What Wagner Skis Can Do for Women

Your skis should match your skiing, not a marketing department’s idea of what women want. 

We at Wagner Custom firmly believe that every skier is best-served by a ski that’s made exactly for them. Thus when it comes to women’s skis, we don’t build women-specific skis as a category, but we customize each ski to each woman.

Powder doesn't know your gender, either. 

The short story of why this matters is having a ski built for you will make skiing effortless, easier, and more fun. Which, of course, is the point of this whole sport.

But to understand more deeply why a Wagner Custom might serve women better than mass-produced skis on the shop wall, we need to dive into what’s currently happening in the market right now.

Forget "Women's Specific" 

In recent years, the pendulum has swung back from brands offering dedicated women-specific skis to offering only unisex models in a wider array of sizes. What is going on here? Are women’s skis just a bunch of marketing BS, or are brands cutting back on costs?

First, let’s lift the hood and expose a truth: Even at the height of the women’s ski boom, many brands touting women-specific constructions were really just slapping on a pretty topsheet on a smaller size and coming up with a name that would better suit something in the “feminine hygiene” aisle. (Among recent ones we have endured: the Secret, Lux, and Temptation.)

Of course, there were (and still are) brands whose dedicated women’s skis boasted truly different constructions, but it was difficult if not impossible to tell the difference. The recent move back to unisex is a positive one at least in terms of transparency, with brands like Fisher embracing the same construction for all with slogans like “Passion knows no gender.”

Your Ski Knows Your Strength & Style

Which brings up the age-old question, does a ski know what’s in your pants? Do we even need women-specific constructions at all?

Katy rips it up on the groomers.

To answer this, let’s look at what a ski does know: your strength, ability level, and weight. Women, on average, have 26 pounds less skeletal muscle mass than men and an average of 33% less lower-body strength, according to a study done for the military. So, while women may win in strength-to-weight ratio (not to mention pain tolerance, longevity, and ability to follow Ikea instructions), they’re still lighter and less physically powerful, on average, than their male height counterparts.

Shorter isn't always the answer. Some ski companies argue this can be solved by serving women a shorter ski—and many brands making unisex-only skis are strategically putting less metal in the shorter sizes to make them friendlier for lighter weight or less skilled skiers. (This is exactly what women’s specific skis did at all lengths, albeit with both less metal and lighter weight wood cores.) But shorter skis are less stable, meaning they get squirrely at speed, balk at push piles, and feel nervous in variable terrain and conditions. Thus beginner women especially—precisely those who need more confidence—are chronically fed with skis that are too short. 

Heather skis the cliffs at Irwin, CO.

Other brands seek to solve this size issue by offering the option of a carbon vs Titanal laminate in the same model. This might serve some female skiers—women who want less swing weight and a more responsive feel can opt for the carbon and still be on a proper length. The problem with this approach is that the options are limited, thus women may not be able to choose a lighter weight option in the ski that’s right for their terrain preferences. 

The Wagner Advantage 

The other (better) option, if we do say so ourselves, is for women to try fully custom skis made by Wagner. We take into account your weight, height, power, aggressiveness, skiing style, skiing goals, and terrain preferences to custom make a ski that will respond seamlessly to your input.

Are you a lightweight expert with an aggressive turn? Or a strong beginner who wants a ski to grow with you? Whatever the case may be, we’ve got you. We’ll walk you through every step of the process, so even if you don’t know anything about skis or what you think you want, we’ll help get you dialed.

Women lead the charge uphill.

With Wagner Custom, there’s no guesswork as to what’s under the topsheet, no struggle with a ski that’s too short, too long, or too heavy, and no shop bros talking down to you. We guarantee every ski we make, so you can rest assured you will get a ski that’s perfect for you. Book an appointment with our ski designers today and get started.

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Article by Kimberly Beekman

Kimberly Beekman is the former editor-in-chief of the late, great Skiing Magazine (RIP), and a longtime editor of SKI Magazine before that. She currently uses the title of “freelancer” as a beard to ski powder all over the world. She lives in Steamboat, Colorado, with her wonderful daughter and terrible cat.