Women's Skis
- Leigh Breidenbach -

2001 may finally be; The Year of Womens' Skis. Ski companies have at last discovered that female athletes are more than a demographic lump wedged on the equipment spectrum somewhere between men and children. To that end, almost every major company in the industry is now building several models of skis that give women a great deal more to choose from than just pink or pastel cosmetics. It use to be that the majority of women's skis were aimed only at intermediate skiers, that has changed, and now women have choices that range from easy carving skis that love the wide open groomed terrain to high energy all mountain and off-piste models. The major changes for this year is choice and the opportunity to demo all those choices.

The key to finding the right ski for both men and women is to demo before you buy. Resorts in conjunction with the manufacturers sponsor several demo opportunities every year. At many resorts you can demo skis starting right after the Thanksgiving holiday. While the access to demo equipment has been around for years, demo equipment that would fit women both in terms of ski length and a binding placement was limited at best. As a result women were often forced to demo skis that were 10 centimeters too long or shorter recreational skis that were far below the skiers ability. Increased access to demo equipment has changed for the better as well as the technology under those top skins. Picking the right ski is just as personal and varied for women as men and with all this new technology the need to demo before you buy is even more critical.

So this leads us to the question - why design skis specifically for women? Why do women want more choices? The answer is so simple that it is embarrassing. Notice the key phrase here is, "want more choices" rather than the tired old statement of women anatomy is different therefore women need different skis. The differences amongst women skiers both in terms of anatomical structure and level of skiing is just as varied as the anatomical structure and skiing level amongst men. To state what should be obvious, women are not all the same. Companies needed to offer not just a single womens’ ski, but numerous women's skis, with several choices at each level of skiing from beginners to off-piste. The most significant changes for this season is for the lighter, smaller more advanced women skiers. For years these women had to either settle for junior race equipment or a lighter but boring recreational ski. Not any more!

In general women skiers tend to be lighter and shorter with smaller feet than many men. As a result it is important for women to have access to skis that are relative to their height and weight. The statement that men are stronger than women has limited application when it comes to skiing, since proportionally women tend to be stronger than men in the lower body and weaker then men in their upper torso. While the jury is still out on the issue of moving women's bindings ahead in response to the perception that women's hips tend to be in the back seat when skiing; the companies have responded to this issue with skis that have a bigger sweetspot (Volant), mid-boot position moved ahead (Völkl) and built in ramps for heel lift (Olin Power Ramp). There is also a power ramp unisex ski just in case you were wondering.

With more choices, also comes the opportunity for more confusion. But there are a few general themes that run through out all the specific women's models. Understanding the women specific design technology can help women and lighter weight men to make the best choice possible when it comes to new equipment. Let's face it, if your wrong in making your pick - it will be a costly mistake.

One of the biggest and best change for this season in women's equipment is the increased size run. Those all mountain high energy women's skis come in size runs from 165cm - 195cm. In the past, skis were made lighter for women by using less technical material that resulted in a less responsive ski. All the major companies have developed women specific skis that are lighter and longitudinally softer, but made with the same quality materials as the unisex skis. Some of these models are easy to distinguish because the name tells you it is a women specific equipment for example the, Völkl Carver Women's Vectris; while other companies just plop an L at the end as with the Volant Powerkarve L to inform you that this is a womens ski.

Regardless of the what the companies call their skis, women specific skis have four basic design features in common: 1. softer flex distribution, which means less effort and muscle is needed to make the ski bend and arc; 2. increased size range so the smaller lighter 5' and 100 pound female skier can have an aggressive 165 cm ski and those 5' 8" 170 pounders can have a fun with a 190 cm ski; 3. lighter ski construction for those women who find all that extra weight on their feet tiresome; 4. a “women specific mounting position on the ski, this is another way of saying the ski was constructed specially so the binding could be mounted ahead and the skier would still be standing over the skis sweetspot. Some companies have done this by just making the sweetspot bigger. In the past moving bindings ahead for women was more of an after thought done in the shop. Moving the binding ahead means an easier turn entry. Another warning here, moving the binding ahead may result in the tail of the ski washing out at the end of the turn. This is not an iron clad result, so do yourself a favor and try skiing with a forward binding placement and see what the result is for you. Since each company wants to distinguish itself from the next the confusion comes when each company gives these features different names and emphasis. But the design basics remain the same.

- LB

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