What length Salomon skis should I get? 170 or 177?

Question

Right now I'm skiing on a pair of blue Salomon 1080's from a few years back. They are 177cm. I am 6'3 and an extremely good skier. I only ski in the east (all packed snow) and I like to do everything. Will 170cm be too short for a pair of Salomon X-Wave skis? I like long and short turns and want something that, at the right length ski, can handle it all. Any other general suggestions would be welcome as well- haven't bought ski gear in 6 years!

Answer 1

Well It depends what weight you are too.

Answer 2

Remember that your skis know how heavy you are, but don't know how tall you are! If you are average weight for your height or heavier, you should definitely go for the 177s. If you are light the 170s will be OK. Since you are an advanced skier I would tend to the 177s anyway. They should give you more stability at speed (I presume at times you ski fast).

Answer 3

Do you mean the X-Wing? Go with the 177s.

I am a female, 5'5", and 145 pounds.  I demoed the fischer watea 78 last week and they were 167 cm.  They were the perfect length and i wouldnt want anything shorter, at least for that particular ski.  If that was a good length for me, then it is too short for you.

My dad is 6'3" 215-220 lbs and he skis on 190cm salomon axendo 8 from 2000 or 2001.  He loves them and he makes a lot of short turns on them. He loves to carve the ice.  They are shaped skis, but they aren't as wide and shaped as the skis today. Any ski in a 170 length, except for maybe a slalom ski, would be too short for him.  

The Volkl AC30 is a better ski than the X-Wing.  Find somewhere that demos skis before you buy.  I demoed the AC30 in 163 cm. They also had X-wings, but the guy said that since the AC30 everyone loves the AC30s and i wouldn't like the X-Wing since i loved the AC30.  Its a good all mountain and it carves very nicely. The AC40 is the top of the line model in its category and i spoke to someone who was skiing on them.  He said that AC30 is easier to turn than the AC40. I demoed it at Windham Mountain, catskills, ny.  I wanted to demo it again, but someone bought it.

The guy at the demo center said that the X-Wing is a very light ski.  I spoke to someone who was demoing the AC30 and he said he loved it.  He demoed the X-Wing (not sure which one, but the demo shop had the fury, the tornado, and the 10) and he said that it was too light for him.  You should demo skis before you buy them.  Its a lot of fun and you can ski on as many different skis as you want.  You might want a totally different ski.

Answer 4

I would stick with the 170 even they are a little long depending on the height and weight but to get great deals on equipment all are on sale now http://snowsportblog.blogspot.com/ most of the deals can be found under ski snowboarding pages I'm sure you will find what you need I'm from the northeast and I refer to the page all the time for weather and trail conditions, Plus I'm sure the owner of the site would love to see some comments she works hard on it and doesn't receive much feed back I like leaving videos she posted them for me not to long ago , anyway good luck with your choice

Answer 5

Do you like jumps or park of any kind, or only piste/off piste skiing?

If you like doing some park, or even just little kickers, go with the 170's.

If your not into that stuff too much, go for the 177's.

Answer 6

i think you mean X Wing. I think X Wave is a boot. fury, tornado, pilot or 700? i guess that's not really important, 7cm's isn't enough to make a difference. remember 3.5 cm's are behind you when you ski so at your height, go 177 for the stopping help. i'm 5'-9" and i ski 168's. your weight is more of a factor at this length differential.

Answer 7

The 170 will be fine for almost everything you mention. The long turns may be a little less than perfect and slightly less stable at higher speeds. You will not give up enough to make it worth the extra 7 cm.