Giant Strides On Short Skis

Small skis continue to cause a big stir in the nordic ski market.

Compact cross-country skis are gaining popularity, salespeople say, and are eclipsing sales projections.

The Fischer Ski Co. started the trend three years ago with its short Revolution ski.

Now various manufacturers are designing their own shorter skis in different lengths and widths for different specialties such as skating or back-country skiing.

With conventional nordic skis, a 100- to 110-pound skier would use about a 180-centimeter-length ski (almost 6 feet long).

By contrast, the Revolution is just 147 centimeters long, about a foot shorter.

Karhu’s back-country compact skis are 160, 175 and 190 centimeters long.

Morrie Trautman, factory representative for Karhu and Trak skis and Merrell ski boots, said the range of compact skis is as wide as conventional skis, from entry level to advanced.

The short skis are designed to be easier to maneuver, less cumbersome and more user-friendly for beginners.

The Revolution skate ski comes in one length for everyone.

Trautman said when Karhu technicians believe that one size wouldn’t work for all in the changeable conditions of the backcountry, they narrowed it down to three lengths each about 20 to 25 centimeters shorter than a conventional ski for the skier’s size.

The back-country ski is also wider than a conventional ski, he said, with a 175-centimeter short ski approximately equal to a 200-centimeter conventional ski in overall surface area. It also has more sidecut, for turning.

While the Revolution was a track ski, the wider Karhus pave the way using short skips off-trail.