Ski Length CalculatorDownhill · Cross-country · Racing · Poles
Ski Length Calculator
Tell this calculator your height, weight, ability and the kind of skiing you do, and it returns the ski length to buy — in centimetres, with the range around it and the waist width to match. It is built on the ski industry's most-published sizing chart, with the chart's own rules for when to size up or down.
Free, private, and instant: your measurements never leave your browser. Skiing somewhere the resort chart doesn't cover — cross-country, racing, backcountry? Each discipline has its own tool here, because each sizes differently.
Ski Length Calculator
This is the downhill and alpine ski length calculator — the same tool behind every "what size skis do I need?" question. Enter your height and weight, your honest ability level, and the kind of ski you're shopping for. For a second opinion in grid form, see the ski length chart; for a child, use the kids ski length calculator — children's sizing follows a different rule.
How it's calculated
The calculator starts from the most widely published ski sizing chart — evo's Ski Size Chart — which tabulates recommended length by skier height for beginner, intermediate and expert skiers. Your height is located in that chart (interpolating between rows), advanced skiers are read at the midpoint of the intermediate and expert columns, and then two adjustments are applied, both from the same published guidance:
Weight. Skiers heavier than average for their height size up; lighter skiers size down. The calculator measures you against a BMI-23 reference weight for your height and adjusts in tiers: +4 cm if you are 12% or more over it, +2 cm at 6–12% over, and the mirror image below it.
Ski type. Carving skis come off 5 cm (heavy camber turns a shorter ski happily); park skis −4 and twin-tips −3 (swing weight matters more than stability); freeride +4 and powder +7 (rockered skis ski short for their length and need the extra surface). The result is rounded to the nearest centimetre, and the range shown is the recommendation ±5 cm — skis are made in steps of roughly that size, and anything in the range is a defensible fit. The waist width suggestion is the published category band for the ski type you chose.
No chart replaces a good boot-fitter's eye, and brands vary a little in how their stated lengths ski. But every number here traces to the published chart and its stated adjustment rules — nothing is guessed.
What this calculator does
Ski length is the one number that decides whether a ski feels like an extension of your legs or like two planks arguing with them. This calculator answers it properly: not with the chin-height guess alone, but with the three things the published charts actually use — your height, which sets the length band; your weight, which moves you up or down inside it; and your ability and ski type, which can shift the answer by 10 cm or more in either direction.
It is for downhill and alpine skiers buying or renting resort skis — all-mountain, carving, freeride, powder, park and twin-tip. If your skiing is cross-country, ski touring, telemark or racing under FIS rules, the dedicated calculators linked from this page size by those disciplines' own methods, because a classic cross-country ski and a slalom ski are not the same question.
How ski sizing works
The starting point is a century of ski-shop practice compressed into one image: stand the ski on its tail next to the skier. A beginner's ski reaches the chin — short enough to pivot at walking pace. An intermediate's reaches between chin and nose. An advanced or expert ski reaches the nose, the top of the head, or beyond, because length is stability and edge grip at speed.
Weight refines it. A ski bends under load, and a heavier skier loads it more: ski catalogues size up for weight above the height's average and down for weight below it. Type refines it further — a rockered powder ski skis 'short' for its stated length and is bought longer; a cambered carving ski is bought shorter and turned on its sidecut. The worked examples below show the arithmetic end to end, and the chart further down shows the whole grid this calculator reads from.
Worked examples
Example 1 — the average intermediate. 178 cm tall, 80 kg, intermediate, all-mountain skis. The published chart puts a 178 cm intermediate at 175 cm; at 80 kg this skier is a little heavier than the reference weight for the height, so +2 cm brings it to 177 cm, with anything from 172 cm to 182 cm reasonable. That is a ski reaching between the nose and the top of the head — exactly where the chart says an intermediate should be.
Example 2 — a first-season carver. 165 cm, 60 kg, beginner, carving skis. Chart base 152 cm, weight adjustment 0 cm, carving offset -5 cm: 147 cm (range 142 cm–152 cm) — around chin height, short enough to pivot while the turns are still being learned.
Example 3 — a tall powder skier. 183 cm, 90 kg, advanced, powder skis. Chart base 184 cm (advanced is the midpoint of the intermediate and expert columns), weight +4 cm, powder offset +7 cm: 195 cm (range 190 cm–200 cm), with a 112–125 mm waist for float. Long, wide and rockered is the point of a powder ski.
Try the first example in the calculator above — you should get exactly these numbers.
Ski length at a glance
For an average build on all-mountain skis. Your weight and ski type move you off these numbers — the calculator above personalises them.
| Your height | Beginner | Intermediate | Expert |
|---|---|---|---|
| 152 cm (5 ft 0 in) | 144 cm | 154 cm | 162 cm |
| 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 152 cm | 162 cm | 170 cm |
| 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | 160 cm | 170 cm | 178 cm |
| 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 166 cm | 176 cm | 184 cm |
| 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 176 cm | 186 cm | 186 cm |
All-mountain skis at an average build. The full grid — every height, four weight bands, and the cross-country and pole charts — is on the ski length chart page.
Choosing between two sizes
Skis come in steps of 5–8 cm, so the real question is usually which of two neighbouring lengths to take. The honest tiebreakers, in order: terrain (tight trees and bumps favour shorter; open bowls and speed favour longer), turn shape (short, quick turns favour shorter), and honesty about ability — the ability you ski at on your worst day of the season, not your best. Rental skiers can swap mid-week; buyers should know that a slightly short ski is merely less stable, while a slightly long one is actively harder to learn on.
One more check before you pay: stated lengths are the ski's developed length along its base. If a tape measure pulled straight from tip to tail reads a few centimetres less than the number on the topsheet, nothing is wrong — that difference is the rocker, and it is exactly what the measuring guide explains.
All calculators
- Ski Length ChartSki length chart by height and weight: adult, women, men, youth and beginner lengths, plus cross-country and pole sizing tables.
- Kids Ski Length CalculatorKids ski length calculator: enter your child's height, weight and level to get the right children's ski length from the published height bands.
- Women's Ski Length CalculatorWomen's ski length calculator: your height, weight, ability and ski type on the published adult chart, plus what actually differs in women's skis.
- Men's Ski Length CalculatorMen's ski length calculator: your height, weight, ability and ski type on the published adult chart — including when to size up for weight, and when not to.
- Beginner Ski Length CalculatorBeginner ski length calculator: the right first ski length from the published beginner chart — chin height, weight-adjusted, with rental guidance.
- Ski Length Calculator for Older SkiersSki length calculator for older skiers: comfort sizing from the published chart — shorter, softer-friendly lengths that are easier on knees and balance.
- Cross Country Ski Length CalculatorCross country ski length calculator (classic): the right XC ski length by weight and ability from the published weight bands, with the height cross-check.
- Skate Ski Length CalculatorSkate ski length calculator: the right skate ski length by weight and ability from the published XC weight bands — about 10 cm shorter than classic.
- Race Ski Length CalculatorRace ski length calculator: FIS minimum ski lengths and radii for slalom, giant slalom, Super-G and downhill, for men and women, plus Masters rules.
- Backcountry Ski Length CalculatorBackcountry ski length calculator: touring and telemark ski sizing from the published chart — shorter for the climb, with touring waist widths.
- Ski Pole Length CalculatorSki pole length calculator: downhill, cross-country classic and skate pole lengths from your height — the three published formulas and the grip test.
Frequently asked questions
What size skis do I need for my height?
Stand a ski upright next to the skier. A beginner's ski should reach about the chin; an intermediate's, the nose; an advanced or expert's, the top of the head or a little beyond. The calculator turns that rule into exact centimetres by height, then adjusts for weight and ski type.
Should ski length be based on height or weight?
Most charts, this one included, are published by height first — height sets the length band. Weight then moves you inside it: heavier than average for your height, take the longer end or a few centimetres more; lighter, the shorter end. If the two disagree strongly (very tall and light, or shorter and heavy), weight is the tiebreaker, because it is your weight the ski has to carry and bend under.
How is ski length measured?
Length is the distance from tip to tail along the base — the ski's developed length, which is the number printed on the ski. Measure it with the tape following the base, not pulled straight: a rockered ski measures a few centimetres shorter in a straight line than its stated length, and that is normal. The full method is on the how to measure ski length page.
What happens if my skis are the wrong length?
A ski that is too long is hard to pivot, catches edges, and tires your legs; too short is twitchy at speed and sinks in soft snow. A few centimetres either way is preference — 10 cm too long is a different, worse ski. If you are learning, err short; rentals can be swapped as you improve.
Is the calculator different for kids?
Yes — children's skis are sized by a stricter height-band rule, and buying 'room to grow' into an adult-style chart is the commonest sizing mistake parents make. Use the kids ski length calculator, which uses the published children's height bands.
Do cross-country skis and poles size the same way?
Yes. Cross-country skis are sized mainly by weight, because the ski's camber has to work under your body weight — the cross-country calculator uses the published weight bands. Poles are a separate sizing again: the ski pole length calculator covers downhill, classic and skate poles from your height.
Sources
- evo — Ski Size Chart & Calculator — the adult sizing chart and size-up/size-down rules this calculator implements
- Icelantic Skis — ski size chart FAQ — corroborates the powder/freeride size-up guidance
- Switchback Travel — ski waist width guide — retailer waist-width categories behind the width suggestions
Last verified: 27 October 2026
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