Whether you’re looking for skin skis, double poling skis, or traditional classic skis, here’s how to find the perfect skis.

Buying a pair of skis can be challenging, and the shop can seem like a forest of models and options. So, how do you find the perfect skis for you?

On Sunday, we’ll start publishing our Big Ski Test for the 2023/2024 winter season. This year, we focus on double poling skis, skin skis, and poles. But how do you find the perfect skis for you? And should you choose double poling skis, skin skis, or traditional classic skis?

Langrenn.com had a chat with Magnar Dalen, Team Ragde Charge Pro Team Director. He has 30 years of experience in waxing, including many years as a wax tech for the Norwegian national team, and has a reputation for being exceptionally skilled at ensuring his skiers have great skis. 

What do you look for when picking skis for your Pro Team athletes? 

“‘Picking skis’ is a bit of a misnomer. It’s not as if we, who are responsible for the skis for the elite skiers, go into a warehouse with hundreds of skis and pick out the pairs we want. That’s a myth,” says Dalen, and explains: 

“What happens is that the factories send us a selection of skis they think will work for the skiers in question. Then, we test those pairs, keep the ones we like, and give the factory feedback on what we might be missing. For example, if we can get a pair that is a little softer, stiffer, and more open at the tip and tail, and things like that.” 

But for those who are not on national teams, Pro Teams, or other teams where they have professionals to “pick skis” for them, in other words, most of us, Dalen has some tips for finding the best skis for you and your needs. 

For some, it may be skin skis. For others, it may be traditional classic skis. But it’s the so-called double poling skis for more and more people. 

The article continues below.

Double Poling Skis

In recent years, pure double-poling skis have emerged as a separate sub-category of classic skis. What started as a specialty ski for long-distance professionals is becoming increasingly popular among recreational skiers as well. 

“Double poling is the skiing technique growing the most in long-distance skiing. And that’s not surprising, as more and more athletes also want to double pole in long-distance races,” says Dalen, and adds: 

“Double poling skis are very similar, so you can be reasonably confident that you’re getting skis close to those used by the elite.” 

What are double poling skis, and how do they work? 

“In simple terms, a double poling ski is a classic ski with a very small or low span, so it’s relatively flat. This means you don’t get any “shock absorption” that removes power from the poling. A regular classic ski has more spring to give you grip when you put your full weight on a ski and kick-off. But when you stand and pole and go up on your ‘toes’ to put all your weight into the pole, that tension becomes a brake, even if you don’t have grip wax on the ski.” 

But Dalen emphasizes that double poling skis don’t have better glide than other skis. 

“You don’t get better glide with double poling skis, but you avoid the braking effect with classic skis with more tension. You’ll notice this on flat terrain but mostly on gentle and steeper uphill. You’ll notice that it takes much less effort to ski on double poling than regular classic skis there.”  

What makes double-poling skis different from skate skis? 

“Skating skis are constructed completely differently to double poling skis. When you skate, you put all your weight on a ski and also put it on edge to push off. So, they are much stiffer than pole skis and built to give you the most speed for each push.”  

The article continues below.

Who should consider buying double-polishing skis? 

“Anyone who thinks they want to try double poling, whether they’re going to race or just want to pole more when they go ski touring, will benefit from double poling skis,” says Dalen, and explains further: 

“Almost all long-distance races have such a high proportion of double poling sections that it costs much less effort overall to pole than to go with kick wax. This applies to almost all skiers, including recreational skiers.”

What should you look for or ask about when buying double-poling skis? 

“You should buy skis from a specialist dealer with expertise in cross-country skiing and cross-country skis. And a lot has happened with double poling skis in the last couple of years. So, a good tip is to keep away from older models. If you’re offered a pair of old skis, i.e., older than the last two seasons, you should keep off, even if the price is tempting,” says Dalen.

“If you only need one pair of poling skis, you should go for an all-round pair with an all-round grind. This is often called a universal grind or universal cold. And it’s perfectly fine to use the base that the skis come with from the factory. If you doubt whether the salesperson has enough knowledge, you can ask them what kind of base they’re trying to sell you on the ski. The answer should be something along the lines of “universal,” “universal cold,” or “all-round cold” grind.” 

Read More: All you need to know about grinds and grinding.

Try the skis and bindings

Once you’ve got your pole skis, Dalen recommends using them often, finding out how they work, and experimenting with the bindings’ position. 

“Removable bindings have a zero position and usually three forward and backward adjustments. Elite skiers usually use minus two ‘clicks,’ i.e., behind the zero point. This gives better glide but slightly less control of the ski. If you are newer or have a ‘sitting’ poling technique, you may be able to gain better control of the ski, especially off-trail, by moving the binding slightly ahead of the zero point. And the best positioning of the binding may change as your technique develops,” he explains. 

“If you like to pole and enjoy pole skiing, you might consider expanding your ski fleet. It can be handy to have one pair that is dedicated to warmer, wetter conditions and is therefore a little stiffer and has a rougher grind. And one pair that is a little softer and with a slightly finer grind for cold conditions. Many people sleep better the night before a ski race if they know they have a pair that will work, no matter what happens with the weather between now and the start.” 

The article continues below.

Skin Skis

There are skin skis for all forms of classic cross-country skiing, from mountain tours and Sunday tours to everyday training and competitions right up to elite level, as well as models for children and juniors. 

Today’s top models of skin skis have properties and construction that make them not only good to grip and good to go uphill with, as the first skin skis were, but they have become skis that are also good to pole, that glide well on flatter terrain and downhill, and with turning properties that are entirely in line with other competition skis. 

Here, you can read more about different types of skin skis, their characteristics, and what you should look for when buying skin skis: 

Want to glide into winter on a new pair of skin skis?

Traditional Classic Skis

Even though both skin skis and double poling skis have taken off in the classic ski segment, there is no reason to scrap traditional waxable classic skis, says Magnar Dalen. 

“For traditional all-round cross-country skiing, such skis are a must-have.” He also points out that the cross-country pros in Ski Classics have several waxable skis and that some of the Pro Tour races still pay off to go with kick wax.”

Who should choose traditional classic skis? 

“Everyone should have good waxable classic skis in their ski fleet. If you’re going cross-country skiing or training on competition courses like Holmenkollen, regular classic skis will be much better than double-poling skis. These types of tracks are so hilly and technical that traditional waxable classic skis are the way to go,” says Magnar Dalen, and adds: 

“Some people always prefer to go cross-country skiing with kick wax and go fastest with wax. For example, we saw this with Justyna Kowalczyk when she was on our long-distance skiing team. It took a while before we realized that not everyone should double pole at Birken.”