Hi all!
Just learned how to ski, but the suit I borrowed is super old and started getting wet.
I’m looking for something ideally made in Europe, if not, at least from a European-based company (and made outside), that would be good for a beginner, fairly light and packable. And water-proof. :)
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It’s a Polish company but my jacket says it was made in Bangladesh
Affordable options: Décathlon’s Wedze range is dedicated to skiing. I don’t ski but I often cycle in cold, heavy rain and my 500-series jacket has always been top notch.
Expensive options: a lot of Nordic/Scandinavian brands. They know their snow and winter gear. Didriksons, Fjällräven, Helly Hansen, Bergans etc… Here are a lot of examples.
Thank you for the suggestions, but don’t buy Decathlon. They announced that they’d be leaving russia after a significant backlash to their previous announcement of “nah, it’d cost us money”, but in reality, remained operational there, just in secret.
I’ll check out the other options, thanks again!
Yeah the whole Mulliez group is quite problematic. There was a quite a backlash internally when they decided to remain operative in Russia. Source: my wife works in one of their shops.
I really like the swiss shop Transa. idk how accessible it is from elsewhere.
But I’d recommend going in a physical shop and putting it on instead of buying online, as the size, fit and durability is very hard to judge online.
I always ski in my hiking jacket, which I also tend to use on rainy days throughout the year. It’s wind and water proof (I’d think wind is more important than water as I wouldn’t ski in rain, but you mention getting wet so what do I know), and has zippers under the armpits so I can cool down a bit if necessary. It is extremely thin and lightweight. The brand is Bergans (of Norway, middle end), but there are plenty of good options. Underneath I just layer up with wool until I’m comfortable.
Not really a specific jacket recommendation, more a general advice to get a good jacket you can use for other activities as well. For a beginner there’s no reason to have a jacket dedicated specifically to skiing.
I also ski in winter hiking pants. The problem with those is that they don’t go over the shoes in alpine skiing, which would have been more ideal. I can’t say it bothers me much though.
you mention getting wet so what do I know
I was skiing in around -5°C to -10°C and, apparently, that was low enough difference for my body heat to elevate the surface temp of the jacket to at least 1°C, which meant that snow that landed on me was melting. On day five the jacket’s waterproofing went away and for the next two days it was getting (slowly) soaked.
For a beginner there’s no reason to have a jacket dedicated specifically to skiing.
Hmm… I get where you’re coming from, but wouldn’t you say the opposite is also true? Might as well go hiking in a skiing jacket, no?
Sure - I had a snowboarding jacket as an all purpose one for a few years, and it was great. So I think it’s more about finding a good jacket that you could see yourself wearing in many situations.
And yeah, it makes sense that the snow could melt and all that, sounds extremely uncomfortable. In either case I’d want a waterproof jacket for sure. :)
Check out Montec / Dopesnow
A cheap option is using a warm jacket covered with a raincoat. Those are not specific to skiing so you can use them the rest of the year too.
Yes and no.
While that would work, sure, ski-specific gear has some great enhancements over regular gear. For example, ski jackets tend to have a pocket on the left sleeve, near the hand, where you can put your RFID ski-pass to quickly go through the lift gates without having to take your gloves off, secure the sticks, and fumble in your pockets for the card.
I keep my ski pass in the left front pocket of my jacket, never had any issues. Most people I know do the same. The ski passes have pretty good range.
Based on experience in French and Swiss alps, in case it’s regional.
Also based in the french alps and I put it in the pocket of my skipants. I’ve been using this combo for three years now and it has not failed me. Multiple layers also means adaptability for warmer weather instead of being stuck with a thick skicoat.
I’m using a Mammut Jacket (Swiss company), manufactured as far as I know by Schöffel (German company)
