Little ski guide: Find the right boards for your descent!
created on 29.12.2017
With the variety of technologies and the huge selection of skis on the market, choosing the right boards is not always easy. We will advise you and help you find the skis that harmonise with your favourite type of terrain, your ability and skiing style, and that will give you incredible winter experiences. Whether all-mountain, freeride, freestyle or touring skis - you're guaranteed to find what you're looking for!
All-Mountain
The all-mountain ski is and remains the most popular type of ski, as it provides a good skiing experience on and off the piste. Under the binding, this ski usually offers enough width, which gives you a little lift in the terrain without having too slow an edge change on the piste. All-mountain skis are light but often equipped with stabilising elements, which makes them very smooth to ride on and off the piste. The sidecut (radius) of these skis is not extremely pronounced, which is why they are not suitable for particularly aggressive skiing behaviour.
The Cloud Nine from Atomic is one of the world's best-selling women's piste skis: it makes turn initiation easier and enables precise, relaxed drifting turns. The K2 iKonic 80ti (men) has an extra wide tip so that it can run unperturbed on the groomed piste as well as in deep snow. The Head Supershape i.Magnum is an all-mountain ski is a piste ski that shines with its distinct carving characteristics.
Quick overview:
- Ski centre width: 72-85mm
- Radius: 17-22m
- dynamic on the piste
- sufficient float in powder
- powerful turns and stability at medium to high speeds
Freeride
You can choose between the extremely wide, pure powder skis or the slightly narrower freeride skis. The latter, such as the Pinnacle from K2, are suitable for remote new and deep snow slopes, but deliver better performance on the piste than pure powder skis.
Quick overview:
- Ski centre width: from 95mm
- large sidecut
- lots of float in powder
- Directional¹ shape with taper²
- Setback of the inserts
- reduced dynamics on hard slopes due to the width
Freestyle
The K2 Sight is a pure freestyle ski with very playful handling characteristics. The Head Frame Wall is specially optimised for park & pipe use. With the Punx 7, Atomic has developed a very high-quality and durable freestyle ski that enables a smooth ride and forgiving landings.
Quick overview:
- narrow waist up to 95mm
- short sidecut for tight, fast curves
- narrow tip and tail
- True twin tip
- Directional twin for occasional off-piste excursions
Choosing the size
Now that you know which ski is right for you, we have some tips for choosing the right ski length. As a rule of thumb, you can remember that the right ski length is between your chin and the top of your head. However, if you are an advanced and experienced skier, you can also choose a ski that is slightly longer than your own height. This rule also applies to freeride skis in particular. Shorter skis turn more easily, but are not as stable as longer models. Carving skis can be shorter than all-mountain or big-mountain skis.
Shorter skis are therefore best suited for:
- Beginners or normally good skiers
- fast and short turns
- prepared pistes
A longer ski is recommended if you:
- are already a somewhat experienced skier
- want to be fast and have a slightly more aggressive skiing style
- prefers to ski off-piste.
- wants to ride a twintip or rocker ski
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