Too much ski
A ski feels like too much when it is hard to start a turn but your legs are fine. In the model the first suspect is a ski that will not release, from a stiff or flat tail. A stance that is too far forward is second, and the boot is third.
glutes working · lower back working
Muscle load
Easy, can hold all dayWorkingBurningTick: average through the turn
Tail at the finish
6%
The fix: 2%
Tip at the finish
11%
The fix: 6%
Showing: Your stance. 10% forward.
Shown for the default skier: 92 kg on the K2 Mindbender 89 Ti at the finish of the turn, 3 mm of boot play, groomed snow.
Skiers say a ski is too much when it is hard to turn, takes effort at every turn, or only works when they go fast. They describe it as a ski that wants more than they have to give.
It is easy to blame yourself. The honest answer is that sometimes it is a ski that is stiffer, longer or more demanding than you need, and sometimes it is how you are standing on it. A stiff ski and a long ski feel alike, which is why the two are so often mixed up.
Check three things. - Your boots. A ski can not do what your boot does not pass on. Look at fit and flex first. - The tune. A ski with a sharp factory tune can feel hooky and demanding. A shop can fix it in minutes. - Your stance. Back-seat skiing also makes a ski hard to turn. If your quads burn, it is probably stance. If your quads are fine, it is more likely the ski.
The figure compares your current ski with a ski that has a softer, more rockered tail. The stance for both is centred. If the second ski feels easier to turn on the hill, the model says you were fighting the ski.
Some skis are built for fast, strong skiers on firm snow. If the ski is a rocket and you want a ski for cruising, the right fix is a different ski. There is no shame in that.
If you are shopping, test the ski before you buy. The wrong ski costs more than the demo does.
The model’s first match for this symptom is the ski won't release (58% of the evidence). Here is what else it ranks, and how to tell each one apart.
Too much weight on the shovels. The tips grab and the tails go light.
How to tell: The tips grab and the tails feel light. You feel it in your calves rather than your quads.
Model check: In the model, that stance leaves just 1% of the load on the tail at the finish, so the tail has little to hold with.
Play in the boot means your input arrives late and partly lost, so you end up chasing your balance, usually backwards.
How to tell: Your heel lifts or the boot feels loose, and the ski feels slow to respond.
Model check: With 8 mm of play the ski loses 44% of your fore/aft movement and gets it 368 ms late.
If the boot and tune are right and you are centred, the ski may simply be more than you want. Compare a softer or shorter ski.
Compare skisFighting a ski all day is tiring. If you get lasting muscle or joint pain, see a physio.
Pain or injury? This tool is for how skiing feels, not medical advice. See a physio.
Not medical advice. Edge Lab describes how skiing feels and why.
The model above uses a default skier. Add your weight, skis and boots and see your own numbers.
Check your own setup