Ski walking strengthens the heart muscle, hardens the body - it's a great sport, and besides - the opportunity to find additional points of contact with children. For regular walks, it is better to buy skis for a child than to rent at a ski resort. Therefore, before you decide to go for a purchase, we suggest you read the tips on how best to choose cross-country skiing for your child.
Now it is not difficult to choose skis in terms of the available assortment. They are wooden, semi-plastic and plastic. For the first experience of a skier a child is better to take wood or plastic with notches from slipping. Wooden, depending on the weather, glide differently. When the snow is wet and the air temperature is about zero degrees, the snow sticks to the skis and makes movement very difficult. To regulate the sliding of skis, special ointments are sold. They are selected depending on the air temperature at which they will be used.
How to choose the right ski?
Unfortunately, wooden skis are quite fragile. During the training of skiing, children often fall. Which ends with a broken tip of the skis or worse, in half. Here skis from plastic are yes! This is a real achievement in skiing. Plastic skis do not break! But they are very slippery. The first time they should not stand up, if they are without incisions. They slide forward, backward and even sideways, if you are standing on a rolled surface. Be sure to check the presence of anti-slip notches, their quality and the length of the notched surface.
It's better if you choose skis with fixed mounts and boots . You can immediately measure and evaluate how strong the shoes are. In the event that your child knows how to move on skis, you can buy plastic skis with a small number of incisions. The slip will be better then. For plastic skis there are also ointments. Better not neglect them. One ointment is applied under the mount, for retention, the other - on the tips of skis for slipping.
The length of the skis is determined by the height plus 15-20 centimeters. Children from two to six years of skiing should choose such that in height were slightly higher than the height of the child. It will be easier to cope with them during training.
It is better not to take ski poles for kids. Managing sticks and skis at the same time will be difficult for them. Let them learn to slide without them without leaning. And when everything becomes clear with a slip, then it will be possible to try with sticks. The height of the sticks should be on the armpits.
A teenager is better to choose skis, based on the style of running , which he plans to do. For example, for a ridge run, it's better to have a shorter ski, a growth of plus 10 centimeters. Skates for ridge run, as a rule, have the word "skating" in the title. Sticks for this style of movement are needed above the shoulder, that is longer than usual. You need to use sticks, a little mastered in this style.
In the classical style of the move, skis are used with incisions on the sliding surface and are longer, and sticks, as described earlier - under the armpits.
You can, of course, choose universal skis - these are skis, the length of which is between the first and second types.
When choosing ski poles, we must take into account that they differ in rigidity, weight and strength. Ideally, if you pick up a light, sturdy and tough stick, but such sticks are very expensive. Yes, it seems not surprising, but the price of expensive sticks can be 10 times greater than the price of the cheapest. It all depends on the quality.
The main thing is to take into account certain rules :
- in any case, do not buy ski poles longer than necessary,
- pay attention to the support of the sticks was rather big. Miniature legs - "paws" are used on the Olympic routes.
- Do not take the most expensive sticks, the child will grow over the summer and will have to take new ones.
The skiing mounts are of three types: soft, hard and semi-rigid. For the smallest skiers, it is better to choose soft fasteners or semi-rigid ones. But the soft fasteners are gradually withdrawing from production. The advantage of semi-rigid in front of rigid fasteners is that you can put on a warm winter footwear so that your child does not get cold feet, as he moves a little more and hesitantly. In this case, the shoes can be attached to the ski, like a shoe. The main thing is that the baby's leg does not fly out of the mount. Watch this. In the event that the leg crashes, the fixing must be completed. Older children can take skis with rigid mounts and ski boots.
Hard mounts, both adults and children, are conventionally divided into the old type - with studs and a newer one - more modern, SNS and NNN standards.
With the attachments of the old model, one can learn well only classical running. The ridge course is best mastered on skis equipped with modern model attachments, SNS or NNN standards. Therefore, if you do not plan to master the ridge, you can safely take any fasteners. If you choose the fastenings of a modern model, then for the child it is necessary to take the attachment for the children's boot. Of course, children's ski boots for modern fastening will cost more than simple, just like the mounts themselves. And do not forget that your baby is growing rapidly. Therefore, it will take one season or two to use purchased ski equipment.
When choosing shoes , you should know that skates are characterized by a more rigid sole when folded, in comparison with classic ones. In a ridge boot, the leg should move easily, along the ski, and on the sides it is rigidly supported. The brand of shoes is not so important. The main thing is that they are warm, comfortable and affordable. Determined with the size, do not forget that there must be a place under a warm sock.
So, the necessary equipment : children's skis, suitable fastenings, boots are warm and comfortable in size! All selected! What is missing? A! Ski suit! Be sure to stock up handy, for the movement of hands and feet, costume, gloves and a ski cap. It remains to wait for the winter and go to the forest! Enjoy your walks!