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partyandBS
December, 2024

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How short is too short?

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natski37
Posts: 35 - Karma: 351
Keep in mind that I am a 6'3" dude ~210 lbs I am wondering if getting a shorter than average (for me) ski in hopes to increase my freestyle ability. I usually ski a 187cm and was tempted to go down to 181cm for a twin tipped powder ski. My hopes were to increase my maneuverability off of large jumps as well as simple spins. My main concerns would be that the ski would not support bigger landings given my height and weight. To counter that I would choose a ski that is obviously wider than usual (115-125 mm underfoot) i.e: Volkl Revolt, Black Ops, Jeffery 116.. etc

Thank you
Jul 6 2020 1:43AM
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rubberpantaloons
Posts: 506 - Karma: 3,096
Nope longer the better for jumps, theoretically shorter skis would help for spinning faster but in practice ive never noticed a difference, unless your spinning sw 18s longer skis will benefit you more than short ones
Jul 6 2020 1:45AM
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TRVP_ANGEL
Posts: 12537 - Karma: 116,754
sizing down helps with spinning overall and also on rails. Landings on jumps will need to be more precise and less forgiving than if you were skiing on 187. If you have the money then id say go for it but in the end when you get better, you will naturally want to size up
Jul 6 2020 1:45AM
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HuumeHippi
Posts: 200 - Karma: 717
Im 5'8 and my skis are 181-187, so I wouldnt get any shorter skis if I were you
Jul 6 2020 5:34AM
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anders_a
Posts: 1680 - Karma: 5,603
Im your height, and a 215-220lbs, I have a 181 revolt, and it feels like ski blades, Im running true centermount, and the tips feels so short its just weird and unstable landing stuff on jumps, good for practicing stuff on rails, but would not reccomend for overall, its saved a bit by stiffness and lack of taperd/rockerd tips.




I did get to ski the chronic 185 in park yesterday, and I feel thats the absolutly shortest you should go. (184-185 range) for my heigt/weight the chronic probably feels like blend does for the smaller guys, and I can do nice lowspeed butters



CT 1.0/2.0 comes in at 188 which is also a fairly decent length. new revolt 104 as well, you will find them short/nimble at your height/weight.



All you will find with short skis is unstable/weirdness, remember most good park guys skis skis that are taller than them, some by quite a bit!
Jul 6 2020 5:41AM
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natski37
Posts: 35 - Karma: 351
I skied the 191 catamaran for a season and they had too much rocker in the tails and I kept washing out. No biggie. But another thing I forgot to mention was that I skied last season at 230lbs and am now down to 206 and have no reason to stop now. Given my trajectory, I don't know how my weight will factor and I don't know how my 187s will feel.
Jul 6 2020 9:24AM
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J_Christoph
Posts: 2519 - Karma: 8,755
I’m 6’1” and 210. I wouldn’t downsize if I were you. Something around 187 with a center mount will keep you feeling supported. Looking down to see hardly any nose doesn’t help build confidence to hit progressively bigger stuff each season. Especially since you’re heavy enough to rule out any problems with swing weight.
Jul 6 2020 11:48AM
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J_Christoph
Posts: 2519 - Karma: 8,755
anders_aIm your height, and a 215-220lbs, I have a 181 revolt, and it feels like ski blades, Im running true centermount, and the tips feels so short its just weird and unstable landing stuff on jumps, good for practicing stuff on rails, but would not reccomend for overall, its saved a bit by stiffness and lack of taperd/rockerd tips.

This hits it on the head.
Jul 6 2020 11:50AM
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DesertStix
Posts: 2540 - Karma: 14,985
I’m a little shorter than you and ride 181 prodigy’s in the park. I was able to save over $100 on the 181 instead of 188 but if they were the same price I would have definitely gotten the bigger pair.


they are still plenty of fun. Great for jibbing and i don’t have issues on most landings but I can imagine the extra length might make things easier
Jul 6 2020 3:20PM
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OregonDead
Posts: 6955 - Karma: 25,183
seems like you are already at the shortness minimum for a 6'3" dude. you want 187 or longer for powder for sure if you are actually going to use them in powder
Jul 6 2020 9:45PM
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cmski4_
Posts: 257 - Karma: 1,426
I'm 5'6ish and weight 125 lbs and I ride a 164, is that too small?
Jul 6 2020 9:59PM
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Non_State_Actor
Posts: 4954 - Karma: 17,718
HedgehogSteezeI'm 5'6ish and weight 125 lbs and I ride a 164, is that too small?


Where do you ski? And what would you say is your level of ability?
Straight park or Midwest ice bump, they're probably fine, in bigger terrain especially outside the park you would benefit from sizing up a bit.
Jul 7 2020 3:02AM
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itzPebbs
Posts: 91 - Karma: 186
I’m 6’ 2” and normally weigh around 190 and ski a 186cm for the park and longer if I’m doing more all mountain skiing. Anything under 180cm seems too short tbh
Jul 7 2020 11:10AM
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partyandBS
Posts: 4981 - Karma: 77,369
God damn am i a snow blader?! Im 6'4" 190lbs and have ct 2.0s 184 and thats the biggest park ski ive ever had. My pow skis are only 188s (118 under foot). I used to have the first year of J Skis whipits and they were 178s. You can manuever better on rails with a shorter lighter ski but having a longer ski makes for easier balancing.

If your looking for manuverability but dont wanna sacrafice length then i would check out skis with a 5 point design. RMU has switched there entire lineup to 5 point skis besides the rippah. I have a pair of fatypus skis that are 5 point and they are sick. The effective edge is smaller and the rocker makes them ski slow like snowblades on hard pack but anything over 2 inches or threw the trees is a dream! Pretty stable off booters but all that rocker can get chattery at high speeds.
Jul 7 2020 2:55PM
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partyandBS
Posts: 4981 - Karma: 77,369
Also to answer the orginal question of

"How short is Too Short?"

Too $hort is 5'7"
Jul 7 2020 2:58PM
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cmski4_
Posts: 257 - Karma: 1,426
mystery3Where do you ski? And what would you say is your level of ability?
Straight park or Midwest ice bump, they're probably fine, in bigger terrain especially outside the park you would benefit from sizing up a bit.


I ski park mainly jumps, when I go to hood i'll prolly be doing dubs so I want to make sure that I have a big enough ski so I can land nicely but I don't want to have to get caught up on swing weight. I may try to snag a 171
Jul 7 2020 4:27PM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,790
Just to add more data points to reference: I am 6’0 165ish and my 181 Jeffrey 96 feels a bit too short on anything other than rails, jibbing and slower speed fun. 186 Kartel 108 is just right for all but the chillest days. Gonna swap the park sticks up to a 186 Jeffrey 102 because the stability is a bigger benefit than the added nimble-ness of the shorter skinnier ski. That’s a personal call but likely where you’d end up too?

Given that I think you’d be happy on the longer ski at pretty much any weight you get to! Nice job dude!
Jul 9 2020 12:21AM
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AlwaysGrabBlunt
Posts: 156 - Karma: 740
Keep in mind a twin twip powder ski will ride shorter due to the tip/tail splay decreasing the effective edge. If your looking for air maneuverability then shorter would be better but if you are just going to get wider the ski will be he same weight. As for stability what is in the in the ski matters more than the width, length could help but in a twin tip pow ski were you are more in the center of the ski then the length wont make or break your landings as long as you have a stiffer ski suck as the revolt 121.
Jul 9 2020 1:21AM
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