Junior perfomance skis under 130cm?

[RideGuy]

This is my sons 4th year skiing and he will be racing. Looking at skis it seems that there are no real race skis under 130cm. I see cheap 120cm name brand race skis (such as the Volkl Racetiger and Solomon Mini Kart), but on the manufacturers website they don't have anything under 140cm and the price seem too low to be the real thing.

Am I right to assume that all skis under 130cm are basically the same cheapo ski? I'm not at all saying that my son needs race stock, but is there really no other option other than the beginner level ski at 120cm?

[Beckmann AG]

Most likely the manufacturers. assume that for the skier weight, course length and type, and energy contained within the system, 'race ski' construction in smaller sizes isn't warranted, and may in fact present a liability.

Are you concerned that the cheaper skis will hold your son back in his development?

Rossignol and Dynastar do (or did) produce quality jr SL and GS skis down to 130cm.

Jr. skis do vary quite a bit in flex from one brand to another.

Last I checked, the Atomic and Fischer were significantly stiffer than the Rossignol.

[RideGuy]

Thanks Beckmann.

I think your right about the small skis. If they are too stiff at the short length they are not going to work.

I am concerned that beginner skis will hold him back. But it doesn't look like there is much of a choice. I'm going to hit a couple of ski shops today and see what I can find.

[Beckmann AG]

You might be surprised at what can be done on a beginner ski.

A few years back, we did a little research project involving ski flex, and how that affects posture and performance.

The question was, "why are these kids skiing back of center".

The short answer; the skis were too stiff, and the spring tension walked the ski right out from under them, leaving them back of center.

They skied much better, and proactively, on our 'Spongebob' and 'Dora the Explorer' kids rental skis, than they did on their own 'performance' gear.

There were a few other factors, but ski flex was dominant.

It is worth noting that the improvement was more or less immediate, and not a result of further 'coaching'.

The softer ski is more responsive to smaller, more accurate movements, and also allows for easier recoveries from mistakes.

However, they do have an upper speed threshold, regardless of how well one skis them.

Probably won't be much of an issue for your son, unless he is racing super-g...

Take the money you save on skis, and put it toward better boot fit.

[Steve Prokopiw]

Are there skiboots that flex for kids? It seems as I get more interested in my kids' equipment that the boots present even more of a challenge when it comes to flexibility.I can see that fitting the boots to encourage a proper stance will help but they flex very little and their's are entry level.

[Beckmann AG]

Steve,

Boot flex is the ready scapegoat for other issues. As such, it is over rated.

It is simply too easy to blame boot flex, when the other factors are harder to comprehend (and that's not aimed at you, btw).

If the athlete is well matched to the flex of the ski, and the underfoot geometry (boot board ramp, relative height of toe and heelpiece) are appropriate, the skier should need only slightly more flex than allowed by the compression of the foam in the liner tongue.

Forward lean and bone stack issues are involved as well, but are less important.

The kids in the project were all over ramped, and their boots were all at least 1-2 sizes too large as well. However, the softer ski mitigated these deficiencies.

The other coach and I could only shake our heads while considering the athletic possibilities if the parents changed their purchasing priorities.

There are definitive means of determining what geometries are effective, but you're not going to find them in the popular ski press...