With the shaped skis today, shorter is back in. I use a slalom ski sized 165. I'm 5'11" and 200 pounds. I'd call myself advanced/expert in that I can handle anything that SL and WT can dish out. Out west, not so much!

Jim,
Well, maybe I have skis that are too long I'm 5'6" and around 165Lbs and I have two pairs of skis in my quiver. A Pair of Nordica W65's at 163cm (112, 65, 97) and a pair of Rossignol Bandit B2's at 160cm (113, 76, 103). I've actually run Volkl 724-Pros at 170 before (too much ski for me I think) I loved the way I could keep up speed on runouts though (especially trying to get far over on the Western Ridge at Brighton Utah )

-Warren-

Too long? Maybe not! Depends on the type of ski, your ability and your preferences. For myself, I like to make carved turns, ski bumps, and generally do everything from short-tight-radius turns down the edge of a trail to whooping it up will large arched carved turns all over the trail. I don't really do speed runs much anymore (that stupid age thing setting in). That means for my style, a slalom ski not unlike your Bandit works well. I recently picked up a pair of Dynastar Omecarve's in a 165. My ski prior to that was the Rossi 9S in a 167. For someone that likes doing bigger GS turns and skiing bigger terrain (I only get out west once a year), then a GS skier in a longer length may be appropriate. I only know that when I skied an Atomic 9.22 in a 190 shaped ski, it was way too much for me!

YIPPERS!!! what size? what size? To be honest with you, it all depends on what you will want ot ski and your skiing ability. In ancient times, you saw me on 207 UVOs. Now with the advent of global warming, I am quite comfortable on my new Rossi Zenith Z9s at 162s. The skiis today are amazing. I actually trust the ski to edge and hold, especially with the sidecut. My ski is very stable at speeds and is just as great in pow. At your size, the 160 to 170 length would work just fine....no longer.

When I bought my first skis, they used the old chart and gave me a set of skis way too long for me to develop good habits. The other thing IMO is you don't want to try and buy skis that you will want for more than a couple seasons. as you get better you'll want to upgrade. Me, I ski stiff wide and short. I ski dynastar legend 8000, agreat all mountain ski. I went way back to 158s. Previously I was skiing 190-200 range. I've been real focused on improving my expert terrain techniques, so I may be a little extreme but short and the width and stiffness make up for lenght compared to my weight. Here's a good article on ski lenghts

http://www.breakthroughonskis.com/Pages/_private_lessons/lessons1.html

The problem I had was I demo'd mine for a week and didn't want to give them back. I knew I was buying new skis and you could demo whatever you wanted trade around and the cost of the demo went toward the skis. I'm sure other places have similar programs. So try before buy!

I think what Bumps says is definitely the right idea. Try out some skis and buy what you like

-Warren-

Length is really a function of ski type, ski construction, and the person's height/weight. Mid-fat, free-ride, and powder skis are creeping back up in length, because it's required. I am on 180-184cm skis now (6-1 and 225lb, expert) but would be going 186-192cm if I got some free-rides. Those skis start at longer lengths as well, so even skiers on the other end of the spectrum would be going long.

In the haste to push everyone towards short skis, brought on by the shape ski craze, I run into a lot of people on skis too short nowadays. The ski industry is rebounding from the initial short craze and we seem to be settling in on a more reasonable set of guidelines. I think it will probably take people a few years to catch up.

For my height weight and ski interests, hard-pack carver skis in the 175-180cm range are right for me (the 175 would have to be a super stiff ski, like the Volkl 6*, to suffice). On mid-fats, 185cm is about right. I have confirmed this through demos and a lot of experience.

For a 5-11 190lb person, I would drop down a size range from where I am, but still keep in mind the type of ski. And for a true beginner/intermediate, drop another size from there.

Elan and Head have very good ski/size selection software on their website. It pegs me dead on, and I would definitely recommend people use it for reference.

One more thing to throw out there - especially for beginners, is to keep in mind that skis do not last forever, so buying two or three levels up is probably not a good idea. In fact, in discussions with a ski manufacturer rep, I was told that as a general rule of thumb, skis are designed to last for about 90 skiing days before they wear out (loss of camber, flex, etc.). If you go only ten times a season (i.e., one trip out west for a week and a few scattered weekends locally), your skis will probably last for quite a few years. If you ski as often as some of these board regulars, however, that's about three seasons or so. Doing a quick "back-of-the-envelope" calculation, taking into account my skiing style and what I do on skis, I'm down to needing a new pair every other season. Generally, I try to make them last longer, but as my old Rossi 9S's will attest (four seasons old - petered out after only two), I wear out my gear pretty fast.

just a quick follow up - got hubbie K2 omni's 4.5s, length - 163 - along with the new Head boots (that fit him great (no more leg pain from rental boots)!).

I hesitate to say that this - but I really think the new equipment changed his skiing completley; I think he went from a advanced beginner to true intermediate - adv. intermediate very quickly since he has skied on/with them! It was great to see! I wanted him to cruise on intermediates and he did, so now I think we're ready to go out west. I have been wanting to go out there for 20 years! Woo hoo

I'm glad to hear that it worked out so well for him. I can tell you that since I bought my all-mountain boots vs the race boots, my skiing has improved as well.

-Warren-

Congrats ltbluek2 and to your hubby as well! Its always amazing to me the difference the right equipment can make for a skier. Hope you and he have a great trip out west. I'll be in Keystone, CO this weekend and then again to Utah at the end of this month - very unusual as I typically only get one big west trip a year!