What pole length is the right one for you? Not usually a big deal because most ski or rentals shops will make sure you get the right poles. But here is the Rule of Thumb for these rest of you.

Skating Poles
If you are skating, current wisdom is to measure from the ground up halfway between your chin and your lower lip. Skating poles are longer than convential striding poles because they are angled more and you use them to push much further behind you. Swix has their recommendations for pole length on their website.They should also be stiffer because you will most likely put more weight on them. Most people use a good aluminum pole for skating rather than the entry level fiberglass pole you commonly see. Poles lighter than aluminum that are stiff enough for skating have stiff prices as well, commonly pushing the $100 mark. Or how about a nice pair of carbon fiber Swix Star poles for around $275?

Classic Diagonal Striding Poles
These poles are shorter than skating poles and the quick fit is to have them just come up even with your armpits. Another method is measure from the ground up halfway between your chin and your lower lip and then subtract 10 to 15 centimeters. Personally, I like mine on the longer side because when you get on the snow you will be standing on the thickness of a pair of skis and the tips of the poles will be sticking into the snow a little bit, making your poles effectively shorter than when you tried them in the store.

Proper way to grip the poles
By the way, the proper way to grip the poles is to run your hand UP through the straps from the bottom so you end up gripping BOTH the grip and the upper portion of the straps. This will allow you to push off the pole using your wrist as leverage versus having to grip the pole tightly so tightly it hurts in order to push off.