How to choose touring skis?

Long gone are the days when you had to choose between an unskiable light ski (great for ascending but terrible for descending) and a heavy ski (tiring climbing but great going down).
Nowadays all last generation touring skis are light to help with the climb but still remain stiff enough to be fun coming down.
Just as with alpine skis, touring skis come in different underfoot widths depending on your area of use. Weight should no longer be a handicap. Touring skis are now all light without compromising strength or vitality.

 

Here is some advice to help you choose

First you must determine what your needs are.

- If you're you only wish to race up the mountain weight will be the most important criteria. You should choose thin, short and stiff skis.
- If you are looking for an all-round touring ski which is also comfortable on slope. Choose a ski between 80 and 85 mm underfoot for more comfort in all conditions and slightly stiffer to grip on hard snow.
- You only like hiking when the conditions are good ? Walk up 500m maximum and prefer by far flying down the mountain ? To make to most of those powder days and keep you from sinking choose a ski at least 90mm underfoot and at least 15cm longer than you.

Do You enjoy the climb as much as coming down ? Skiing in all conditions on all types of snow ? Enjoy trekking over a few days ? Choose 10 cm bigger than you but not too long has not to be handicapped when you're going through tight mountain passes. Prefer skis with a large tip for more floatability in deep snow and reasonably stiff for more comfort in all types of snow even hard pack.

After the choice of touring ski, discover how choose your freeride skis