area of the ski is what matters - people use base width underfoot as a proxy for ski area. if it was only the area "underfoot" that matter snowlerblades wouldn't be the ski equivalent of a $10 backalley blowjob
All sidecut is not the same - where matters as well as how much, so do tip profile, yadda, yadda yadda. Same with flex - theres more than stiff or floppy,