Good brands for ski kit for a novice teenager

[tachetastic]

My DS will be going on his first school skiing trip at Easter and we have been given a list of stuff he needs. However, we are not a skiing family and I have no idea about which brands are good, except the über-famous celeb ones that cost thousands.

To get him ready we have done a few sessions at the Snowdome in Tamworth, which has been awesome, and I kitted him out with sale stuff from Mountain Warehouse, but the clothes (especially gloves) always come back soaking and freezing inside. On a school trip I cannot imagine him turning everything inside out and drying it each night on a radiator (nor any teenager).

Being honest, we are not skint and I am happy to spent several hundred on his kit so long as we get quality to reflect the price.

So in short I would be super grateful for any tips for good quality brands we should look at, and also retailers where there may be deals to be done.

Thank you!

snowleader is a good retailer.

I find picture organic are very good quality if you are willing to pay a bit more (not mega expensive but not the cheapest).

Look at the breathability and impermeability ratings, you want at least 10k on each.

I know you say you aren't skint, but have you looked on Vinted? My DD is currently away on a ski trip and I bought ski clothes off vinted on the basis, she unlikely to go again

I would absolutely look at Vinted if it meant getting slightly used great stuff at a good price. Most of our house has been furnished with furniture bought on Ebay at a fraction of what you would pay for it new (if you even could).

But I would still appreciate guidance as to what brands to look for.

High end
North face
HH ( hello Hanson)
Burton
Spider

Mid range
Animal
Vans
Roxy

Low
Range
Mountain warehouse
Trespass
Decathalon

TK maxx. Is worth a look

Mountain warehouse has done us fine multiple years.

Decathlon is ok quality and pretty cheap. Also look for second hand.

Decathlon for us. We bought 17yo ds gloves, socks, thermals etc etc and they were all great. He wasn't cold once.

My hapless teens have done 5 ski trips between them and tbh and they must dry stuff each night. Not sure how they sort but never been an issue

Decathlon all the way. Most stuff comes in a range of qualities (can tell by the prices). Never had a problem with any of their stuff.

Your son is probably still growing so don’t spend too much.
Personally I never scrimp on gloves.

Decathlon (near us) is great. We also have some second hand mountain warehouse stuff & norvica which is sports direct. None an issue.

You don’t need to spend several hundred.
Where I live, teens love north face so their kit would be a safe bet.
icepeak is a decent moderate brand. Plenty of kids will be in decathlon or MW too.
I’d get all the accessories from decathlon (gloves, socks, base layers). Wedze 500 you can’t go wrong with!
Dope and Montec are quite trendy with youngsters and a fairly new-to-skiing crowd.

There were salopettes and jackets in lidl this week, otherwise ebay/vinted, sports direct etc for a first set of clothes. You need ones with a semi-permeable membrane to keep dry though. Gore-Tex used to be the go to product to keep you dry, but I'm not sure which brands contain it now.

As a side, this type of around the neck sunscreen and lipsalve combi is handy like the pic.

This is spot on.

My boys are decked out in burton and AK which and we have also bought a whole DC outfit which was lovely, DC are the shoes brand but this gear is great and warm. The are 17 & 20, and fo every few years.

I would look on Vinted and eBay for small men's, but I would also look on "snow and rock" and on the brand websites directly, if you can hold out the prices drop in a few weeks as we hit end of season sales.

I would also be searching "snowboarding" as the jackets tend to be oversized and cover more bum area for falls.

I'd look on eBay or FB for second hand

Just to add even if you do buy new we have had a few years from snowboard gear as it's a bit big, and grab a belt.

So both my DS wear the jackets day to day, so it's sometimes worth getting something he likes.

If you really want to spend:

Rossignol
Salomon

&

https://arcteryx.com

Definitely invest in merino base layers. Probably won't need more than one pair of leggings and a couple of tops. They don't stink so can be worn multiple days.

Wait until mid March-ish. That's when most ski places are doing their end of season sales. Although don't leave it too long like I did one year, went to mountain warehouse for thermals and they had all their tshirts, shorts and sunhats in stock.

Decathlon and Trespass decent stuff without breaking the bank.

Two pairs of gloves a tip picked up from MN years ago. Adults play on the snow, kids play in the snow. They get their gloves soaking.

The Aldi and Lidl stuff is great. Mine have always used that and passed it down through their ages .

I am literally, like 10 minutes ago, back from a ski holiday.

Most teenage boys were wearing:

• North Face
• Burton
• Picture
• Dope Snow salopettes
• Montec

(And then plenty of decathlon, Dare 2B, Mountain Warehouse at a slightly more budget end)

Most seemed to be top to toe in black

Oh and Salomon!

And DS (14) was coveting an Arctyrex jacket!

Just buy multiple pairs of cheap gloves. There is little value in buying really expensive kit if your kid won’t dry it properly after a day on the slopes. Socks, you need a pair for every other day.

buying second hand can be fine but many people wash their gear with fabric softeners which ruins the waterproofing. So you may need to re-waterproof the second hand gear.

It’s a real myth that ski gear needs to be expensive. Decathlon and Mountain Warehouse is fine.

Yeh of course they are, because it’s massive on TikTok right now. DD has been shut down on that one 😂

My DS was too to toe in black with a black ski helmet and crazy colour goggles, he looked like he was off to commit a bank robbery!!

I bought an arc'teryx beanie hat from Vinted as a compromise, that still gets loads of use.