School Ski trip gear

[Hallebere]

Hello,

I was looking for advice on what brands etc to buy for my daughter's upcoming school ski trip. We aren't a family who have a lot of money and weve made sacrifices for her to go on the trip so any suggestions that are budget friendly but she won't feel like the odd one out put that do the job and keep her warm would be much appreciated. I feel overwhelmed and out of my comfort zone with it all. TIA
Here is the list I've been sent:
Ski Jacket – wear on the journey x1
Sallopettes (ski trouses) x1
Thermal top x 3-5
Thermal bottoms x 3-5
Tshirts for skiing x 5
Ski Socks x 5
Ski Goggles x1
Ski Gloves x1
Quarter zips/fleeces/jumpers for under ski jack x3
Neck warmers

In terms of t-shirts, anything but cotton basically! Cotton holds sweat, so will make her cold. Any 'sporty' t-shirt will do, look in Millets, Go Outdoors, or middle of Lidl in running/gym weeks. Though to be honest, I just wear my thermal, I don't put a t-shirt over the top.

That list is a bit overkill - three pairs of socks, two sets of thermals, three t-shirts, one midlayer top/fleece will do fine.

Vinted is great for salopettes/ski jacket/goggles/gloves, you'll get better stuff than Lidl for less money. I kitted out DSD in pretty much brand new Superdry stuff for less than £100.

I run hot, so this might just be me, but I prefer layers rather than a big padded ski jacket. Personally, instead I would get a waterproof soft shell jacket, a padded gilet, and a fleece-type mid-layer. I would also look for one thicker and one thinner pair of gloves (both waterproof), as I get too hot sometimes in the big padded ones.

She won’t need thermal bottoms there. It’s not that cold in the alps these days. We just wear cycling shorts under sallopettes - the long socks & boots are warm anyway. Often just wear running/ athletic base layers on top as well so you may already have stuff she can use. A couple of fleeces will be fine.

A buff is useful.
Save your budget for decent gloves & sunglasses, goggles.

if she’s not fit then some strength & conditioning work over next few months is a good idea. Lots of squats, wall sits and getting up and down off the floor.

how do you know what goggles are decent?

M & S Heatgen Plus thermals are brilliant, not the cheapest but she can wear the leggings as normal leggings over the colder months when she comes back, they have a selection of tops ranging from a crew neck, funnel neck with zip & a turtle neck, they also do bodies to prevent them coming untucked. If she needs jumpers, hoodies etc, look on Tiktok shop, they have amazing knitwear & hoodies starting at £8. Buy her thermal socks from Amazon, I can recommend Heatholders socks, suffering from Raynauds I make full use of thermals during the colder months & these are the best ones I have found.
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goggles usually fit better with a helmet (sometimes sunglasses don't fit at all)

@Hallebere find out if helmet hire is included. I would hope the school are making helmets compulsory.

We were in the same position as you when my daughter went on her school ski trip. Not a lot of money. I got everything off Vinted with the exception of ski socks which we got from Amazon and goggles, also Amazon.

I over prepared for cold weather with too many base layers and thermals. When she got there she had to borrow t-shirts as it was really warm. She went the second week in March.

My son went on his ski trip last year. He went with fewer thermals and we were able to borrow a ski top and trousers and goggles. He took far less overall.

Honestly we got everything off Vinted and was able to buy far better second hand than we wold have afforded new.

It is compulsory to wear ski helmets in Italy now. The place that provides her skis will also provide helmets.

Most important thing for beginners in my view is two pairs of gloves. She will probably fall and fall, and snow goes everywhere. cold hands is miserable.

It isn’t unbearably cold in Bormio.
I wear:
sports bra, thermal long sleeve top fitted to the body, fleece, coat, neck warmer, gloves. Hat for wearing when stopped for lunch.
ski socks, thermal base layer fitted leggings, trousers.

We tend to travel light so rewear socks etc. I wouldn’t want to wear the same pair more than twice. Thermal leggings I wear all week and top for half the week. My teen has two sets.

I agree with a previous poster re exercise beforehand. Holding squats, balancing on one legs etc. also worth practising shifting weight from one leg to the other by leaning.

This is brilliant advice thank you. I didn't even think of a sports bra. She's doing GCSE dance, do you think that'll help with the exercise part?

Thank you. Vinted sounds ideal. When you say t-shirts. Do you mean just normal cotton short sleeved t-shirts?

You need a special type of helmet to accommodate glasses as the visor needs a bit more space

My niece wears glasses, her goggles are compatible with that and she rents a helmet and has never had an issue. I know you can get the visor helmets but they’re not a must for a glasses wearer nor are they going to be something you’ll get at your standard rental shop.

Ideally something more technical that can wick sweat. But a primark, uniqlo or M&S thermal top would do fine. It doesn’t need to be from a fancy brand or anything.

sportswear ie a wicking fabric would be better. that's why merino is good

Ok OP if not until end of Feb I would definately wait for the sales/ middle of Lidl and Xmas presents. I would suggest she asks for gloves and googles for Xmas as it is worth spending a bit on these. PM me we have loads of ski gear and would be happy for it to go to a good home

I’d also recommend Vinted. I managed to get a full set of ski gear for my eldest for £50 when she went on her school ski trip - everything was included apart from the goggles (Amazon £20) and ski socks (Decathlon, also a good price!).

Lidl sell most of this though the ski specific stuff isn’t in yet. They had thermals this weekend. You don’t need that much though, eg they can rewear ski socks a couple of times or just use normal hiking socks they have, fleeces they already have, t shirts, ordinary leggings will be fine for the alps (for Nordic resorts it’s colder so specifically thermal leggings are needed usually)

i personally ski in my normal 3 in 1 hiking jacket (berghaus) and mountain warehouse waterproof trousers over joggers with leggings if under-5c as well. Can’t be dealing with clothing that doesn’t do double duty.