GS skis

Question
My son has only grown in height, but not much in weight.   He is currently 65 pounds, 53 inches.  Last 2 seasons he skied an ELAN RCX 125.  If he uses the RCX 125 for slalom, what ski would you recommend for GS.  GS is his strength to begin with.  How many seasons might that ski take us?  Also, do you have boot recommendations--he is a street shoe 2.5.  Can we go to a 3 buckle?  Lastly, he wants to learn to snowboard (mostly carving--he is not into jumps).  Will that affect his skiing at this age?

Answer
Dear Dorothy --

If your son is taller, but not heavier, you should only change the slalom ski, if you go to a shorter ski with a higher sidecut to allow for quicker turn initiation.  Since a 125 cm is about the shortest ski you will get in that quality ski, I would just let him continue to work on his slalom using the same ski this year.  

If he is already doing very well in GS, don't feel you need to get him a new ski for GS yet.  Until he gets heavier, you may not want to change his ski.  If he has just grown quite a bit taller, you can expect that he will put on the weight, to add muscle to the bones, very soon.  He will need new skis when he does get heavier.  You might wait until that weight increase occurs, as it could well be around the holiday season.

Depending on the shape of his foot, your son can probably ski in a 3 or 4 buckle boot.  I recommend Nordica or Solomon boots as they have many good models of junior race boots.  Technica and Rossignol also have a number of good boots. I personally like Rossignol because they allow good forward flex without limiting lateral stiffness.  A very aggressive skier can also ski Langes, but Langes will inhibit a timid skier's development.  The best boot to buy is one that fits the whole foot comfortably without heel slip or side to side play.  A good ski shop with a patient boot fitter is the best place to buy, despite the fact you may pay a bit more for the boots.

As far as snowboarding goes, I don't think it will hurt his skiing, as any sport that increases balance and body sense will actually help his skiing.  However there are two issues to consider and discuss.  The first is that a person needs to be big enough to resist the weight of the snowboard, so most ski areas do not recommend starting snowboarding until 10 years old or older.  The other issue is that the learning curve in snowboarding is tough early on.  He could badly bruise a buttock or hip while learning, and worse, there is a high incidence of broken wrists while learning snowboarding.  Any of these injuries could seriously limit his race season.  I insist that new snowboarders wear the wristguards that trick skaters and skateboarders wear.  You may want to make that part of your agreement, if you allow him to try snowboarding.  

Please write back, if you want to discuss any of these recommendations further.