How long are your poles?

[zircon]

Slow work day due to a "work from home" guidance coming down from above... so figured I'd poll the internet.

I've been skiing with 115cm poles since the beginning of time. I'm 164cm (5'4.5") tall. Right in the middle of every size chart. I've been struggling with hingeing too far forward at the waist, but unable to stay forward and pole plant properly if I stood up more. Recently this past weekend an L3 instructor told me my poles looked too short and lengthened my (obvs. adjustable) poles a half size to about 117-118cm instead. Instantly fixed the problem. Shocker of the century. Who knew adding an inch could change so much?

So anyway. I've read many times about people shortening their poles and it being life changing. Rarely about lengthening. What length poles do people ski with relative to their height? Is body proportion more of a factor here than internet size guidance would have you believe? That's all I can think about for me having disproportionately long legs (79cm/31" cycling inseam) for my height.

 

[KingGrump]

Much depends on where, what & how you ski.

 

[Winks]

Adjustable, 105 for regular resort zooming, 110 for hiking/touring

 

[crgildart]

Shorter for bumps and park. Longer for touring. Somewhere between for regular groomer skiing. Also depends on if you actually do the old school PLANT or just do the tippy tap side drops.

 

[dbostedo]

125cm poles, 6'0" tall. I do have some 130cm poles too. I find that the usual sizing method works fine for me, or maybe a size down.

 

[Slim]

6’5” human.
Adjustable Poles.
130cm for bumps (sometimes)
135 for downhill skiing
145 for skating or skinning, especially on flats or in deep snow

 

[James]

Body proportion might be a factor, but it depends where your arms/hands go to with bent elbows. You might have a short torso and long humerus bones.

What exactly did lengthening change in how you ski?

5’11, 45in poles (114cm)

 

[Lvovsky /Pasha/Pavel]

5'11" - 125cm poles... Sometimes I feel that I need shorter poles. Tried 120cm - did not notice much difference.

 

[tch]

5' 6.5" bare feet. Ski 117cm poles. I've played with pole length with these adj. poles: 115 feels immediately too short; a smidge higher would probably be a little better for my technique (I ski a bit hunched over), but I'd have to adjust.

 

[Carolinacub]

Just long enough to reach the ground . but seriously I do the standard hold the pole upside down and grasp under the basket and if the arm is perpendicular it works for me. I never was really a slave to length.

 

[fatbob]

Wow 118cm sounds long. I'm 6'3 and use 125cm having dropped from 130 some years ago having experimented with adjustables. Have to palm on top of poles when skating for leverage but otherwise allows me to be more dynamic with less pole drag.

 

[Steve]

I'm 5' 8 ½" and use 125 poles. I mostly ski on piste.

It depends on how you use them. Racers use very long poles, but they angle them out to the side. Skiing bumps the poles are shorter.

 

[zircon]

What exactly did lengthening change in how you ski?

Changed from bending way over at the waist—which instructors have been pointing out but I haven't been able to figure out mechanically how to stop doing it—to reaching the whole body down the hill at an angle more aligned with the legs (VERY crude sketch attached). Weirdly, this was during a bump clinic. Opening the hip angle (idk what you call this in skiing so forgive terminology) feels like it helped with being less stiff/more range of motion over bumps and legs moving more independently of pelvis on groomers.

 

[David Chaus]

5’10”, 120 cm poles.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

6' tall Use 117cm poles but hold the bottom of the handle so I ski them like a 114cm.

Love short radius turns narrow corridor straight line style.

 

[zircon]

It depends on how you use them. Racers use very long poles, but they angle them out to the side. Skiing bumps the poles are shorter.

Maybe it's that I grew up skiing exclusively with racers even though I wasn't one?

 

[wooglin]

6’1” on 125s. I tried some 115s but kept falling over because I couldn’t drag them.

 

[oldschoolskier]

6’ with 135’s, sorry old school on the poles, tried shorter, just can’t adjust to it to gain what shorter poles would offer compared to what the long offer.

Really depends on how you use them and what you expect from them.

 

[EmperorMA]

6' and I use 130s. I can get along with 125s, as well.

 

[PinnacleJim]

I am with Carolinacub's post above. Hold the pole upside down, grasp below the basket, and see if your arm is parallel to the ground. Old school, but it works for me.