What size skis do I need?

Once you’ve booked up for a ski holiday in the Pyrenees or elsewhere, the next question you’ll have to tackle is how to choose your ski length. There are various factors to consider when choosing ski length, from your height and weight to your experience level. But, don’t worry, because there are various ski length calculators and we’ll outline all you need to know in this guide to choosing ski length.

How do I choose my ski length?

There are many factors to take into consideration when working out how do you determine ski length for skis. The five most important factors in choosing ski length are:

• The skier’s height
• The skier’s weight
• The skier’s ability
• The skier’s style
• The terrain

In this guide, we’ll soon get on to the ski length calculator based on height and weight. As for the other factors mentioned above, the skiing style is important because more aggressive skiers should add a few more centimetres to obtain extra speed and power. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for as smooth a ride as possible, slightly shorter is better.

The terrain you’re going to ski on will often influence how to choose your ski length too, and a few extra centimetres should be added to your ski length for more adventurous and less groomed trails. At centres such as Grandvalira, where there are various different types of terrain, this might mean you’ll want to take multiple lengths of skis with you on holiday and that’s easy to do thanks to the Grandvalira ski lockers. 

Choosing skis by ability

When you’re selecting the size of the skis you’re going to use, your level of ability and your experience also play a role. That may come as a surprise to some, but if you’re a skiing beginner it is worthwhile making a slight adjustment to the length of skis.

Beginners

Once factoring in all the other considerations related to ski size, a beginner’s ski length should be even shorter than the rest. The general rule is that, after completing the rest of the calculations, beginners should take off an additional few centimetres.

Intermediate

As for intermediate skiers, they shouldn’t really add or subtract any centimetres from the recommended ski length after using the other calculations.

Advanced

Advanced skiers, on the other hand, should add on an additional few centimetres to the number conjured up by the rest of the calculations. That’s because it is widely understood that beginners’ ski lengths should be shorter and experts’ ski lengths should be longer.

Ski length calculator metric: Choosing ski length based on height and weight

In general, the taller or heavier you are, the longer your skis should be. The most important measurement is the height, though. At its simplest, the ski length calculator metric is that your skis should reach approximately where your chin is when you stand them straight up on the ground.

So, for example, if you’re wondering what size skis for a 5'10" man, then the skis should be around 171cm if you’re an intermediate skier. Or, if you need to know what is the ski size for a 5'8" female, then the skis should be around 170cm.

As for ski length by weight, it is recommended that you add on an extra centimetre to your ski length for every 10 pounds by which you’re over your recommended weight. This is where there might be a difference between males and females, since the recommended weight is higher for males. For example, for a 5'10" man, the recommended weight is 149 to 183 lbs. If you’re a 5'10" man who weighs 193 lbs, and you’re wondering ‘what length skis do I need?’, you should take the above 171cm and add another centimetre to it, to make it 172cm, because of the 10 lbs excess.

Ski sizing chart

To provide further examples beyond those listed above, let’s outline the full ski sizing chart for men and for women.

Let’s start off with a men’s ski sizing chart:

Now, let’s check out the women’s ski sizing chart:

How to choose ski size for youth?

When it comes to how to choose your ski length for skiing for children, you can use the same ski length calculator metric as above. The skis should, standing upright, stop approximately where the child’s chin is, just as is the case with adults.

With younger skiers, it’s also worth keeping in mind that they’re more likely to be beginners and less experienced, so you should aim for slightly shorter skis for that reason. Then, once you’ve selected your ski size, it’s time to take to the slopes!

When should you replace skis?

If you’re looking into buying skis then you might also be wondering how often do you need to replace skis. The answer to that really depends on use. It’s more so about how many runs a pair of skis have done than how old they are.

The general rule is that you should be able to enjoy approximately 100 ski days on each set of skis, before you need to consider replacing them.