Ski clothing for 4.5 year old

[EdPops]

Looking for help and advice on where to shop for skiwear for a 4 year old who'll be hitting the slopes (Alps) for the first time in Feb.

So many places seem to offer skiwear - from high st brands (Zara) to kids sports and outdoor brands (Decathlon, Muddy Puddles) through to high end ski stores and brands (Snow + Rock, Ellis Brigham) but prices range tremendously depending on where you look and I'm not sure what is and isn't up to scratch with some of the less specialist options.

At the one end I don't want to spend £300+ for clothing they'll grow out of by the time we get to go again, yet I don't want to buy cheap and have them wet and miserable the whole trip.

Any advice on shops and brands?
Any other skiwear tips for young kids?

I bought from sports direct for my 2 year old a few years ago (but the range of shops are more limited where i live). It was good quality, the jacket was used as a winter coat for about 3 years and it was on sale so great price

Vinted!

Sports pursuit are brilliant for kids ski wear. Just make sure what you pick arrives in time. My kids have had Klippi, Trespass and Spider stuff. All crazy cheap and simply brilliant. The thermals etc are all very reasonable too.

I would buy on vinted or charity shops as it is unlikely to last more than one holiday due to growing. I've just bought some Roxy ski clothes on vinted for my daughter. Skiing in February can be quite cold so I would spend more on warm gloves and merino wool base layers.

Decathlon, or vinted.

I bought mine North Face kit second hand from eBay, excellent quality, like new condition and not expensive. Coat was black so did him for a school coat then passed on to a friend. Ski trs and snow boots also passed on. Thermals, gloves from Aldi. This was 10yrs ago so now I'd look to Vinted! Have fun.

We don’t ski but my SIL is a big skier and has told us Aldi skiwear definitely holds up to the more expensive brands, especially the kids stuff.

We used to get loads from TK Maxx when mine were that age. My DD got the most gorgeous Poivre Blanc ( upmarket French brand) jackets from there and they had other good brands like Soyder and O'Neill too. Used to just get M&S thermals for them. Personally I'd rather go good ski brand second hand for jacket, trousers etc than high street brand.

Decathlon is great (and you’ll find the majority of the French kids wearing it). Also recommend Trespass - my 3 yo has a ski jacket he’s using for a general smart coat and will also do him on the slopes.

Mountain Warehouse. DD was fully kitted out from there and it’s lasted well - 2 ski holidays and daily use at Forest school.

Little Trekkers has some good deals, we got excellent gloves from there. But it’s a bit hit and miss. You couldn’t get a whole set of gear, but might get gloves and a fleece if you know what I mean.

Will you likely be going every year? If yes then I’d consider spending a bit more, after all the last thing you want is them being miserable and cold, but look for items that can expand as they grow. If DC is a girl then Roxy are amazing for this- there are 3 popper settings for length in DD’s jacket and salopettes so they’ve done 5 ski trips over 3 years. I have also always managed to find bargains- jacket in Roxy’s end of season sale, salopettes bought online from some random skate shop in derbyshire in a colour Roxy haven’t sold themselves for a couple of seasons. If you have a boy then maybe check out Quicksilver since that’s the brother/sister brand. Also North Face have stitching you can cut out in a lot of their kids ski stuff but I like that less as once it’s done it’s done so it can’t be brought up again to give to a younger sibling. Also Amazon have good stuff in random colours and sizes- I got 70% off sorel snow boots but they were only in 1 colour/size combo, luckily they worked for DD and 50% of helly hansen fleeces for both kids.

Vinted, Decathlon or Lidl/Aldi (although their ski weeks have been and gone so you may not find anything there).

Sadly I've found TKMaxx have very little ski stuff now compared to pre covid.

Decathlon, Trespass, TKMaxx (brands like Regatta, Dare2be, Columbia). Outer layers need to be waterproof and wind proof, base layers and light fleece.

Trespass is always good for kids snow wear as is mountain warehouse.

Vinted also great.

Vinted is your friend here, get Sorel snow boots (by far the best) I’m on my 5th pair from Vinted for my little boy, once he grows out of them I sell them for pretty much what I bought them for. Definitely look at Roxy for great quality. Decathlon is good for buts like gloves, buff etc. You only need 2/3 sets of thermals and socks, 2 x fleeces for kid layers.

Lego Wear ski jackets second hand.

Uniqlo Heat Tech thermals.

Trespass is fab for kids ski wear.

Lots of good suggestions already made, but we also have had some great stuff for the kids from Tog 24 over the years.

Some great recommendations here thanks, Trespass and Decathlon seem to have a good range. It's a shame not all the jackets and pants are listed with waterproof, windproof and warmth ratings but I presume if they're in the ski section they should be ok?

Any tips on what else to buy? Are things like balaclavas, neck tubes etc necessary on a nursery slope which is much lower down the mountain or will he get too hot?

Just kitted out DS for a school skiing trip entirely from Vinted. They have loads of practically new stuff on there as little ones grow out of their stuff so quickly

I would say usually not necessary re the balaclavas, but last year we had -8 down in the lower slopes where the kids were and we had to go and buy one. So handy to have but most years won’t get used.

(Don’t want to derail but if you have a family friendly ski company to recommend OP that would be fab. We’re going with Espirit for the second time next week. They were excellent last year but only limited number of resorts and we like to love around.)

My kids are much older now but we used to buy Nevica from Sports Direct.

One word of warning re buying second hand - ski wear has to be washed in suitable detergents. If they are washed using regular detergents then it ruins the waterproofing layer and the skiwear quickly becomes wet and cold. If you buy second hand you can't be sure what cleaning agents have been used before, but above anything don't be tempted to stick the clothes in your regular wash as you risk ruining them.

The Buff neck warmers are really good because they can be pulled up over the face when cold, pushed down when you’re warmer and the sizing is pretty much universal so they won’t be outgrown (lost is another matter though!). I often pull mine up just on the chairlifts. It’s not a given that the ski school will stay low down; I think it depends on the resort and on the ski school. We were just in Val d’Isere and the kids nursery slope used by the English ski
schools is at the top of one of the cable cars and the main area of greens once they progress is at like 3000 metres so gets cold! So I’d get one for everyone, they’re cheap on Amazon especially if you’re not colour fussy but can be quite expensive in resort.

Some ski stuff is literally just a shell. People ski at Easter in the full sun and might not want heavy stuff. If it’s from a reputable brand then I think you can probably trust that it’s water resistant but you want to make sure it’s insulated especially for the kids. You can always order stuff and return it though?

Also good point from @GoldenMalicious re improper washing and you’d have no idea until you fall over and end up with a soggy bottom! I’d only buy new personally.

Oh and 1 more tip - don’t buy pale coloured stuff. Granted this is more of an issue for girls than boys, but trust me, a week’s worth of dirt and hot chocolate spills can be impossible to get out of pastel pink, not to mention the state they look by day 4 of a week’s holiday 🤣. Then you get home and are chucking buckets of vanish at it, and probably fucking the waterproofing in the process. Go for darker coloured stuff.