Skiing

[Halitosis]

It’s been 20 years, 2 kids and 20lbs since we last went skiing but are going for it before we get any more brittle.
Any advice on decent ski wear brands would be appreciated - particularly gloves - and is second hand gear usually still up to the task or a no-no? Thanks

[snowman]

Skiing gear (especially clothing) is very fashionable, so you can pay a fortune for the latest styles or look horribly out of fashion on the slopes.

If that doesn't bother you, then quality second-hand clothes are fine.

Gloves? Well, you can spend a couple of hundred, but you can get acceptable ones from Decathlon for £20 and, unless you're venturing to Canada in January, they'll be plenty warm enough. (ETA just noticed you're in Scotland, if you're skiing there I believe it can get quite chilly - Some people say mittens are better for really cold weather, but you lose some dexterity, obviously).

The same applies to jackets, trousers, hats, etc.

A decent pair of sunglasses is a must and some, not too tinted, goggles are a good idea for skiing in falling snow.

Most people wear helmets these days and, like everything else, you can buy crazily expensive ones and cheap basic ones - There are different standards of protection, but they don't always relate to the price you pay.

I've been skiing for 38 years and am hoping to go this winter after a couple of missed years due to COVID and other plans.

M

[Saint-Just]

Before you buy any gear go to the gym at least twice a week between now and your departure and do the gym classes. You’ll thank me when you come back.

[HookedSeven]

Before you buy any gear go to the gym at least twice a week between now and your departure and do the gym classes. You’ll thank me when you come back.

Absolutely this. Concentrate on leg and core strength. You’ll have more fun and reduce the risk of hurting yourself.

If you’ve got a TKMaxx nearby it’s probably worth a quick look for gear. They typically have a lot of old season stuff and sometimes you can get pretty lucky with prices. I picked up a 3L Gore-Tex jacket last year for €70. If you’re buying for the whole family you’ll almost certainly find something.

https://www.quiksilver.de/mamatus-3l...QYTJ03168.html

[Halitosis]

Good advice thanks. We're going to a high altitude resort in the Alps at Christmas so are expecting it to be cold. Renting skis, boots, poles and helmets out there. Looking good on the slopes is wishful thinking so good performing gear is far more important than the latest season's styles and colours. I'm wondering if I can apply a similar approach to golf clubs, where spending X on second hand high quality equipment is better than brand new cheap stuff.

On the fitness front, I wish I had the motivation to go to the gym but am settling for a few miles of dog walking and 60 squats a day. I fully expect the wife and I will take a refreshment break between blue runs while the teenage sons go hairing about the mountains.

[yumma]

As others have said, you can spend a fortune or a few quid. I have found some perfectly good stuff available in Decathlon at very good value. One area I wont skimp on is gloves/mittens (I have both), there is nothing worse than painfully cold fingers and the lost of dexterity associated with crippling cold. Some hand warmers stuffed down the back of the glove and Icebreaker glove liners can help here too. Also a cheap snood for stopping a draft down your neck is a godsend. Good socks too.

60 squats at day is a good start, try and add in and by lunging will further add to difficulty and bring balance and some core into the equation. Don’t forget your calves too, maybe some heel raises and some back-bridges to help hamstrings and core too. Wall sits are good too. Anything to build a bit of strength, stamina and shed a few pounds will add massively to your enjoyment. Body weight training is more than adequate, you don’t need to visit a gym.

[GOAT]

Sportpursuit have some good deals on higher end stuff like Spyder sometimes
Worth keeping an eye, especially this time of year

[craig1912]

https://www.revolutionrace.co.uk/men...ts/ski-jackets

Not a name a lot of people have heard of but, good quality. I’ve got one of their jackets and a few other bits and bobs.

[MCFastybloke]

I went every year until i met my new wife in 2007,had some nice outfits,at the time lol. Two years ago i came back to it with a little trepidation, i bought some of last years, maybe even the year before for very little money from Portstewarts ebay shop. The outfit was fine. I think i spent less than a £100 on everything. I loved it but covid kill of any further visits. Just need some Ski/boarding mates.

[The Doc]

Christmas and Jan in the Alps can be very very cold
I've seen minus 20 in Val Thorens at the high stations and minus 10 in the village.

Layers, layers, and if you ski every year then buy some quality gear.
Otherwise TK Max is a good shout.

[adrianw]

I like spider stuff, but it isn’t the cheap end of the market

[HookedSeven]

I like spider stuff, but it isn’t the cheap end of the market

The two most common lines in TKM seem to be Quiksilver/Roxy and Spyder. Now much online but last time I was in a store they had a lot of the better jackets with heavy discounts.

https://www.tkmaxx.com/uk/en/search?...inStock&page=0

[mr noble]

Spyder spectacularly sold themselves out a couple of years ago and went from the poshest most expensive kit on the slopes, to the next Lonsdale/Kangol/Pierre Cardin.


If you have a Trespass shop near you, they’re worth a look. They’re at the cheaper end but have an eye on quality too.

Another tip…..if you’re skiing for 5 days, you’ll need 5 pairs of socks, and if you’re skiing, (rather than snowboarding) well fitting comfy socks can make a big difference to your overall enjoyment. Thinner socks give a lot more feedback through the boot than the big think fluffy things you’ll find for £4.99 in some ski shops. Avoid those. Most pro skiers wear very thin socks and some don’t wear any at all.

I’d also say, if you think you’re going to get a good few weeks/years on the piste before hanging up your skis, personally I’d recommend buying your own boots. One of the biggest factors in skiing is having a well fitted and comfy boot. Not always possibly from a hire shop. I’ve never bought a pair of skis in 40 years of skiing, but I’ve never hired a pair of boots. (Apart from when I was a kid)

I’m in the position you’ve been in, OP. 2nd kid is 6 months old and I’ve not skied since 9 months before my first kid was born. We are planning to take them, but I know it won’t be the same, not for a few years yet.

Have a fantastic time!

[mr noble]

Forgot to say, the justification for buying boots……if they cost £60 a week to hire and £200 to buy your own….you only have to go 3/4 times before you’re saving money having your own boots, and they’ll fit properly, and you’ll not get sores or aches.

Nothing worse than killer foot pain while skiing.

[Saint-Just]

Forgot to say, the justification for buying boots……if they cost £60 a week to hire and £200 to buy your own….you only have to go 3/4 times before you’re saving money having your own boots, and they’ll fit properly, and you’ll not get sores or aches.

Nothing worse than killer foot pain while skiing.

I entirely agree with buying boots. But not with the last part of your sentence
The fact is you lean on the front of the boot with your shin when you ski, and you have to lean heavily on a part of your body that is not used to it. I always found it at best uncomfortable (by the end of the first day), becoming downright painful on day 2 and sometimes 3.

[Robsmck]

I would agree around buying your own boots. Apart form the difficulty in getting a good fit with a rented pair, you could spend hours of your holiday sat in the rental shop trying to get that fit. Also, AFAIK, boots haven't changed much over the past 30 odd years, proper 4 clip ones at least, unlike skis which have evolved enormously.
And portstewart clothing company is a great shout for clothing.
Enjoy.

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[Halitosis]

I’d recommend buying your own boots.

Funnily enough we did buy boots on the final day of our last ski holiday in 1999. They never saw snow as my wife fell pregnant thereafter.
I’ve read that the plastic can become brittle with years of storage so we won’t be risking taking them - plus technology has no doubt moved on.

[adrianw]

Spyder spectacularly sold themselves out a couple of years ago and went from the poshest most expensive kit on the slopes, to the next Lonsdale/Kangol/Pierre Cardin.


If you have a Trespass shop near you, they’re worth a look. They’re at the cheaper end but have an eye on quality too.

Another tip…..if you’re skiing for 5 days, you’ll need 5 pairs of socks, and if you’re skiing, (rather than snowboarding) well fitting comfy socks can make a big difference to your overall enjoyment. Thinner socks give a lot more feedback through the boot than the big think fluffy things you’ll find for £4.99 in some ski shops. Avoid those. Most pro skiers wear very thin socks and some don’t wear any at all.

I’d also say, if you think you’re going to get a good few weeks/years on the piste before hanging up your skis, personally I’d recommend buying your own boots. One of the biggest factors in skiing is having a well fitted and comfy boot. Not always possibly from a hire shop. I’ve never bought a pair of skis in 40 years of skiing, but I’ve never hired a pair of boots. (Apart from when I was a kid)

I’m in the position you’ve been in, OP. 2nd kid is 6 months old and I’ve not skied since 9 months before my first kid was born. We are planning to take them, but I know it won’t be the same, not for a few years yet.

Have a fantastic time!

I had a look on TKM site lots of spider and Deinese stuff, I always assumed it was surplus or old stock, snow and rock still seem to be selling this years stuff, I couldn’t find a jacket anything like mine though.

[Montello]

Spyder spectacularly sold themselves out a couple of years ago and went from the poshest most expensive kit on the slopes, to the next Lonsdale/Kangol/Pierre Cardin.


If you have a Trespass shop near you, they’re worth a look. They’re at the cheaper end but have an eye on quality too.

Another tip…..if you’re skiing for 5 days, you’ll need 5 pairs of socks, and if you’re skiing, (rather than snowboarding) well fitting comfy socks can make a big difference to your overall enjoyment. Thinner socks give a lot more feedback through the boot than the big think fluffy things you’ll find for £4.99 in some ski shops. Avoid those. Most pro skiers wear very thin socks and some don’t wear any at all.

I’d also say, if you think you’re going to get a good few weeks/years on the piste before hanging up your skis, personally I’d recommend buying your own boots. One of the biggest factors in skiing is having a well fitted and comfy boot. Not always possibly from a hire shop. I’ve never bought a pair of skis in 40 years of skiing, but I’ve never hired a pair of boots. (Apart from when I was a kid)

I’m in the position you’ve been in, OP. 2nd kid is 6 months old and I’ve not skied since 9 months before my first kid was born. We are planning to take them, but I know it won’t be the same, not for a few years yet.

Have a fantastic time!

I bought a Spyder jacket at a massive discount. It’s excellent but I’d have never paid its £800 rrp.

Got if off SportPursuit.

I ski 2-3 weeks a year and own all my kit. Worth buying if you go regular and it avoids the hassle of getting fitted by some grumpy kid in the hire shop.

Good kit make the whole experience more enjoyable.

[snowman]

Take some of the advice with a pinch of salt.

It's not bad advice, but it's doubtful you will need to worry about the level of feel through your socks for a few years, for example.

Far better as a novice skiier to have warm toes than ultimate feel.

Buying boots and not skis is good advice, initially at least, but don't worry about your boots shattering, it just won't happen.

I have a pair of boots I bought in 1990 or thereabouts and I only stopped wearing them because the lining was getting thin and my feet cold.

To be honest, they were probably always too stiff for a recreational skiier (Dachstein V3 Pros) and the mid range boots I bought to replace them are softer, but easier to ski well in at my level.

M



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[helidoc]

Decathlon stuff is great, nearly all my gear is. I would buy a helmet, as two rentals is the same as buying it. If you are going to go every year, I would get your own boots too.

D


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