Cross-country ski size by weight

Cross-country ski charts are printed by skier weight, with height as a rough check. At 160 lb (73 kg) the brand columns give 175–201 cm for a recreational classic ski and 177–186 cm for a skate ski.

1Skier 175 cm · 160 lb (73 kg)
2Skate, brand columns 177–186 cm
3Classic (dashed: top) 175–201 cm

Cross-country ski length by skier weight: the span across the brand columns (Rossignol, Fischer, Atomic, Madshus) for classic and skate skis, in centimetres.

Length by weight

Weight	Band read	Classic, all columns	Skate, all columns
100 lb (45 kg)	45-55 kg	165–186 cm	163–178 cm
120 lb (54 kg)	45-55 kg	165–186 cm	163–178 cm
140 lb (64 kg)	55-65 kg	174–196 cm	172–184 cm
160 lb (73 kg)	65-75 kg	175–201 cm	177–186 cm
180 lb (82 kg)	75-85 kg	184–206 cm	182–192 cm
200 lb (91 kg)	85-95 kg	194–207 cm	187–192 cm
220 lb (100 kg)	>95 kg	195–207 cm	190–192 cm

Weight table: Nordic ski sizing guide (brand columns by weight), which prints each brand's column side by side. Checked 2026-10-21. Pounds are converted from the printed kilograms (1 kg = 2.20462 lb); a weight exactly on a band edge reads both bands.

The brand columns, as printed

Recreational classic skis (cm)

Weight	Rossignol (Delta, R-Skin Ultra, X-Tour)	Rossignol (Evo, backcountry)	Fischer	Atomic	Madshus
<45 kg	176	165	179	174	177
45-55 kg	176-186	165	179	174	177-182
55-65 kg	176-181 (S), 186-196	175	179 (S), 179-189	174-181	182-187
65-75 kg	181-186 (S), 191-201	175-185	179-189 (S), 184-194	181-195	187-197
75-85 kg	186-196 (S), 201-206	185	184-194 (S), 194-199	195-202	192-202
85-95 kg	201-206 (S), 206	195	194-199 (S), 199-204	202	197-207
>95 kg	201-206 (S)	195	204 (S)	—	207

Recreational skate skis (cm)

Weight	Rossignol	Fischer	Atomic	Madshus
<45 kg	163-167	171	172	—
45-55 kg	163-173	171-176	172-178	172
55-65 kg	173-180	176-181	178-184	172-177
65-75 kg	180-186	181-186	184	177-182
75-85 kg	186-192	186-191	184-190	182-187
85-95 kg	192	191	190	187
>95 kg	—	—	190	192

"S" marks the stiff version of a ski. Rossignol's and Fischer's classic columns print a stiff and a regular figure in the middle bands, so both are kept and the span covers them. The backcountry Rossignol Evo column runs shorter than Rossignol's touring column in every band. At 160 lb the classic columns read Rossignol (Delta, R-Skin Ultra, X-Tour) 181-186 (S), 191-201; Rossignol (Evo, backcountry) 175-185; Fischer 179-189 (S), 184-194; Atomic 181-195; Madshus 187-197.

Height as a cross-check: Madshus

Madshus's adult guide sizes by height, for classic skis with skins, crowns or wax and for skate skis. Kunstadt's text rule is the same idea in words: "Classic skis should be 10-30 cm taller than the skier", and "skate skis can range from the skier's height up to 15 cm taller".

Height	Classic	Skate
145 cm (4' 9")	160-170 cm	150 cm
150 cm (4' 11")	170 cm	155-160 cm
155 cm (5' 1")	175 cm	160-165 cm
160 cm (5' 3")	180-187 cm	165-170 cm
165 cm (5' 5")	182-192 cm	170-175 cm
170 cm (5' 7")	190-197 cm	175-180 cm
175 cm (5' 9")	192-200 cm	180-185 cm
180 cm (5' 11")	202-210 cm	185-190 cm
185 cm (6' 1")	202-210 cm	190-195 cm
190 cm (6' 3")	207-210 cm	192-195 cm
195 cm (6' 5")	207-210 cm	192-195 cm
200 cm (6' 7")	207-210 cm	192-195 cm

Height table: Madshus adult cross-country size guide (published by SkatePro). Where the height and weight readings disagree, this site shows both rather than choosing. Race skis are not covered.

Related sizes

For downhill skis see ski length by height and the ability guide; for boots, mondopoint sizing. Snowshoes are sized by the same kind of load rule: snowshoe size by load. Poles: trekking pole length. Size XC skis with your own profile

Published starting points, not a fitting. See the methodology for sources and exclusions.