Ski length chart by height, weight, discipline and ability
For an intermediate all-mountain skier, ski length is roughly standing height in centimetres minus 5, corrected for weight. A 5 foot 10 skier at 180 lb lands on 177 cm, the same skier at 140 lb lands on 172 cm, and at 220 lb on 179 cm. Beginners subtract 6 to 9 cm, powder skis add about 8 cm, and every figure carries a window of about plus or minus 4 cm.
The printable version of the ski length calculator. Every figure is the centre of a window roughly eight centimetres wide, and the choice inside that window is genuinely preference. What is not preference is being outside it by accident because a chart used height alone.
All-mountain skis, intermediate ability
Lengths in centimetres. This is the chart to use if you are buying one pair of skis for a normal resort season.
| Height | 120 lb | 140 lb | 160 lb | 180 lb | 200 lb | 220 lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4'10" (147 cm) | 142 | 147 | 147 | 147 | 147 | 147 |
| 5'0" (152 cm) | 147 | 150 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| 5'2" (157 cm) | 152 | 152 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 |
| 5'4" (163 cm) | 155 | 158 | 161 | 163 | 163 | 163 |
| 5'6" (168 cm) | 160 | 163 | 163 | 168 | 168 | 168 |
| 5'8" (173 cm) | 163 | 168 | 168 | 171 | 173 | 173 |
| 5'10" (178 cm) | 168 | 170 | 173 | 176 | 178 | 178 |
| 6'0" (183 cm) | 173 | 175 | 178 | 178 | 181 | 183 |
| 6'2" (188 cm) | 178 | 178 | 180 | 183 | 183 | 186 |
| 6'4" (193 cm) | 183 | 183 | 185 | 188 | 188 | 191 |
| 6'6" (198 cm) | 188 | 188 | 190 | 193 | 193 | 193 |
Read across any row. At 5 foot 10 the answer moves from about 172 cm at 140 lb to about 179 cm at 220 lb, and that seven centimetre spread is the correction most charts discard. It is the difference between a ski that bends when you ask it to and one that either folds under you or refuses to turn.
<!-- gift-guides-xlink -->Discipline offsets
Applied to a 170 lb intermediate skier, so you can see the shape of the adjustment rather than memorise numbers.
| Height | Carving and piste | All-mountain | Freeride and powder | Park and freestyle | Backcountry touring | Race and GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4'10" | 141 | 147 | 155 | 144 | 149 | 160 |
| 5'2" | 151 | 157 | 165 | 154 | 159 | 170 |
| 5'6" | 160 | 166 | 174 | 163 | 168 | 179 |
| 5'10" | 167 | 173 | 181 | 170 | 175 | 186 |
| 6'2" | 177 | 183 | 191 | 180 | 185 | 196 |
| 6'6" | 184 | 190 | 198 | 187 | 192 | 203 |
Carving and piste -11 cm, waist 68 to 80 mm
Short, narrow and heavily shaped. Everything is optimised for edge hold on firm snow.
All-mountain -5 cm, waist 84 to 100 mm
The default for one pair of skis. Long enough to be stable, short enough to be handled.
Freeride and powder +3 cm, waist 102 to 116 mm
Longer than your height, because length and surface area are what float you.
Park and freestyle -8 cm, waist 85 to 95 mm
Short and twin tipped so the ski can be swung, spun and ridden backwards.
Backcountry touring -3 cm, waist 90 to 105 mm
Slightly shorter than a freeride ski of the same use, because a shorter ski is lighter and easier to kick-turn on a steep skin track.
Race and GS +8 cm, waist 65 to 72 mm
Long and stiff. Governed by competition rules rather than by preference.
Ability offsets
| Height | Never skied | Beginner, green runs | Intermediate, blues | Advanced, blacks | Expert, anything |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4'10" | 138 | 141 | 147 | 151 | 154 |
| 5'2" | 148 | 151 | 157 | 161 | 164 |
| 5'6" | 157 | 160 | 166 | 170 | 173 |
| 5'10" | 164 | 167 | 173 | 177 | 180 |
| 6'2" | 174 | 177 | 183 | 187 | 190 |
| 6'6" | 181 | 184 | 190 | 194 | 197 |
The ability spread is about 16 cm from a first-time skier to an expert at the same height and weight, which is larger than the discipline spread and much larger than most people expect. It is also the axis people flatter themselves on, and the cost of doing so is real: a ski too long for your actual speed is heavy to steer, slow to recover and tiring by the afternoon.
How the offsets stack
The full calculation is standing height in centimetres, plus the discipline offset, plus the ability offset, plus the weight correction, which ranges from minus 5 to plus 5 cm. That gives a centre, and the window is that centre plus or minus 4 cm.
A worked example. A 5 foot 10 skier, which is 178 cm, at 195 lb, buying an all-mountain ski, skiing advanced terrain. All-mountain is minus 5. Advanced is plus 4. At 195 lb they are above average for their height, which is plus 3. That gives 180 cm, so the window is 176 to 184 cm, and a 177 or a 182 are both defensible depending on whether they prefer agility or stability.
Where this chart is wrong
It is a population average applied to one person, and it fails in a few specific places worth naming. A very tall and very light skier lands on a longer ski than they can bend, and should sit at the bottom of their window or below it. A skier returning after years away is not the ability they used to be, and should size to now rather than to memory. Skis marketed for lighter skiers are often built softer, which effectively shortens them, so a softer ski can be taken slightly longer.
And a manufacturer size guide for a specific model beats a general chart every time. Rocker profile changes effective edge length: a heavily rockered ski has less edge in contact than its stated length, so many powder skis are sized up beyond the offset here. If the maker publishes a recommendation, use it.
Waist width is the other half of the decision
Length and width are chosen together, because a wider ski floats at a shorter length. If you are moving from an 84 mm all-mountain ski to a 106 mm freeride ski, do not simply add the freeride offset, since some of the float you are buying comes from width. The waist width chart covers what each band is good at, and note the practical constraint: the binding brake has to sit within about 15 mm of the ski waist or it either drags in the snow or catches on everything.
Related
Run your own numbers on the ski length calculator, size the boots with the mondopoint calculator, and price a complete setup in the build guides, which is a better use of a budget than optimising a single item. Every ski we list has its own page with the published specification and the shelf it competes on.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ski length chart based on?
The industry convention that a ski standing on its tail should reach between the skier chin and the top of their head, with the intermediate all-mountain case as the reference point. Discipline and ability then move the figure, and weight corrects it, because a ski is a spring and a heavier skier bends the same ski further. Every number here is a centre point with a window of about plus or minus 4 cm.
Why does weight change ski length by so much?
Because mass is what bends the ski. Reading across a single row of the main grid, the answer moves by roughly 10 cm from the lightest column to the heaviest, which is more than a full size step. A chart that uses height alone throws that correction away and gives the light skier a ski they cannot work and the heavy skier one that folds.
How much shorter should a beginner ski be?
About 6 cm shorter than the intermediate figure for a beginner on green runs, and about 9 cm shorter for somebody who has never skied. A shorter ski pivots faster and recovers from a mistake sooner, and neither of those skiers is anywhere near needing the stability that length buys.
How long should powder skis be?
About 8 cm longer than an all-mountain ski for the same skier, which for most adults means longer than standing height. Length and surface area are what float a ski in deep snow, and powder skis are usually wider as well, which adds to the effect. The cost is that a long wide ski is slow edge to edge on hard snow.
Do these lengths apply to touring skis?
Yes, with the touring column applied, which sits about 3 cm under standing height for an intermediate. The reason a touring ski runs shorter than a freeride ski of the same use is not performance: a shorter ski is lighter and much easier to kick-turn on a steep skin track, and both matter more over a long climb than the last few centimetres of float.
Should I round up or down between two available lengths?
Most skiers are happier on the shorter of the two, because agility is felt on every run and stability at the limit is felt occasionally. Go longer if your home mountain is icy and fast or you ski a lot of open terrain at speed; go shorter for tight trees, bumps and a mountain with a lot of traffic.
How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, published certification standards and verified owner reviews across retailers. We do not test equipment in person, and every figure quoted here is the manufacturer's published number unless we say otherwise. This is researched buying guidance and not professional instruction: binding release values are set by a certified technician on a calibrated jig, and avalanche terrain requires formal training and a current regional forecast that no article can replace.
