What's Your Pole Length?
Ski poles are a personal choice, after all, they're yours. We've polled the pros, and the audience on poles, and the results are interesting.
Poles are the least important part of your kit, let's get that out of the way. They do however have a chance to make significant improvements to your skiing adventure, so "least important" certainly does not mean "not important." In fact, I actually respect a really nice ski pole, especially from brands like Cascara, Folkrm, and Kang, among the many others intentionally trying to perfect what this product can be.
Traditional Ski Pole Sizing
Like many, I have always subscribed to the idea that ski pole sizing for most skiers is as simple as grabbing a ski pole, flipping it upside down, holding it underneath the basket, and seeing which one makes my elbow go into a 90 degree angle. Trick of the trade.
With respect to park skiers, it seems like the size is what fits the skier's desires that day. With respect to those ski touring, they're adjustable, so who cares.
The Dilemma
Many of the people that I ski with regularly seem to be using poles one or even two sizes down from their measured length. So what's the right answer? Is it truly just personal preference, or is there a real benefit?
I recently just went from a 125cm pole to a 122.5cm (thanks to Peter at Cascara) and it feels really good. I still don't know if it's just a nice pole, or if that size change made a difference.
To maybe help with this, I've asked a bunch of athletes about their pole size, and here's what they said:
What The Pros Are Actually On
- Piper Kunst — 5'5", on 115cm
- Sander Hadley — 6'2", on 115–120cm
- Alex Hackel — 5'9", on 115cm
- Donny Pelletier — 5'11", on under 115cm
- Hilary Mccloy — 5'8", on 115cm (down), 125cm (up)
- Andrew Drummond — 6'2", on 115cm (down), 135–145cm (up)
- Krystin Norman — 5'0", on 98cm
- Syd Ricketts — 5'0", on 90cm
The Instagram Poll
Additionally, I asked Instagram what size pole people used, and the votes looked like this:
Keep in mind, no 130+ sizing, because tall people have enough nice things going for them.
So What Does It All Mean?
Realistically nothing, but it does seem like people like a 115cm. There's some thought behind these choices, with Sander Hadley saying "short poles keep my tall ass more forward." But for the most part, I think people like what they like because they like it.
You tell me, is there an optimal pole size for everyone?