 Poster: A snowHead
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I posted this over on another thread and thought that it's an important topic which all SH should get their teeth into. Not literally, when you read the topic...
...in my experience there is a certain type of skiing grubbiness which just doesn't come out. It seems to get onto clothing from chairs, lift-gates, the salty brown sh+++te that clings to the outside of the car and you get on your jacket when you reach up to put the skis on the rack, from the seats in the gondola, and the skis which mrs careless and mr thoughtless in the lift Q crash against your legs. You can get it off with (i) stupid amounts of aggressive washing powder, which wrecks the DWR; (ii) citrus cleaner, which wrecks the DWR; and (iii) an angle grinder. But mostly it's hopeless. I have some gorgeous lime green Patagonia trousers which look completely cr++ because they have dark grime on all the seams. But I don't bother to do anything other than rub them with a bit of snow, since I want the DWR to remain intact. Washing which is aggressive enough to remove the grime and needs re-proofing simply leaves one with very sub-performing gear. One remedy is camouflage clothing. I have some really high end Peak P camo trousers. They look great. Get close, and they are DISGUSTING....which is exactly what my partner said when I gave her to them as a replacement for her old ones. They are genuinely nasty. But very waterproof. One look at the pisteurs' gear and you know that being PigPen is a normal state of affairs when trying to keep gear clean. So...you will spend more time and effort than the gear is worth, and wind up with something which won't perform. Just buy something nice on on Ebay and put it in the bin at the end of the season.
Question....am I a sh=te-magnet?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Err there is this wonderful invention it is called a
wait for it
a WASHING MACHINE.
IT CLEANS CLOTHES!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@valais2, ...yep...we have a Miele. It cleans mud from my kids' kit; grime from my mtb gear; grubbiness from the jeans I use when I do logging. It WILL NOT remove SG&C - skiing cack and grime. It just won't shift, and even if you can reduce it, you get left with gear which ain't waterproof any more - and believe me, I have used more than one can of Graingers, a container of Nikwax spray-in, and wash in gunk on one climbing jacket and it still worked as well as a sponge. There's something mighty special about SG&C....
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 9-01-18 23:05; edited 1 time in total
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Don't have that problem meself. Yellow jacket that's done a few weeks and looks fine. Black troos though, but they seem clean. Both have been washed in the machine - low temp, non-bio etc. and reproofed.
So yes, you are a sh1te magnet 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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That's what I thought about my new dayglo green jacket, oh! hang on, it's not that new after 17 weeks use but it is well grubby, even after two detergent washes but it has underarm zip vents instead of being breathable so still 100% waterproof.
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Just buy black ski gear. Problem solved.
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@valais2, I do have to say that seams and zips seem to attract dirt horribly and I'm not really sure on the science of that. I have a really nice Haglofs warm jacket which I wore in my workshop for a few weeks last year and all the zips went black and no matter how much you wash the jacket - even in normal washing powder (it's not waterproof to begin with) - it stays on as brown grimey sheeit and makes me look like I'm minging and haven't washed my clothes, even when I've just washed it.
For the workshop I have ended up taking @HoneyBunny's advice, bought a black replacement for about £30 which is probably absolutely mega-ming under the microscope but doesn't show it!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@dp, ...yep I think concealment may be the right approach...even though I am very fond of my lime greens and oranges...
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Skiing kit is basically a set of overalls. It gets a bit grubby. Unless you are skiing in Lech or Zurs it doesn't matter. TBH, it doesn't matter much in Lech and Zurs, either.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| HoneyBunny wrote: |
| Just buy black ski gear. Problem solved. |
The only problem there is that on sunny days, you turn yourself into a solar panel and fry. I've always, specifically bought light coloured ski gear apart from gloves & boots.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| TQA wrote: |
Err there is this wonderful invention it is called a
wait for it
a WASHING MACHINE.
IT CLEANS CLOTHES! |
My sentiments exactly. I like having clean clothes. If you're someone who has to have waterproofing then there are products on the market to do this. Personally I just avoid skiing in the rain...
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@queen bodecia, ...I avoid skiiing in the rain but often end up doing it. And I like my higher upper rear thigh area (a+rse) to be waterproof when I get onto freezing chairs covered in snow, likewise the front thigh area where anything wet gathers - so I really prefer preserving the DWR on kit where I can. I've never found aftermarket, post-washing DWR to be anything like the stuff which gear comes with, and I've tried everything from Nikwak to Graingers. It's never as good in my experience, better than nothing but not as good as the original.
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You know it makes sense.
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Lack of waterproofing isn’t something that really bothers me. I’ve never owned any goretex ski wear, and even if my kit was fully wterproof I really don’t have a burning desire to ski in the wet. The small amount of gusset moistness that one can get from melting snow in a chairlift is quite tolerable.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@valais2, I would wash it high enough to clean it and then send it for professional reproofing?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@valais2, the kind of chair lifts that get covered in snow are pretty rare these days. Most have covers and heated seats.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Decathlon ski gear £160 for jacket & kecks, 17 weeks of use so <£10/wk totally waterproof unbreathable fabric but with zipped leg & armpit vents. I was skiing in les Arcs on 30/12 when it was raining or v wet snow, the outside of the kit was absolutely wet after an hour (we were out for 3 hours) but dry on the inside until the wet eventually seeped through one of the leg vents and up the sleeves from the cuff when we decided it was beer o'clock.
I prefer zipped vents to breathable fabrics as they are more controlable.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| @valais2, the kind of chair lifts that get covered in snow are pretty rare these days. Most have covers and heated seats. |
Where have you been skiing ?!!!,
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@queen bodecia, ...excellent humour...when skiing in Dubai that might be the case ... not in Nax, Chandolin, Crans Montana, Anzere, Zinal, Grimentz, St Luc, and a multitude of excellent places. Boy do you need your weather gear...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@queen bodecia, Obviously not Scotland!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@tangowaggon, @valais2, @McKenzie, I live in Ski Amade.
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Can't say I've noticed much grubbiness on our gear although the kids wear their ski jackets every day at home in the winters so inevitably they start to get a bit grubby. They do get washed at the end of the winter though and replaced every couple of years. Mine and the missus only used two weeks a year for skiing and seem OK. Maybe our standards are low. Don't think either have been washed - perhaps 5 years old - so 10 weeks skiing.
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@queen bodecia, Austrians are soft.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@valais2, Why are you using an angle grinder, or citrus cleaner wearing lime-green (or any other colour) skiwear?
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Often get grubby and tend to use a brush to clean the SG&C in the infected areas.
People with black clothing are just hiding dirt. Much like carpets.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Legend. wrote: |
| People with black clothing are just hiding dirt. Much like carpets. |
I've never seen anyone wearing a carpet on the slopes.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Never mind getting grime out of ski gear. I'm having trouble getting the concept of FTZ's gusset moisture out of my mind.
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@pam w, ...grief it's hard enough to get dirt of our kit without trying to get it out of your mind....
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You know it makes sense.
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| Layne wrote: |
| Legend. wrote: |
| People with black clothing are just hiding dirt. Much like carpets. |
I've never seen anyone wearing a carpet on the slopes. |
You haven't lived if you've not done it yourself
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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@foxtrotzulu, As a long time user of SOS kit, the difference in comfort moving to proper membraned waterproofness (and good layering) was extraordinary.
Dry and warm.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I've had an Arcteryx Alpha SV, supposedly bomb proof, reduced to a grimy black shell with trashed DWR over a season and which numerous washes / reproofs couldn't touch.
My latest Mammut Alyeska is going the same way.
The killer is putting my skis on/off the roofrack, the especially evil grime from the car manages to transfer onto my jacket without fail, so I now use an old jacket for this. But the grime still finds its way onto my jacket!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| under a new name wrote: |
@foxtrotzulu, As a long time user of SOS kit, the difference in comfort moving to proper membraned waterproofness (and good layering) was extraordinary.
Dry and warm. |
I dare say I will upgrade to Goretex, or similar, when my current Nevica one-piece (only joking) expires. However, I have to say that my non-membrane Tog24 jacket and my CMS (City Mountain Passion!) salopettes keep my warm 100% of the time and dry 99.9% of the time. They may not be the latest or perfect, but they are certainly more than good enough. The one thing that might tempt me to change is better ventilation. Pit zips, detachable arms or just better breathability might be nice. As I say ....when the current kit finally expires.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Putting chains on isn't good for jackets (and the inevitable kneeling in the crud isn't good for trousers).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@spiceman, ..EXACTLY!...that kind of salt-loaded cack is impossible to remove...and your SV experience is very much my own with trousers in particular.
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"grime and cack" would be a great name for a punk band.
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What's wrong with grubbiness? Don't you want that 51-weeks-a-year-global-ski-bum look?
I bet you've got a helmet with forward and backward-looking Go-Pros. Go on, admit it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Acacia, ...I have no choice...we're on the hill enough to be very very grubby...
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Don't panic, apparently the 'worn wear' look is to be the next thing in ski fashion. So you'll be paying extra for the crack look.
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FAQ
