 Poster: A snowHead
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Let's not confuse our budgets and our choices because of them, in favour of what actually makes sense. This site is rife with cheap assed confirmation bias that helps no one other than to serve your choices. Take some time, have some respect for the people asking questions that are looking for genuine replies that are not tied to your inability to value a product other than for how cheaply you have bought it. Put your hand up, be proud and say "I"m a cheap cnut." No one cares, we can just pass over your nonsense reasons then.
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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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Actually I find snowheads in general can be a bit snobby when it comes to brands and equipment.
I don't see the point in spending a lot of money on completely overspecced equipment, when most are doing 1 week per year and can find perfectly adequate "cheap" equipment. Some of the decathlon stuff has similar specs to the big name stuff at 50% of the price.
I've put some of my cheap decathlon stuff through way more than most will ever do and for the most part it didn't miss a beat.
Makes me laugh seeing all the rich old euro hikers in their brand new north face gear and leki carbon poles. Wasted on them, they are still super slow. Meanwhile my £10 aluminium poles are around 5 years old, been up to 7000m, set an fkt trail run, and multiple seasons splitboarding 50+ days.
All the ski bums are in old gear. We can't afford to take the whole winter off work and ski everyday and buy fancy new stuff 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Holy crap. Ski boot vendor kicks off like a toddler on people who have the £40 product and the £150 custom product but would like a £10ish decent version for each pair of trainers or shoes they want to wear. So punters who don't want to lay out over £300 on a footbed quiver are cheap now. Mmmkay.
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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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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Holy crap. Ski boot vendor kicks off like a toddler on people who have the £40 product and the £150 custom product but would like a £10ish decent version for each pair of trainers or shoes they want to wear. So punters who don't want to lay out over £300 on a footbed quiver are cheap now. Mmmkay. |
^ 
Wait until I start my topic on personal experience of custom footbeds....
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 4-10-24 7:56; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Seems to be a recurring theme here.
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@boarder2020, Decathlon is pretty amazing isn’t it? I have a lot of their kit.
Bro in law’s shop rents Decathlon clothing to groups going up the Mont Blanc.
Can’t be anything wrong with it can there?
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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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A decent flannel shirt and cheap kinco gloves covers about 80% of outerwear needs, but then I have mates who dumpster dive the lost property box and think I'm a snob for actually spending money on a shirt. It's all relative.
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| under a new name wrote: |
@boarder2020, Decathlon is pretty amazing isn’t it? I have a lot of their kit.
Bro in law’s shop rents Decathlon clothing to groups going up the Mont Blanc.
Can’t be anything wrong with it can there? |
I have a combination of premium gear and Decathlon, most of my Decathlon gear is midlayers etc but I havent found any problems with any of their insulated gilets etc either over the years.
There are certain items that I wont compromise on, walking boots being one - I find that Salomon boots fit me like a glove and are consistently good for my purposes.
I use cycling merino base layers whatever sport I do, but oddly the ones I dislike the feel of the most are my expensive Icebreaker ones !
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| GreenDay wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
Decathlon is pretty amazing isn’t it? I have a lot of their kit.
Bro in law’s shop rents Decathlon clothing to groups going up the Mont Blanc.
Can’t be anything wrong with it can there? |
I have a combination of premium gear and Decathlon, most of my Decathlon gear is midlayers etc but I havent found any problems with any of their insulated gilets etc either over the years.
There are certain items that I wont compromise on, walking boots being one - I find that Salomon boots fit me like a glove and are consistently good for my purposes.
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The only three areas where I find price and performance correlate are ski boots, sleeping bags and tents.
Nearly all the rest of my gear is Decathlon or Alpkit, and some of it has done multi-month expeditions of thousands of miles.
I've never found a pair of walking boots as good as a cheap pair of Asics trainers for me.
Then again, my son (who outskis me up and downhill) has never needed anything more than cheap off the shelf ski 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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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| ... when most are doing 1 week per year and can find perfectly adequate "cheap" equipment.... |
Joe Wash's Masserati did one eighty five. It's almost never about adequacy.
Brands like Burton cover all the bases: they have stuff prices from around £200 full retail all the way up to £800 for a coat, for example in 2024/5.
| border2020 wrote: |
| Makes me laugh seeing all the rich old euro hikers in their brand new north face gear and leki carbon poles. Wasted on them, they are still super slow. .... |
Those old rich folk are telling the world that they're rich, not that they're more adequately attired. Speed? Is it a race?
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@CH2O, you are a great loss to the international diplomatic service.
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You know it makes sense.
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@PeakyB,
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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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If people want to buy top of the range gear or budget gear stuff that's their buisness, I certainly wouldn't laugh.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| PeakyB wrote: |
| @CH2O, you are a great loss to the international diplomatic service. |
I think @CH20 must be related to @stanton & @whitegold 
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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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@CH2O, I don't know whether sHs matters to you in terms of your market (I assume you get a lot of UK skiers through Cham because of the obvious). But as you've started posting here regularly again presumably it has some knock on effect in profiling your business. We might know that you're an opinionated, assertive person in the field but shaming people for whom skiing may not be their entire life and budget is not the way to sway the edge cases, the people who would benefit from your services but are fearful of an open tab and an overly aggressive fit. Maybe that's fine and you say if people aren't prepared to subscribe to the SOLE cult with a open credit card you don't want their business.
Everyone is a consumer. Everyone has been upsold on stuff they don't really need or just isn't appropriate for them or is flim flam. Those of us that know know that ski boots are not an area to try to save a buck but until you've reached a nirvana (which in my experience changes as your feet change and liners pack out) you don't know. When I came back to skiing some basic Salomon performa boots which I largely self fitted (yes I did go back to the store and downsize after walking around inside over a few nights) did me fine for the first 2-3 years.
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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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| Quote: |
Those old rich folk are telling the world that they're rich, not that they're more adequately attired. Speed? Is it a race?
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Well watching them suffer on an easy hike while wearing £1000s worth of gear. They'd be better of spending some on a training plan or gym membership
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Brands like Burton cover all the bases: they have stuff prices from around £200 full retail all the way up to £800 for a coat, for example in 2024/5.
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Even £200 is expensive, you can get perfectly adequate stuff for a lot less. I don't blame Burton though, why not profit off a brand you have built up. People are willing to pay a premium for it, same as north face, which seems to be the trendy brand now as much for the fashionistas to parade around town as those actually doing something "outdoorsy".
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The only three areas where I find price and performance correlate are ski boots, sleeping bags and tents.
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Alpkit do some pretty nice "cheaper" sleeping bags. Regarding tents my friends running a hiking company in kyrgyzstan bought cheap naturhike tents that have been completely fine. I've got an alpkit bivvy bag and soloist tent which have both been excellent and are at the cheaper end of things (although not super budget). Saw a very nice ultralight trekking pole tent this summer, which they'd paid €150 for on some straight from china website.
I think that's the future to be honest - Chinese companies ripping off western designs, producing them in the same factory and selling them at half the price. Already seems to be happening in the cycling world.
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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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For the money those naturehike tents are decent - the one that’s a knock off of the msr hubba is a bargain.
I get really good outerwear for free or heavily subsidised through work, still prefer a flannel shirt and kincos, but no judgement on those who enjoy throwing the money at their gear. It’s all part of the fun.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
I think that's the future to be honest - Chinese companies ripping off western designs, producing them in the same factory and selling them at half the price. Already seems to be happening in the cycling world. |
Pretty much this. Direct from china websites are (for right or wrong) rapidly changing the market place. Much of the kit is clearly made in the same factory.
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I got a packraft direct from ali express last year. 100% knock off of an alpacka (mate has one and you can’t tell the difference) - cost me $900 instead of $3500. Even if there’s a difference in quality and longevity, which I don’t think there is, that’s a significant enough saving to cover 3 replacements.
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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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@CH2O fitted my boots about 17 years ago. They are old now but still fit like a snug, comfy glove.
Truly amazing value.
I could have bought cheaper, but chose very wisely, not to.
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@Frosty the Snowman, likewise I've had a couple of pairs from him. As has my wife, and a few other friends.
I'm sure you can try and do things on the cheap (and I've tried myself - sometimes its worked, sometimes not) but it's an area where I've found it's worth paying for skill.
It appears the other way to get things cheap is to rely on IP theft. Disappointing to see so many people advocating that.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Likewise the middle of Lidl. Do I need an angle grinder? No. Do I get an angle grinder because it’s £25 from the middle aisle? Yeah, go on then.
There’s lots of football supporters kicking off about paying £75+ for a kids replica shirt. Yet you can get a pretty much identical one in a couple of weeks for about £15 from China. Lots of websites have done side by side comparisons and struggle to tell the difference.
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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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| PeakyB wrote: |
| @CH2O, you are a great loss to the international diplomatic service. |
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| CH2O wrote: |
| Take some time, have some respect for the people asking questions |
The irony is strong in this one 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Holy crap. Ski boot vendor kicks off like a toddler on people who have the £40 product and the £150 custom product but would like a £10ish decent version for each pair of trainers or shoes they want to wear. So punters who don't want to lay out over £300 on a footbed quiver are cheap now. Mmmkay. |
^
Wait until I start my topic on personal experience of custom footbeds.... |
We know you are a pauper as you only earn 100k...
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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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[quote="boarder2020"]
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I think that's the future to be honest - Chinese companies ripping off western designs, producing them in the same factory and selling them at half the price. Already seems to be happening in the cycling world. |
Well yea they might be cheaper but the quality or at least quality control just isn't as good. Think Line is produced in China and there seems to be a lot of reports about durability issue (mainly relating to top sheet delaminating).
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Poster: A snowHead
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@BobinCH, chop chop sinbad. New thread? Happy to debate. Xx
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sometimes gear is great but if something 10% of the price fulfills 90% of the requirements then it is fine. On other occasions something at 70% of the price is nowhere near. So sometimes you get what you pay for and sometimes it doesn’t really matter.
Eg I love my Sidas moulded liners. Worth £220
At the Ski School I help with there is a famous brand of jacket from a famous ski shop and it is universally hated (costs retail about £220). We wear it in lessons and can’t wait to swap to our own jackets. Mine is a Patagonia costing about £50 more and my other is a Phenix (bought from TKMaxx) for £120 and both are miles ahead.
I got some fleeces from Costco recently for £20 and they are great for the cold Scottish climate. Better than my £100 TNF Fleece. Maybe not better but not £80 less.
However, if someone lines a brand and wants nice gear then that is fine by me. Some people like lovely fast cars but only drive them slowly. Not a problem.
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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 been mis-sold on this thread title.
My wife is hoping for some new Head Pure Joy skis this year and I thought this thread would help me buy them!
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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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| CH2O wrote: |
| @BobinCH, chop chop sinbad. New thread? Happy to debate. Xx |
Lovely! What scientific discoveries have you got to share with us today?
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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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| rungsp wrote: |
I've been mis-sold on this thread title.
My wife is hoping for some new Head Pure Joy this year |
I believe Tinder is the appropriate product.
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Just taken Mrs KF's Pure Joy's in to have the rust chiselled off the edges. They have brown bases (NICE!) and cost £120 new in 2019! She is very happy with them.
I am such a cheap cnut that I have bought two pairs of 'refurbished' Line skis from Snow Inn which will, no doubt, have @CH2O burst a blood vessel! Hopefully I'll get a couple of weeks use out of them before they delaminate! Cheap Chinese cack....
Time to resurrect Snowheads Top Tips?! Don't waste money on expensive ski boots, simply glue a pair of wellies to your skis and add a couple of clothes pegs for buckles. Just claim they are 'Park Boots' as nobody knows what they are anyway!
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
Makes me laugh seeing all the rich old euro hikers in their brand new north face gear and leki carbon poles. Wasted on them, they are still super slow. Meanwhile my £10 aluminium poles are around 5 years old, been up to 7000m, set an fkt trail run, and multiple seasons splitboarding 50+ days.
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If older folk who are less fit want to spend some of their money on lighter gear to make their trek more comfortable seems like a reasonable decision to me.
As an older bug whose body has seen better days I'm just back from a cycling trip on hired bikes in Portugal, The distances were not large but with a few steep hills it would undoubtedly have been a bit easier for us all on lighter bikes than the rather heavy hybrids on offer.
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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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@Klamm Franzer, my first skiing experience, aged 4, was in welly boots. My feet bled.
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| Quote: |
If older folk who are less fit want to spend some of their money on lighter gear to make their trek more comfortable seems like a reasonable decision to me.
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Young people in their brand new hilleberg tent for there one night of fair weather camping per year looks equally stupid. It's the whole "all the gear, no idea" regardless of age.
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FAQ
