Message #16692

[Svend]

At her weight she has the advantage of getting 130mm of float out of a 98mm skis which means that her powder skis can be a lot more versatile than a guy's powder skis. 

Interesting point, which made me remember the online ski surface area calculator (http://freshiez.net/skiarea.html).  According to that, comparing kg/cm2 for myself and my wife, I get a surprising result:  even if I chose a 120 mm ski at 192 cm long, at my body weight (220lbs) I still would create more kilograms per square centimeter than my wife does on her 85 mm ski at 165 cm.  Now, I'm not sure that such theory translates into equivalent performance on snow, but it sure is illuminating.

And this not a question of need, but rather how much is enough? If the current skis will work even in deep snow, even according to the consensus opinion here on the forum, from those who've skied way more deep snow than we have, then I'd rather use the money to update her groomer skis, or buy her a plane ticket west.  If, on the other hand, the 85 mm width will limit her terrain choices and restrict where she can go, then I'd happily buy her a wider pair.