The proper ski length for each person is generally a pretty broad range. The typical rule is that the skis should stand somewhere between your chin and the top of your head, but knowing exactly where the skis should lie within that range is a bit more complicated.
For those who don’t know, shorter skis are more nimble and easier to turn, but they tend to be less stable at high speeds. Longer, on the other hand, means much more stability at speed, but they can be significantly harder to turn and usually require dialed-in technique. Professional skier Alex Hackel compared some of the shortest skis available on the market to some of the longest, really emphasizing their differences.
If you’re a beginner or just generally in the market for a new pair of skis and aren’t sure what to get, you should head into a ski shop and talk to someone who knows what they’re doing. There’s a lot more to choosing the right pair of skis than just length, but it’s still a very important factor.
