How do YOU guys measure ski/snowboard length?

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How do you measure ski length?

Template length
12
92%
Vertical stand up height
1
8%
 
Total votes: 13

WhitePine
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How do YOU guys measure ski/snowboard length?

Post by WhitePine »

So I had a revelation today. I realized with the birth of my child things have ground to a halt, or close to it. I'm not going to have any prototypes built until next spring at the earliest. So I decided I'd buy a pair of Bluehouse Maestros 189 cm.

When I got them home I saw that they are actually a smidgen longer than my Scott 191cm. So I busted out the tape measure to see what my entire arsenal measured out to be. These are the results:

Scott Punisher 191cm = 188cm
Bluehouse Maestro 189 = 188.5cm
Black Diamond Velvet (Wife's) 165 = 165cm
Burton Malolo 166 = 163cm
O-sin 4807 168cm = 171.25cm
Burton Johan 163 = 160cm
Sims Quest 160 = 157cm

So it seems as though it varies by manufacturer. I began modeling my skis and boards length by the distance from tip-to-tip. From the measurements above only Black Diamond models their skis this way. Everyone else with the exception of O-sin appears to use the flattened length or the ski template length to determine the length of the ski. So once the ski is pressed to the desired curvature, the ski is shorter by a few cm.

Do most manufacturers measure ski length this way? What do all of you do? I realize now that choosing a length of ski/snowboard is arbitrary. You can't go by the numbers the manufacturer tells you. You have to measure for yourself.
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MontuckyMadman
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Post by MontuckyMadman »

when someone tells me they want a 187cm ski I cut raw length base at 189cm because you loose about 2cm with a 6cm early rise at 25cm of length.
If you want a 185 I cut a 187.
Go look at K2 skis. No idea how they measure those as the published length is several cm shorter than the actual ski. ie 181 pistol is really like 185cm.
they have so many skis its tough to use that as a bench mark but with most manufacturers the ski is shorter than what they say it is and I assume this is because the measure the raw material length not the size after pressing.
Or may all be marketing BS as well as some people just want to say they have a big ski or people pigeon hole skis to certain numbers like 185 or 191 or 179 and so on.

This has all changed allot recently with all the tail rocker out there.
Where did they make the BH's? china? if your not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Trade those suckers in for a real ski.
sammer wrote: I'm still a tang on top guy.
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Brazen
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Post by Brazen »

Interesting post, thank you for compiling that data. As long as the effective edge is correlative with the ski/board length, that's it. For me. I don't think you can count the "elf shoe" turn on the tip and tail, so I go with the raw material/base length.

And yeah...fk china.
"86% of the time it works 100% of the time".
WhitePine
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Post by WhitePine »

MontuckyMadman wrote:Where did they make the BH's? china? if your not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Trade those suckers in for a real ski.
You're right. China. I ordered them thinking they were made in Salt Lake because I know they have a factory here. Later I went and toured it. Its a small operation. 2 presses, some saws, etc. The owner, is also the manufacturer and the guy who runs the store. Along with one other guy. When I went in, I had to walk into the back where the shop is to get their attention. The guy told me currently they only make one model in Salt Lake, the Precincts. He said eventually they want to bring all of the manufacturing here. But yes the model I got was made in China :(
doughboyshredder
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Post by doughboyshredder »

MOST manufacturers use the length before pressing. That is the standard.
skidesmond
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Post by skidesmond »

If want to make a 180cm ski I make the template 180cm. I never thought of it being done any other way. As for the big guys I agree w/ MM about it being mostly marketing BS.

So I had to measure my 180's and 168's. I put the ski on the floor and put the tip against the wall and measured in a straight line. Both were about 1/2 cm shorter, because of the tip and tail being turned up. To be 2 or 3cm shorter seems like an awful lot.

Then again I bet the avg Joe has never measured his/her ski.
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threeninethree
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Post by threeninethree »

I remember way back to some posts by BlueHouse, pre-outsource.
I also go by the flat template length.
~ Matt
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shopvac
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Post by shopvac »

I know the length of our flat templates but I usually say the skis length to my friends by measuring with a straight tape from tip to tail. I am not sure what makes more sense. It would be nice to be able to compare apples to apples.
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endre
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Post by endre »

Skis are measured along all it's curves, tip end to tail end. This has been the traditional way sice skis are made flat and then bent.

Some brands (like K2) have started breaking up this system by printing psychological lengths (like prize tags) 179, 189 etc. (assuming people want shorter skis but need longer skis) Völkl and Line has then followed after being owned by the same company. It's spreading.

The worst example ever is the first K2 Hellbent. Printed length 189, real length 202cm.

And: 189 Seths were longer than 191 Gotamas for several years. Even after owned by the same company.
WhitePine
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Post by WhitePine »

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm glad I posed the question. I was doing all the extra tweaks to my solidworks model in order to make the tip-to-tail length (After pressing) equate to the desired ski length. Now knowing that the skis/boards I'm used to were usually designed using material length I'll go back into my designs and shorten them. This will be more what I wanted out of my designs. I wish there was some sort of standard between ski manufacturers.

I knew K2 did something weird with the way they measured their skis but I never knew what the formula was for measuring them.
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endre
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Post by endre »

WhitePine wrote:I wish there was some sort of standard between ski manufacturers.
There IS a standard, ski length is measured flat before bending. A couple of companys (mostly US) just don't care about the standard.
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