Do you ski a shorter ski when on tele gear - compared to alpine, not snowlerblades!

[InspectorGadget]

A question for those of you that tele and alpine. When buying a do-all tele ski, do you buy skis that are shorter, longer or the same length as your do-all alpine skis?

I started to tele last year and tried several different lengths ranging from 173 to 181ish. Now I am torn between buying something in the lower 170s or the 80, 83 range, i.e., 173 Havocs or 183 Havocs; 172 T-Rocks or 180 T-Rocks.

[FigureEleven]

I go the same length tele as alpine. You can always surf long tips. Currently tele on 190cm WorkStinx, 190cm Nordica W9.1FF, and 193cm NKO's @ 6'2'' ~175#.

[jwelch]

I ski the same length, but my tele skis are a bit softer. This is more due to me sucking at tele more than I suck at alpine than anything else.

[bisnibble]

It depends on how stiff the ski is
for alpine i like a 190ish stiff ass fuck
but for tele if it is a stiffer ski I like 180ish ski (tankers explosiv's)
when it is a softer ski i like it longer like 190ish (gotama's shanouks)

[mntlion]

if you are better at one, them go longer/stiffer.
for most people that makes there alpine skis longer....

[frorider]

my tele skis are the same length as what I would alpine ski on. 194 big daddies, 188 bromodels, etc.

It's more a function of what tele boot you're using. If you're using a recent T1 or T race or EnerG, and you're a decent tele skier or expect to be soon, then go with what you'd get for alpine.

'tele specific' skis are basically a marketing gimmick. That T-rock, for example, is simply the women's Volkl with a different topsheet. a 180 T rock would be easy for most guys to ski.

[Telepath]

Exactly the same skis for both alpine and tele the last few years; I tend to be on the lastest incanation of the Big Daddy no matter what.

[jonski]

Tend to go shorter and skinner (within reason!) for tele, but only because if its going off, I know I'm gonna be on alpine gear as I'm currently more comfortable on them.

However as I get more time on on the misery sticks (!), I envision going to the same set-up - width, length etc. esp as Fro states, I'll be on a beefy boot and binding combo (T1/bombers)

[iriponsnow]

I run 10 cm shorter.

[hemas]

Well, at the moment my most of my tele-quiver is longer/stiffer/wider than my AT-skis, even though I am more confident with my heels locked, when things get dicey.

Still, as I spend majority of m time on tele's, I have a tele quiver and only rarely use my AT-rig.

But, as many have stated getting something slightly shorter or less stiff for tele might not be a bad idea... after all the control you have on yer skis with tele-binders isn't gonna be as presice as yer AT/alpine.

For what it's worth, I'd pick up the 180 TRocks, or the 18? Karma's... Don't like the Havocs... And I'm ~5' 9" and 155 lbs.

[Brewski2]

I tend to go slightly shorter for tele skis these days. My tele's are 176-180 instead of 185-190 alpine. This my sound dumb but, I feel that when you are in a tele turn you have in a sense created one really long ski. Mabey its in my head. I haven't alpined in 2 years now. I did learn to tele on 186's but have way more fun on the shorter ones. I'm 5'8' 160# and ski northern Vt. When I skied in yurp I preferd the longer skis.

FYI: the T-Rocks measure kinda short. I skied them last year in 180 and held one up to a 174 work stinx and they were the exact same size.

[lemon boy]

tele skis should be longer than your normal alpine skis because your heel ain't locked down you need the extra lenght for added stability.

really you should demo and find a ski that is comfortably sized for your proficiency level and aggressivness quotient

[hardkorps]

I like to go the same on Tele as alpine I usually start out with my skis alpine and recycle them through unto my tele setup. i figure if you like the ski and can do both then you'll do just as fine teleing as alpining on them.