her hair and she's definitely not gonna get some hardo deathshredder ti189 even if it's released in 154cm or whatever ski blade shit she skis. People have preferences and despite some weirdness in the past decade or so men and women are pretty different and may just want different things out of a product 🤷♂️
I ask myself the same question when it comes to working on ski boots, but in reality I just change my language around customers and constantly refer to women’s boots as “short-cuff” boots because some men can’t stuff their leg in a tall-cuff ski boot without suffocating 90% of their calf muscle. Or it’s another scenario where a woman needs a taller upper cuff, or a “men’s boot,”because of how aggressive of a skier or how tall the said woman is.
At the end of the day, it’s on me to make the skier’s day not suck and make them happy in a boot that fits closest to their dimensions.
What’s even more annoying is when companies lie about it. Armada states in their marketing materials that the ARV and ARW are identical construction, just different graphics. But I bought both of the 94’s and the women version weighed 250g less than the men version.
DragonSlayer7What’s even more annoying is when companies lie about it. Armada states in their marketing materials that the ARV and ARW are identical construction, just different graphics. But I bought both of the 94’s and the women version weighed 250g less than the men version.
Yes, I have owned 4 pairs (2 of each) of the ARV 94 and ARW 94 in the past two seasons. It’s my favorite park ski and I do 100+ days of park per season so I go through them fast. At first I preferred the ARV men graphic but found the ARW women graphic on sale super cheap which is how I discovered the weight difference. So I bought another and will continue with the ARW from now on because I prefer lighter skis.
Totally agree—labeling skis by gender is outdated. Ski design should be about skill and style, not stereotypes. I usually browse options on https://www.shopstyle.com/ because they let you filter by specs, not gender, making it easier to find what actually fits your needs.
**This post was edited on May 23rd 2025 at 3:56:04am
TeylaQuadeTotally agree—labeling skis by gender is outdated. Ski design should be about skill and style, not stereotypes. I usually browse options on https://www.shopstyle.com/ because they let you filter by specs, not gender, making it easier to find what actually fits your needs.
**This post was edited on May 23rd 2025 at 3:56:04am
WTF every single site that sells skis allows you to do that.
It's just the market. Longer sizes of women's skis don't sell. A vast, vast majority of female skiers that need a longer ski either get skis for free or super cheap on flow deals. They don't buy skis. Sure, there are some women that would buy them if available, but the cost of setting up a mold and women's graphic is substantial, so the companies would lose money on those few pairs they sold.
All my current skis are unisex or "mens" skis. I don't really care I just want them to be right for me! The top sheet can always be drawn or painted on. I have a pair of mens Armada Arv 88 I bought for a great deal and I hated the top sheet. I drew all over them with sharpies so they look much better.
Even though I am the typical small sized woman I prefer a stiffer ski.
Although not all women's skis are soft and mushy.
I had a pair of Volkl carving skis and those things meant business.
