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Thread: Teenager ski sizing help
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12-10-2018, 12:35 PM #1
Teenager ski sizing help
So my son, almost 13, has grown 6 inches in the past year and is showing no signs of stopping as evidenced by our grocery and Vans shoe bills.
He needs new skis as the 155s he has from last year look like ski blades.
He’s 5’6” in boots, weighs about 105 pounds. Solid skier having started at age 3, home resorts Snowbird and Alta. No ski racing/team but skis the whole mountain aggressively and starting to jump off everything. We have good insurance.
I’m looking at getting him the Bent Chetler 100s, which come in 164 or 172cm, as an everyday ski.
Question for parents who’ve faced this dilemma: go for the sure thing 164s or push to the 172s? I want him to have fun and not get worked in the trees but don’t really wanna pay for skis that’ll end up too short next season.
Thanks for any input!
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12-10-2018, 12:39 PM #2
Not a parent but when I was in my growth spurt I always sized up, always got my skis above head height, outgrew them a year later. Three seasons: 149cm, 169cm, 186cm.
If he is a strong and aggressive skier it won’t be a big issue, and if he stops growing taller and starts to fill out it will be fine. My vote is for the 172.
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12-10-2018, 01:12 PM #3Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
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- 231
How tall are you and how tall is your wife?
If he's going to 6 ft then the 172 will definitely be useful at some point. My wife (5' 4'') was on the 164 for a few runs because of an on mountain demo this weekend. She is a bit heavier than your son, but she never felt like she wanted something shorter. They do ski short. Don't think your son will get worked on the 172 because of length but could see him having some co-ordination issues.
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12-10-2018, 01:15 PM #4
172 all day long unless he's really spending a LOT of time in the park. Even so, he could totally handle the 172s but might prefer a 168 which you didn't mention as an option..
Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!
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12-10-2018, 01:16 PM #5
A solid skier who's 5'6" should have no problem on a 172. Sure, he's light, but that'll change soon enough. I would almost think the question should be between the 172 and 180.
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12-10-2018, 01:24 PM #6Registered User
- Join Date
- Mar 2008
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- northern BC
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- 30,879
go long and let him carry the beer
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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12-10-2018, 01:31 PM #7
^^^And your quiver...
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12-10-2018, 01:33 PM #8
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12-10-2018, 02:31 PM #9
5'5" = 165cm.
5'8" = 172cm.
I would go with a slightly overhead height ski.
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12-10-2018, 03:07 PM #10
he will have no problem handling the 172, serms like 160s would be short from the start!
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12-10-2018, 05:43 PM #11
Thank you all for confirming my suspicion.
Time for junior to put on his big boy pants.
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12-10-2018, 06:13 PM #12
We went through this with the same group of boys in our sons grade (K-12 in Truckee). Food- thank God for Costco and longbed trucks.
The rule of thumb the shop guys (90's vintage) for the local kids was: flat tail= hairline, twin tip= top of head plus 1-1.5".
Seemed to work out pretty well (they all survived and most still skiing) and made it easy to shop at ski swaps.
Give him a few years and dad's quiver ends up in the back of juniors Suby"if you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind..."
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12-11-2018, 08:51 PM #13
My son is 5'8" or 5'9"and weighs around 140. His new skis are Volkl 100Eight at 173.
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