How To Find the Right Adult Ski

There are lots of great skis on the market today and selecting the right one can feel daunting at times. We have broken the ski selection process down into a few steps to help you find the right ski for you. The first step to finding your new favorite pair of skis is to find out which category type is right for you. From there you can research which skis’ unique characteristics fits you best. Then finally picking the right size/length.
NOTE: Something to consider while selecting the ski type is whether your new skis will be part of a multi ski quiver or a standalone all conditions ski. With many highly specialized skis out there, more and more people have chosen to own more than one pair of skis.

Selecting the Right Adult Ski Type

When you look online or at your local shop, you can find skis for every condition imaginable. Skis may be built for sunny spring groomers, deep power dumps, long backcountry tours or maybe even a little bit of everything. At Sturtevant's we have broken these skis into five different categories to help make the process of choosing a bit easier.

Find Your New "Favorite Pair of Skis"

All Mountain Skis

(Waist widths: Men's 81-95mm or Women's 76-90mm)
These skis generally feature a medium waist width, large side cut and often a little bit of early rise/rocker. All mountain skis maintain great edge hold and ice grip with enough float in the tip of the ski to make sure you get the most out of the that powder day. Great for skiers who enjoy the groomers as much as the soft snow. If cruising off trail and playing in the new snow all morning, and then laying down turns on the groomers all afternoon, sounds like your perfect ski day, then this is your category. Within the All Mountain category, you will find everything from beginner to advanced skis.

All Mountain Fat

(Waist widths: Men's 96 - 105mm, Women's 91-105mm)
These skis are similar to the All Mountain category, but are usually just a touch wider. These skis tend to focus on off trail skiing and deep snow. The All Mountain Fat ski is dedicated to the skier who likes to charge on a powder day but doesn’t want to give up the opportunity rip the groomer on the way back to the lift. This category makes for a great "one ski quiver" for the all mountain skier that lives in a region that gets a lot of snow. If you love skiing the groomers, but find yourself in the powder at least 60% of the time, you could be in the market for an All Mountain Fat ski.

Groomers

(Waist widths: Men's 80mm and narrower, Women's 76 mm and narrower)
As the name describes, these skis are designed for the skiers who spend most of their time on groomers. Narrow waist width and big side cuts make your turns come easy and give you the best ice and edge hold of all recreational skis. Whether you love to lay down big turns or just love skiing the corduroy, this is the style of ski for you. Great as your only ski or paired with a powder ski as part of you quiver.

Powder

(Waist widths: Men's and Women's 106mm and wider)
These skis are built for the deep days we all dream about. These are the skis you grab when you just called in sick to work and are headed to the mountain on a Wednesday. Powder skis have changed the way we view the mountain. A good pair of powder skis will make skiing that foot of new snow easier and more fun than ever, whether it's Cascade concrete or Champaign pow. Wide waist widths and the latest shape and rocker designs are what this category is all about. These technologies keep your tips from diving, giving you confident turns in the trees and in deep snow. With todays powder technology, you will be skiing runs you never thought possible. If you don't have a powder ski in your quiver or haven't tried a rocker ski, check out our demo program to see what you're missing out on!

Race

(Variety of waist widths)
The race category is a mix of pure race room thoroughbreds and high performance recreational skis.


Finding the right ski size/length

As ski shapes have changed over the years, so have their suggested lengths. Finding the correct length ski for you can feel intimidating. To make this easier we have broken it down into two steps. First, we start with your skiing ability, then we apply factors listed below to dial it in.

Still not sure on the right size after reading this? Call or email our national award winning staff at our main store in Bellevue, Washington. customerservice@sturtevants.com or 425-454-6465

Step One

Figure out what kind of skier you are and start from here!

  • Beginners - Skis should reach up to about your chin
  • Intermediate - Skis should reach up to about your nose
  • Advanced - Skis should reach to about around your forehead

Step Two

Depending on these factors, you may want to go a little longer or shorter

  • You are a very aggressive skier - a slightly longer ski will gain stability at high speed
  • Heavier skier - A heavier skier requires more length to get the equivalent float and stability as a lighter skier
  • Lots of Rocker - You may want to go a little bit longer if your skis have rocker technology. Rocker in skis makes it easier to float in powder, but also take some of the ski surface away when skiing on harder snow. Small amounts of rocker found on all mountain skis are less affected by this than the big rocker found on wider powder skis
  • Twin Tip - If you are right in between sizes and you're considering a twin tip ski, you can often lean towards the longer length as less of the ski is actually touching the snow.
 
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