Ski equipment for school trip?

[user2848502016]

Hi, my teen daughter is going skiing with school next winter.
I would like to spread out buying what she needs over the next few months.
I'm absolutely clueless though! Never been skiing myself or been interested in it.
She will be hiring skis and boots but not clothing so we will have to provide this.

My list so far is:
Ski jacket
Ski trousers
Thermal base layers
Fleecy tops or jumpers?
Gloves
Goggles

Have I forgotten anything?
Any tips on brands that are good?
I was going to keep an eye out for second hand items on eBay/vinted (as she is likely to only need this stuff for this one trip), but are there any specific ski equipment sites selling or hiring used gear?

Also my daughter is petite- UK size 6/8 and only 5'1" are petite ski clothes a thing or should I be looking at children's ranges?

Any general tips also welcome!

I would add ski socks and a neck warmer to your list

Take a look in sales at the end of this season March/April. Try brands like Dare2be and mountain warehouse.

There are also lots for sale on eBay. There are also companies who will hire out ski gear so see if you have one locally. Our school has one that came in with the clothes available

I just take one fleece. Decathlon half zips are perfect and cheap. Most sweatshirts are a bit bulky esp hoodies. When is she going? If Easter it could be hot… my first school trip was then and all I had was heavy jumpers! Bad idea!!

A zip line pass holder for ski lift pass - save her fumbling to get pass out and keep it safe

Some companies hire out clothing which would save a lot of money, especially if they won’t be used again, would that be an option?

We hired all ours for my daughters school ski trip last year.

Our daughter is going with school next week and we have hired her jacket and outer trousers.

The shop did a package deal which included the hire plus to keep; top/bottom thermal layers, 3 pairs of socks, gloves, sunglasses, visor, suncream, ski tie, neck warmer plus we brought a couple of extra fleeces and they said that's all she should need. Total was £155.

Vinted is your friend here. No need to buy anything new!

Ski jacket and trousers are a must. Can wear leggings and normal tops underneath, unless they're going at a really cold time of year. Any fleece or sweatshirt will be fine as a mid layer.

Ski gloves.
Ski socks x3.
Neck warmer.
Goggles.
Something to wear on their feet when not skiing - snow boots, walking boots, anything waterproof with grip.

That's it really! They'll usually get helmets with their ski hire.

One tip I would suggest is a phone lanyard to wear round their neck. It's very tempting to take your phone out when on chairlifts to take photos, but very easy to drop and never see again!

Oh and yes, given her size you'll deffo get away with teen sizes.

She'll be going in January so likely cold! Layers sound like a good idea though

This sounds good, was it a local shop or online?

Vinted
decathlon for thermals and socks

Keep an eye out at Lidl and Aldi for their specials weeks, their gear is decent. I have Lidl thermals and they are better than my merino wool ones. Sunglasses (polarising lenses) and a sports strap in case they come off I would suggest because unless it's blizzards they are more comfortable than goggles (I never wear goggles as I need prescription lenses, my prescription sports sunglasses aren't quite the right prescription as 12 years old but still going strong, great investment!)

Was also coming to suggest Aldi and mountain warehouse. I have an Aldi jacket and MW salopettes, the kids have the opposite. Goggles are nice to have but sunglasses will do. MW gloves are nice, as are their base layers. I don't rate Aldi base layers as a bit scratchy (or at least they were 2 years ago). Apart from that, I'm sure in her normal clothing she has leggings and long sleeved tops. Hope she has fun!

DS is away on a ski trip for a week just now.

I bought a new dare2b jacket on eBay (which I will re-sell next winter), borrowed Salopettes from a colleague. 3 pairs of base layers - bottoms from mountain warehouse and heattech tops from Uniqlo to wear on alternate days. Didn’t bother with a mid layer for skiing and he reports he gets warm enough skiing. He’s got 3 or 4 hoodies/jumpers for evening.

also took goggles (amazon, not too pricey, DS says he’s wearing them all the time in preference to his prescription sunglasses), ski gloves, buff, hat. I wouldn’t spend money on fancy brands for a one off trip - 3 pairs on knee length socks for skiing to wear on rotation (amazon again).

some of the smaller stuff will make great stocking fillers if she’s going in January! Add spf cream and lip balms to your list.

It was instore, if you are near Sheffield I can give you the details or you might hopefully have something similar. But it's a good basic list of what they need. We have never been skiing so was a bit cluless really.

Assuming the school run this trip every year ask them for their kit list before you get anything.

Most jackets have a zipped pass pocket on sleeve or chest and you get scanned as you pass through the turnstiles.

What time is she going? Sports base layers can be reused. Sunglasses and woolly hat /earband for when not skiing or at cafes. Robust waterproof boots for walking around or sledding.

You should be able to get all you need via aldi / lidl / Ebay/ decathlon for under £100 & then you could resell some of it too. Thin glove liners are a good thing to add to your list too - running gloves work well.

It's a bit childish but I'd recommend sewing her gloves onto elastic that goes through her coat so she can't drop them. Someone recommended this to me when I first went skiing and I was very glad I did it. It's not cool, but it's even less cool to lose your gloves!

I'd be looking at getting the following second hand or cheap from Decathlon. You could hire it all but it'll be cheaper to buy and resell on Vinted after:

Ski socks (hiking socks won't cut it, ski socks are specifically designed to give support and padding for ski boots)

Ski gloves

Pair of thinner gloves for warmer days or non ski activities/evenings. If it's not snowing or particularly cold I prefer skiing in running gloves

Ski jacket with zip for ski pass

Trousers (I prefer salopettes)

Neckwarmer - one that can be pulled up to cover below the nose if needed

Goggles

A couple of base layers sets. Decathlons are very cheap and absolutely fine

Presumably they're all hiring helmets so no need for a hat

Take sun cream for her face, especially wearing goggles she'll be annoyed if she ends up with a slight sunburn with a goggles shape on her face. A few nice little bits to have that aren't equipment related is an SPF lip balm to keep in her pocket, it's amazing how you can get sunburn/snowburn, rechargeable hand warmers to put one in each trouser pocket for the periods where inevitably they're standing around waiting during lessons or whatever and a box of cereal bars or haribo or something similar to have one in her pocket for a snack. It can be quite tiring skiing!

Oh and a fleece for the evening is fine but over her base layer top and under her ski jacket I'd actually recommend those sports tops, half zip running type ones! They're thin but clingy and clingy with multiple layers is what you need.

You NEVER take your pass out! it is all RFID stuff now so you tap via your jacket

Echo the sun screen - make sure it's one specific for mountains with a lip balm on the top and not just a regular sun cream; they're not strong enough. Even in January it’s very easy to get burned on a sunny day.

Take a spare pair of ski gloves - if one pair gets wet in the morning she can dry them on a radiator and swap for a dry pair in the afternoon. Also - and I'm always banging on about this - a couple of small packs of tissues and keep one in a jacket pocket; your nose runs a lot in cold weather! A PP mentioned not needing a hat if wearing a helmet, which is perfectly true but I would definitely take one, if only to wear when out in the evenings - January can be extremely cold. Neck buffs are thin enough to pull up under a helmet and across your lower face if there's a cold wind , to provide an additional layer, so get a couple of these as they can get pretty manky after a day or two.

Factor 50 (never used a specialist one) and ALWAYS top up. Even on a dull day