First ski holiday coming up, got a couple questions.

A snowHead

Hi all, hope this is in the right place...Basically I'm heading out to Val Gardena mid Feb for my first try at skiing. Think I've sorted almost all of my initial queries, but there's a couple of things I can't seem to find anything other than conflicting answers for.

Firstly, I'm looking at Bolle Carve goggles as they seem to be the best cheap option for a first-timer. What is the best general purpose lens colour to go for? I've seen posts all over the place recommending yellow/gold, but they aren't available on the Carve even though they seem to be reviewed as good beginner choices. Will this be problem or will red/green be ok (some of the comments on amazon seem to suggest they might be).

Also, how necessary are backpacks? I've seen loads of posts saying not to bother but I can't see myself going too long without a ready source of water.

Thanks in advance for any help.

A snowHead

Backpacks are not necessary, they are a nice to have (I usually wear one as I have 2 young kids, change of gloves, pack of sweets etc.). Goggle lenses are very dependant on you. My Dec/Jan then you probably won't need lenses for bright light. If you are going in Mar/Apr then the answer might be different. Bolle do light sensitive Modulator lenses that aren't that expensive, they are a good compromise.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@tl266, backpack is the time honoured question and some people are quite aggressively against them and convinced that they're an English thing only. Ultimately it depends on you, I like to carry a lot of water so tend to ski with a bag and throw a light jumper (to wear at lunch), suncream and possibly a spare pair of goggles just 'incase'. I genuinely don't think that I could ski like I do and not have water with me, so it's a necessary evil as far as I'm concerned.

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Back pack is a personal choice, I prefer to stuff everything I need in ski jacket and salopettes pockets, of which there are many.

Goggles you tend to wear in poorer weather or flatter light so go for a light tint lense. If it's really sunny, it's generally warmer so it goggles on helmet/ in pocket and shades on time!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@tl266, I go for dark lensed sunglasses for bright sunny weather. Amber lensed goggles for cloudy or snowy days, as I find that colour best for seeing better in flat light.
Prefer bumbag worn with bag at front if carrying more than will fit in pockets but that is rare. If wearing backpack, often need to remove or move to chest before getting on some lifts because of safety concerns. Not sure if that applies in Italy but does in many places in France.
Just my personal choices.

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@tl266, hello welcome to snowheads.

Two great questions!

Goggles are a bit of a mine field if you really get into all the technicalities. Like almost all sports gear it is possible to get a reasonable goggle for a reasonable price that will do the job fine but for incremental improvements you end up paying much more. Which can be fine if you have more dosh and are bothered, ski a lot, like good gear.

All depends on your disposable income and need for brands, or not.

Advice to a first time skier looking to get something reasonable- Go to Decathlon- https://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-843521-ski-goggles they have a range of goggles from- not much at all, to still not much (ie from less than £5 to just over £100). My kids have some nice mirrored Decathlon goggles that work really well. Alternatively try Lidl or Aldi.

Most importantly- look after them on the slopes; keep goggles clean and dry- only touch the rims, if wet shake out and dab dry with the microfiber bag, try not to face plant, don't push your goggles up onto your sweaty forehead, try and keep them on to keep them clear. Consider a spare pair if the first get completely steamed or lost- you can keep this in your rucksack!

Rucksacks. Lots of UK skiers have a background including fellwalking etc. It can be very hard / impossible to break the habit of going out on the hill with a rucksack with spare clothes, a torch, a first aid kit, whistle, sncak, water, gloves, spare goggles etc.

I either ski on piste with my wife and three kids,in which case I take a couple of spare fleeces, a down vest, some buffs/snoods, at least one spare pair of gloves and a spare pair of goggles, or off piste- in which case its a shovel , probe, spare clothes etc.

It can be very hard to get clothing right when you start to ski- it is really easy to be too hot. Perhaps a rucksack.

If you are learning and in a group- or even in a private lesson be very careful about the dangers of faffing. Rucksacks are great accessories for faffing- in out, on the floor, now where it? oh there it is , I think I can feel it, I'm sure I packed it, or did I, maybe I left it on the bed, perhaps I should shake everything out, or not....etc etc etc.

FAFFING is the thief of time.

Oh in France rucksacks are good for your packed lunch, because why would you want to go to a self service? But you are going to Italy- yum yum....

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I took a rucksack out skiing with me for a few years, but it was faff...

It disrupted my balance (my ski instructors were always complaining about it!),
It got caught in chair lifts (and then knocked all my friends over in a domino effect as we were coming off - amusingly I remained standing!)
and generally made a nuisance of itself.

Sometimes, you need to ski with a rucksack as you need to carry something bigger (lunch, shoes if you're giving your ski-boots back to the hire shop at the end of the day and won't have time to go to your hotel inbetween etc...), but if you can avoid it I would say do. And if you can't avoid it pick a small rucksack with as few hanging straps as possible to minimise issues.

Now I tend to just fill my pockets with stuff and anything which doesn't fit gets left behind. Yes, this means that I have several key decisions to make each morning; googles or sunglasses; number/thickness of layers etc. And just occasionally it's a pain not to be able to react to the changing situation on the mountain - but it doesn't seem to happen as often as I would've thought.

After all it is free

@SnoodyMcFlude, is correct carrying a rucksack is a very British thing. You will have to decide whether like @ed123 suggests, you want to carry everything you may posibly need (though he appears to have forgotten the bivi bag and proper emergency rations).

Goggles are a tricky question but I would also actually suggest you buy a cheep pair from Decathalon

Welcome to SH.

For a water supply that's not a rucksack, can I suggest one of those bag style water bottles. As they're soft they don't feel bulky in your coat, hold a good half-litre and if you fall you're not going to be landing on a solid object. I used one I got as a branded freebie, but you can buy then for a pound or two at quite a few of the usual places.

For goggles, worry less about the lens and (assuming you are a person who runs 'hot', which you suggest since you want to take water with you) make sure you get a pair with good ventilation around the frame to stop them fogging up. I used a Persimmon lens for years prior to getting my current interchangable lens goggles, but the key for me was always making sure I got the best ventilation I could - doesn't matter what colour the lens is if you can't see out!

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I wouldn't go spending a lot of money on goggles. Heaven forbid, you might not be grabbed by skiing! If a cheapo pair get damaged or start fogging up all the time (this shouldn't happen, even with bottom of the range), just throw them away and get something a bit better.

As others have said, the rucksack thing is a personal choice. I don't bother, unless going seriously off-piste, which you won't be. As an outright beginner you won't be far from civilisation, and places to stop for coffee, water or whatever. You will probably want a rest anyway! Rucksacks can be a menace on chairlifts, and you will need to remove it. Most beginners get understandably nervous getting on and off a chairlift, and I would suggest that faffing with a rucksack is a distraction you don't need. If you have small kids to look after, then need for spare gloves, fleece, etc could swing it. They do lose stuff and they do get very cold, very quickly. As others have said, if you do opt for a rucksack, make it small and with few straps or other stuff to get caught.

Anyway, welcome to snowHeads and the world of skiing!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@tl266, If you are going to be wearing a helmet it is worth checking the fit of the goggles against the helmet so there is no gap and so the helmet doesn't push the goggles down your nose.

snow reports

I don't get this whole rucksack thing and the apparent annoyance it causes some people.

I'm heading out on my second ski trip in a few weeks and will be wearing my rucksack, like I did on my first. It's only a small one (one of the ones that usually hold a water bladder for hiking), but I take that out and just use it as a small, compact bag.

Means I can carry a bottle of water, a couple of snack bars, goggles or sunnies (dependent on what I'm currently wearing) and a spare layer just in case.
I didn't have any issues on lifts with it and didn't even take it off.

Would I ideally like not to wear it? Yes.
But I think the "inconvenience" for lack of a better word is far outweighed by being able to stop where I like for a quick drink and snack.

It's about being sensible I guess. If you want to wear one, only pack the bear minimum. Keep it light, small and you'll be fine.

You know it makes sense.

As you are a beginner I strongly recommend that you do not ski with a back pack. You have enough to cope with. Carry a small water bottle in a pocket if you need to take on small amounts at regular intervals. You can refill it on the hill in the cafes.

With regard to goggles the one time you really need them is in flat light and snow. The only way to find out what really works for you is to try them out in flat light and snow. But if you wanted to buy a pair in advance go outside and look at clouds. If you can see the clouds more clearly then they will most likely work in flat light. Start with an amber tint with a UV filter. NB some people like me manage just fine in sunglasses ideally with cheek pieces for skiing at speed. But in snow I need my goggles.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@TQA, +1 do not go on lifts with a backpack if you are a complete novice. (unless it is very small day pack, but even that might get caught up in lift mechanicals)

As a beginner, buy several cheap pairs of goggles/sunglasses. If the weather is bad, you will be falling over anyway. You will get hot, and your glasses will steam up. It really does not matter much about colour of lens, except in flat light. Wear cheap sunglasses in such situations, with changeable lenses. Sunglasses let more air around and behind, and do not steam up so much when you are hot and sweating because you keep falling over into the snow face first.

UV protection, A and B is the important factor.

In my first week skiing, in flat light and heavy snow, I would just take goggles off completely and ski with no eye protection. Otherwise I could see nothing.

A snowHead

I'd avoid a rucksack - for a beginner, balance can be fickle and a bag full of stuff wobbling around is likely to throw you off - why add the worry? Hire a locker for the bulky stuff, take only what you can easily pocket, and leave your (supermarket-purchased 35 cents worth of) bottled water in a carrier bag at the bottom of the slope (hang it on a fence, or next to the sea of abandoned skis/poles at the cafe/bar). In my experience this is safe from theft or tampering, and you won't have to buy the (same bottle at 2 Euros) water from the cafe/bar...

A snowHead

I wear a rucksack due to the need to have copious supplies of chocolate bars, spare gloves, drinks, buffs for those I need to keep happy and on the slopes. If I didnt need to carry all that stuff I wouldnt. You get used to it but when you take it off and ski without it you do realise that it does change your centre of gravity and therefore how you ski. So dont wear one unless you really need it.

But if you do, get one with a chest strap to minimise it bouncing around. And take it off when on chairs as you dont want to end up in one of the vids/pix on this site hanging from a chair by your straps. You've been warned.

I only wear goggles if absolutely needed, which means if snowing/sleeting in my face so need the mechanical protection or dreadful light so only have a low light lens. Otherwise sunglasses, which give you better visibility allround and dont steam up.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

For years I swore by sunglasses (plastic sports cycling ones), as the cheap goggles I had were awful. Then I got some better goggles, which weren't so expensive (forgotten how much - maybe it was because by that time I had a salary!! Think they were Smith) and they were a revelation.

I have no need for a rucksack. 200ml bottle of water in a sunglasses pocket, refill it at taps in mountain restaurants where necessary. Most other stuff fits in my zillions of pockets; bar of choc, pack of boiled sweets for energy, tissues, lip salve, face mask (many things but all small). Layering is solved for me by getting as many full-length zips as possible, opening or closing a zip has a big effect on heat for me. Check forecast before for whether it's going to be 0, -10, -20C and dress accordingly, then adjust with zips during the day. I might have taken one thin layer off and tied it round my waist once in 30 days, that's it.

Otherwise, as a beginner, you will be staying on central slopes near a restaurant and ski shop where you can buy anything that you think will help you survive until 4pm. When you go off-pisting then yes maybe all the anti-avi gear but before then that all sounds like overkill.

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@ster, as someone that's pretty much always skied with a bag I often wonder if it actually has a detrimental effect on my skiing, or whether my skiing has developed in a way that takes it into account. I can't recall many times (other than Hemel) when I haven't had a bag so not sure how I ski without it. I sometimes wonder if my skiing would actually be worse without it because I'm so used to wearing one.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Help!!

First ski holiday coming up, got a couple questions.

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