 Types of Ski Gear 2 - Ski Jasper
Types of Ski Gear 2On the previous page, Choosing Ski Gear - Alpine, Randonee, Telemarking, Cross Country, we looked at asking yourself about the right ski gear. Now we will look at more options in ski sizing and binding options, depending on your answers.
For specifics, the best advice is to actually try out a range of ski gear setups. Many ski shops offer a range of rental setups which you can try before diving in.
Choosing Ski Gear:
Today's Skiing Technology
In general, the old, tried and true rules of thumb regarding proper choices in ski gear no longer hold true because of the tremendous developments in ski gear design and selection of materials, especially over the last few years, which blur the distinction between ski gear styles.
For example, whereas:
- Telemark skis were formerly distinguished from alpine skis by their pronounced sidecut a softer, more responsive flex and, in general, a lighter weight to accommodate the telemark boot and binding setup.
- Alpine Touring or Randonee skis were the clydesdales of skis, fatter, heavier, sturdier - but more difficult to carry while hiking.
Today's telemarking skis have gotten wider than they were in the past, to aid in better floatation over snow powder and crud. And AT skis, as well as telemarking skis, have increased in side cut to aid in quicker ski carving and to shorten the turn radius.
How to choose your ski?
Using the considerations raised in Choosing Ski Gear - Alpine, Randonee, Telemarking, Cross Country, below are some general guidelines for choosing the essential ski gear - skis, binding, boots an poles. These skiing suggestions are just some general thoughts. For more specific recommendations, consult manufacturer's charts or visit your local shop - there, you will be often be able to try out various skis and skiing setups to discover the best gear for your intended purposes.
Ski Sizing
In general, ski length has declined over the years. Especially given the advent of shaped skis, making turns and carving easier for the novice, the necessary ski length has shortened for skiers of all skill levels.
For all mountain, Alpine skiing, most people do well to with skis from 120cm to 160cm in length. For most snow conditions, skis up to about 75mm in width across the waist will do well. If you expect to be skiing in deep powder, you may want to look at what's known as "Mid-Fat" or "Super-Fat" skis.
Examples of mid-fat skis include the K2 Apache Recon ski, with a waist of 78mm and top of 110mm, or the Rossignol Bandit B3, with a 120mm tip and 83mm waist. Examples of Super Fat skis include the Armada ANT Pro Alpine, with a 106mm waist and 133mm tip, and the K2 Seth Vicious, with a 98mm waist. Both of these Super Fat skis boast twin tips and good torsion for aerial skiing as well as big-mountain, deep powder rides down chutes.
With cross country touring skis, sizing is influenced to a proportionately greater degree by body mass than with other types of skiing. Cross country skis are known for their camber - that is, their arch.
One general rule of thumb when sizing skis meant for "classic" or "striding" cross skiing is the paper test. When standing with the weight evenly distributed between the skis, you should be able to freely slide a piece of paper between them. If the paper sticks, that particular ski is not stiff enough for your body.
Ski Bindings
There are several binding types to choose from, depending on the type of skiing you intend to do and the conditions you will be skiing in. However, it should be said that as with all types of ski gear, there have been so many product innovations over recent years that redundancies are now a part of the game - meaning, for example, that even novice bindings will not release with every wind shift, but when they need to, they let go; and expert bindings will not break your knees, though they hold tight to aggressive hitting and carving.
True downhill ski bindings are designed to fix the boot firmly in place, but to release once a pre-set pressure is exceeded, such as during a fall. If you are a novice or intermediate skier, you should be looking at ski bindings which emphasize release over secure retention, for safety's sake. A good example of a beginner to intermediate downhill ski binding is the Rossignol Axium 300, and for the expert (only!), the Rossignol FKS 185, Tyrolia HD14 RailFlex, or Salomon S914 FIS bindings. These advanced bindings are built squarely around aggressive skiers who cannot afford an easy release, and feature a high DIN (release pressure) setting range.
Randonee bindings are designed to accommodate the two essential modes of randonee skiing - cross country touring and climbing, with a free-heel swing, and downhill skiing, with a fixed-boot mode. Most randonee bindings accomplish these twin modes by use of a binding plate to which the entire ski boot sole is attached. This plate can be easily toggled between a free-heel mode and fixed boot mode, and, as with true downhill, fixed-heel bindings, will release toe and heel if a preset pressure is exceeded.
Telemarking bindings come in two basic types: the traditional 3-pin binding, optionally, with cables (the Voile Hardware 3 Pin is one such example); and cable and plate type bindings, such as the Black Diamond O2 Telemark Binding. The three pin binding is still used by many telemarkers, while the cable and plate bindings are generally sturdier in construction and are increasingly the binding of choice, particularly for back country adventurers.
There are generally two types of cross country touring bindings in use today. "New Nordic Norm" or NNN bindings, such as the Rossignol NNN BC automatic binding, and Salomon's proprietary binding, SNS, such as the Salomon SNS BC X-ADV Raid binding. Which type of binding is better is a subject of much debate, but because each binding structure is premised on a particular binding/boot matchup, you cannot mix and match binding/boot pairs. Best advice is to know the area you intend to ski, and ask locals what they're using - then try out the setups to find what works for you.
Learning Snowboarding teachniques.
What is my best ski length?
Choosing the Rest of Your Jasper Ski Gear:
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