Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, so surely we need different ski equipment? Well, that might be up for debate, but there are a few physiological differences that can make using women's specific equipment beneficial to all levels of female skiers.
How are Men's and Women's Skis Different?
Well, the short answer is. It depends. Some brands have spent decades researching and developing unique molds to serve female skiers better. Other brands tout the fact that they make one sort of ski to suit all skiers, regardless of gender. Across many sports, equipment has been adjusted to suit women's morphology. Basketballs are smaller, backpacks are made on a narrower frame, and even soccer cleats are being designed differently to match how women transfer their body weight during a kick. In skis, two main differences make a ski "women's specific".
Women's Skis are Lighter and Softer
This is one of the most debated traits of a woman's ski. Do we really need softer skis? There are a lot of arguments for and against making women's skis softer, but we really should not take it personally. It is really a consideration of our biology and not a proclamation about our skiing ability. There is a saying out there that a ski doesn't know how tall you are, but it knows how much you weigh. I think most of us can agree that the majority of women weigh less than their male counterparts, even at similar heights. There is actually a term for this - it's called sexual dimorphism, and for about 45% of mammals, the male of the species is larger (including us homosapiens). Scientists have found that, on average, men overpower women by about 15%. It tracks that we won't have the same mass to get a ski to flex, and therefore get it to cooperate in engaging turns and other critical skiing movements. Should it be 20% lighter or 10%? I don't think there is one perfect number, but the brands delving deep into women's specific ski design, like Nordica and Blizzard, seem to see better results with skis made up of slightly lighter constructions.
Women's Mounting Point is Forward
The reason for moving women more forward on downhill skis is grounded in two anatomical differences. The first has to do with our feet. A lot of ski and boot development is based around a 26.5 mondo point shoe size. This is roughly equivalent to a women's size 9 street shoe (and a size 10 properly fit ski boot). According to the shoe review site runrepeat.com, the average shoe size worldwide is between 7 and 8. Based on our own sales records, we can also confirm the mondo point equivalent to a women's size 8/8.5 shoe is our best-selling size based on 20-plus years of data. When you line up a small boot size on a ski designed for a man's size 10 or 11 foot, you end up slightly behind the ideal flex point. By bringing you forward, it helps recover some of this difference.
The second, more noticeable reason for moving women slightly forward on skis is to make up for our lower center of gravity. We carry the majority of our weight lower, closer to the pelvic area, versus men who carry their center of mass up near their shoulders. The result is that when men lean forward over their skis, the weight is more easily transferred to the shovel of the ski. When a woman leans forward, their weight tends to go over the tail of the ski, making it more difficult to keep the tips weighted and stay in control. By moving slightly forward on the ski, we get a mechanical advantage to offset this disparity. For a lot of manufacturers, this is one of the only differences between their men's and women's ski models. Ideally, the ski company has also moved the sidecut slightly forward as well to keep the skier centered in the turn. Additionally, there have been many changes in boot fitting philosophies to address this physiological difference, but the ski mounting point still remains a widely embraced way to compensate for this challenge.
Do Women Have to Ski a Women's Ski?
Of course not. We recognize that every woman is built differently. The ski industry, unfortunately, did itself a large disservice in the late 90s by debuting women's specific skis that were wimpy noodles with flower-laden top sheets. That misstep tarnishes the reputation of women's specific skis to this day. Fortunately, ski manufacturers pivoted and learned from their error. Iconic women's skis like the K2 Lotta Luv and Blizzard Black Pearl have shown that women's specific skis can be excellent tools for progressing female skiers of a wide range of ability levels. If you are a taller, more aggressive skier, will you do equally well or better on a man's or "unisex" ski model? That is completely up to you. Look at Lindsey Vonn- there are a lot of women skiers out there on men's equipment who do just fine.
At our ski shop, ski sales are heavily demo-driven. Probably about 90% of our in-store customers test two or more pairs of skis before making a purchase. The brands that have the most consistent positive feedback are the ones spending more time and money making significant women's specific geometry. So while I cannot speak for every woman who skis, I know a majority are benefiting from products engineered to work with our anatomical differences in mind. In the end, our ski wall is made up of what we believe are the best skis in each category. If there is a ski that is not offered in a women's version but is sold in lengths that are appropriate for a large number of female customers, we will consider it, and if it skis better than the competition, we may choose to include that in our collection. We would recommend our consumers try to approach women's skis with a similar mindset. More often than not, the women's model is going to ski better, but sometimes, it doesn't exist, so in the end, buy what skis best.