What is advantage of 12 meter slalom ski verses 16 meter ski I ski like slalom?

[T-Square]

@paulsalzburg, if you are serious about advancing your skills as a skier you should be concerned first with your boots. Remember, you marry boots, you date skis. This means that boots are more important to skiing proficiency than skis. Boots connect your body to your skis. If you have sloppy fitting boots you will never be able to control your skis with with subtle movements of your feet. If you can’t transmit those subtle movements to this skis you will never get you skis to perform properly for you. That all said, do you have your boots fitted to you by a certified boot fitter? This should be with foot custom foot beds. A good fitting takes some time and effort. A well fitted boot should be snug all around without pinching or "hot" spots. Also, a well fitted boot insures that both feet are flat on the ground at the same time when you are in a neutral skiing stance and that they move in unison as your feet move. Once your boots are taken care of, then be concerned with skis. So, do you have properly fitted boots?

 

[Tony Storaro]

The 12 m radius ski will make turning easier; the 16 m ski will make speeding feel safer. All other things being equal. They never are.

Far too easy even. And when you pick up some speed one very small mistake leads to the skiing equivalent of motorcycle high side. Like…very small mistake.

Follow me for more advise straight from the painful steep part of the learning curve…

For absolute beginners slalom skis are fine tho, things get interesting (for the onlookers) when one gets to the intermediate.

 

[paulsalzburg]

Far too easy even. And when you pick up some speed one very small mistake leads to the skiing equivalent of motorcycle high side. Like…very small mistake.

Follow me for more advise straight from the painful steep part of the learning curve…

For absolute beginners slalom skis are fine tho, things get interesting (for the onlookers) when one gets to the intermediate.

I want to ski like this nothing to crazy. This is fast? Can I do this on 16 meter ski?

 

[paulsalzburg]

Only the beginning part not the fast part.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Only the beginning part not the fast part.

The beginning is warming up, not skiing. You cannot ski like that on anything beyond mellow blues. The interesting part starts at about 3:00 and even then this is far too flat for her to show her real skills.
Of course you can do it on 16m ski.

On 16 m you can also do this:

 

[paulsalzburg]

The beginning is warming up, not skiing. You cannot ski like that on anything beyond mellow blues. The interesting part starts at about 3:00 and even then this is far too flat for her to show her real skills.
Of course you can do it on 16m ski.

On 16 m you can also do this:

Thank you I'm only beginner.

For safeness, which is better 12 meter or 16 meter?

 

[James]

Thank you I'm only beginner.

For safeness, which is better 12 meter or 16 meter?

A ski that’s not the one in the video, a race ski. You should rent some skis. This radius thing doesn’t matter that much. You haven’t even mentioned length.

 

[François Pugh]

Thank you I'm only beginner.

For safeness, which is better 12 meter or 16 meter?

Both safe at reasonable speeds. Both dangerous at higher speeds. Speeds at which 12 meter ski becomes very dangerous (more than 45 - 50 mph) are easily achieved on almost any hill. I would say, unless your hill is less than 400 ft vertical, get the 16 m ski.

 

[Tony S]

@paulsalzburg, if you are serious about advancing your skills as a skier you should be concerned first with your boots. Remember, you marry boots, you date skis. This means that boots are more important to skiing proficiency than skis. Boots connect your body to your skis. If you have sloppy fitting boots you will never be able to control your skis with with subtle movements of your feet. If you can’t transmit those subtle movements to this skis you will never get you skis to perform properly for you. That all said, do you have your boots fitted to you by a certified boot fitter? This should be with foot custom foot beds. A good fitting takes some time and effort. A well fitted boot should be snug all around without pinching or "hot" spots. Also, a well fitted boot insures that both feet are flat on the ground at the same time when you are in a neutral skiing stance and that they move in unison as your feet move. Once your boots are taken care of, then be concerned with skis. So, do you have properly fitted boots?

Apparently not.

 

[Zirbl]

Where do you normally ski @paulsalzburg ?

 

[Cheizz]

Where do you normally ski @paulsalzburg ?

I don't know. I ski Hintersee and Untersberg.

Those are very small ski areas, not more than 400 m vertical, if I'm not mistaken

 

[Zirbl]

Ah, right, thanks @Cheizz . @paulsalzburg , is it an option to go further afield early season and test a load of skis with those radii? Sportcheck test weekend in November on the Stubai glacier? Kaprun must have an earlier event if you want something closer to home, but the on-mountain shops at either place should have plenty to test outside of such events anyway.

 

[dbostedo]

Thank you I'm only beginner.

is it an option to go further afield early season and test a load of skis with those radii?

I'd argue that worrying about radius so specifically as a beginner is unnecessary. The ability to make turns like you want is not really all that dependent on the skis, @paulsalzburg ... it's much more dependent on technique. If you're a beginner, you're best finding a good intermediate ski with some reasonable radius - somewhere in the 12 - 18 m radius, for instance - and not worry about the specifics too much. Lessons and technique should be the focus... particular specifics of how the turn radius affects things can come much later.

I also wouldn't suggest trying a bunch of different skis, except as a fun diversion to see what different skis feel like. Things will be very different if you progress beyond the beginner level, so anything you try will change too.

How much of a beginner are you? How many times have you skied? Are you taking lessons?

 

[James]

Over thinking in action. It’s why talking tech is often counter productive.
Everything does not have to be perfect to develop, despite thousands of videos and articles.
Go ice skating or roller blading.

 

[4ster]

I want to ski like this nothing to crazy.

I stopped myself from posting in this thread a few times because I didn’t want to contradict many of the other posters here.

If I was your instructor & you expressed to me what I have gleaned from your posts that you want to learn a carving/arcing technique, l would teach you exactly that.
Ideally I would put you on a very short ski with a tight turning radius. In the early 2000’s l was fortunate to have these tools available & had much success teaching first timers a direct to carving path as well as many advanced skiers.

The skis pictured here are 140cm but the series began with a 110cm which had a 9m turning radius & they were perfect for the direct-to-carving progression I employed. The student would then graduate in 10cm increments till they were on the appropriate length for their size & progressing skill level.

Sadly this series is (to my knowledge) no longer manufactured but a non FIS 12m SL ski would be the next best thing & a tool you could continue to use for years to come!

My suggestion would be go with the 12m skis, some well balanced boots & a coach that can set you on the right path. Add the 16m or something wider as you begin to move off the prepared pistes.
Here is my basic quiver. A true slalom ski, a 16m with an 83mm waist & a 104mm waist…

Enjoy the process

 

[Zirbl]

I'd argue that worrying about radius so specifically as a beginner is unnecessary. [...] If you're a beginner, you're best finding a good intermediate ski with some reasonable radius - somewhere in the 12 - 18 m radius, for instance - and not worry about the specifics too much. Lessons and technique should be the focus... particular specifics of how the turn radius affects things can come much later.

Is 18 m a reasonable radius for a beginner looking to do low edge-angle carving on a short hill?

 

[Cheizz]

Is 18 m a reasonable radius for a beginner looking to do low edge-angle carving on a short hill?

It is not an issue IF the OP actually looks a beginner/intermediate skis. There aren't many with an 18 m radius. Skis with that radius are not beginner or intermediate skis.

 

[dbostedo]

Is 18 m a reasonable radius for a beginner looking to do low edge-angle carving on a short hill?

It is not an issue IF the OP actually looks a beginner/intermediate skis. There aren't many with an 18 m radius. Skis with that radius are not beginner or intermediate skis.

Good points... I probably could have been better about the numbers I picked. I was mainly just looking to point out that the radius doesn't matter than much if they get a good ski for their level. Maybe I should have said, like 10 - 15? 11 - 14? It doesn't really matter too much.

In terms of learning carving as a beginner, the flex and waist width, IMO, are more important for progress - and as @Cheizz pointed out, I think those skis will naturally have an appropriate radius.

 

[KingGrump]

 

[LouD-Truckee]

The question is in the title.
What is the advantage of a 12M ski vs 16M?

4 meters....