Powder Skis: Do You Need 110 mm or Wider?
Wide skis make deep snow easy, but they're specialists. Here's what our catalog's 238 skis of 110 mm and wider have in common, and who they suit.
SkiTrader may earn a commission from shop links; it never changes the order of prices.
On a deep day, nothing beats a wide ski. It rides up on the snow instead of diving into it, so you can relax, turn when you want and keep your speed. On firm, groomed snow the same ski takes more effort to put on edge. So who should own one? We looked at the adult skis in our catalog that are 110 mm or wider underfoot.
What counts as a powder ski
There's no official line, but by around 110 mm the labels change. Below that width, most skis in our catalog are sold as all-mountain. From 110 mm up, makers and shops mostly call them freeride and powder skis:
| Waist width | Models | Most common labels | Typical shortest size | Typical longest size |
| 110–119 mm | 190 | freeride, powder, then all-mountain | 174 cm | 190 cm |
| 120 mm and wider | 48 | powder, then freeride | 178 cm | 190 cm |
A few things stand out:
- They're long. The typical powder ski starts at 174 to 178 cm, against about 164 cm for the typical unisex ski. Longer skis give more float and stability in deep snow, and many powder skis carry a lot of rocker, which makes them ride shorter than they measure.
- They're rarely made for women. Only 9 of the 190 skis between 110 and 119 mm are women's models, and none of the 48 at 120 mm and wider. Most women who want a powder ski choose a unisex model, and the length usually decides.
- A few are built for touring. 28 of the 110–119 mm skis also carry a touring label, but only 2 of the widest ones. Weight matters on the way up, and the widest skis are mostly labeled for powder and freeride rather than touring.
Do you need one?
A powder ski makes sense if you regularly ski fresh snow, live or travel where big storms are common, or already own an all-mountain ski for firm days. If you ski mostly groomed runs or can only own one pair, a ski of 95 to 105 mm will handle the occasional powder day well enough. Our guides to how to choose skis and all-mountain vs freeride vs park skis can help you decide which width to make your main ski.
The wide skis most shops are stocking
These current skis of 110 mm and wider were in stock at the most US shops on 31 October 2026:
- Atomic Bent 110, 110 mm: 22 shops, from $525.
- Atomic Bent Chetler 120, 120 mm: 13 shops, from $599.
- Blizzard Rustler 11, a men's 112 mm ski: 10 shops.
- Salomon S/LAB QST Blank, 112 mm: 10 shops.
- Rossignol Sender 110 Open, a men's 110 mm ski: 10 shops.
- Salomon S/LAB QST X, 116 mm: 9 shops.
- Line Poisson, 110 mm: 8 shops.
Wide skis are stocked by far fewer shops than all-mountain skis: the most widely stocked all-mountain models were in stock at 40 to 48 shops. If you have your eye on one, it pays to compare early, before sizes sell out. Look at last season's versions too: when do ski prices drop? shows how much they typically save. Remember the brakes as well: a wide ski needs a binding brake at least as wide as its waist, as our guide to ski bindings explains.
Browse every ski by width on our skis page.