Affordable but lovely Ski Wear

[Chicinwellies]

Aside from spying a very nice £600 Canada Goose Jacket, (nearly the price of my accomodation for the 10 days), Im in need of ski wear for January. Would Love to mask the crazily inept attempts at plunging myself down mountains with some chic and half attractive ski wear that won't require a remortgage....

Are you new to skiing? Don't spend a fortune on gear until you're sure you like it enough to go again.

Decathlon do good entry-level skiwear - not very trendy, but totally serviceable. It is worth spending a bit on base layers that breathe, rather than the very cheap fleece ones which make you sweat. Merino wool is the best material if you can stretch to that (e.g. icebreaker). Then keep outerwear cheap and cheerful. Look for the waterproof rating on jackets and trousers - 5,000 is basic, 10,000 is totally adequate to most people's needs, 20,000 is top end and probably unnecessary. If you're learning to snowboard, get trousers that are at least 10k as you'll be on your bum a lot to begin with!

If you want slightly nicer brands than decathlon, Snow and Rock have some stuff on clearance at the moment too www.snowandrock.com/c/sale/womens-clothing.html

If you e never skied before, get it from Aldi or Lidl. It’s perfectly good.

TK Maxx has a range of skiwear.

I go every year and if I fancy an expensive brand (Poivre Blanc, Spyder etc), I buy it off ebay. Often the kit is in really good condition, because people spend a fortune and only go once!

If I can't find anything I like at the bay of fleas, then I trawl through Sports Direct, Go Outdoors etc to pick up bargains.

I second tiny's recommendation for merino. I have a foul looking proper Brynje mesh vest that I wear, which wicks away the sweat and then I layer merino over the top of that. I don't even worry about it being special sports merino, because merino is merino is merino and I don't like it mixed with anything else.

I would also say socks are worth spending money on, as you need a decent pair of properly fitted socks. I like Salomons but go to Snow & Rock and try a few on, as it will depend on how wide your feet and calves are.

I'm a big fan of ski mits, which I wear with a merino liner. I've never found gloves that kept my fingers warm, but mits work really well for me & means I can put a hand warmer in them, if it is really cold.

Which resort are you going to?

Yes, Aldi do good merino base layers.

eBay : portstewart-clothing-company

Dare2be stuff was cheap and did the job for me...

I'd splurge on thermal base layers and decent gloves and save on the rest. January can be really cold.