blade skiing vs. regular skiing

Question
I am a travel agent who has a client wanting to rent blades instead of regular skis.  Someone told him they are easier. He has skied before only a few times.  He also will have kids that are beginners.  Do you recommend the blades

Answer
Hi and thanks for the question.

Blades require more balance to ski, as they are shorter and provide a smaller base of support. Generally people who are strong skiers or who have a background in other balance type sports [skating, surfing, water skiing, skateboarding etc] find them easy to adapt to.

Lean a little forward and you will fall forward - the same goes for backwards and sideways. They are also a little more tricky to recover from if you are about to fall.


However; having said that, when skiing with kids, they can make it easier to manouver around them.  But not if they are bigger kids & you're going to have to be picking them up - then you really need good balance.


Another consideration is type of snow. Deep or icy and they will not make for a good day on skis. Deep snow they will get burried [need bigger surface area to stay afloat] and ice you need edges for grip.

They ae fun to play on, and they definately have benefits when skiing with kids - but it is all about balance. They are the fast track way to learn to balance too.

My suggestion would be to get short regular skis - shoulder height perhaps. But if he is planning to do a little skiing on his own as well - too short a ski will hinder his free ski time [i'v written alot about this in recent answers for people looking to buy equipment].

Hope this helps

lisa