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£400.00 on Salopets & Ski Jacket? Good or bad?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi guys. Im not here to brag, but ive just spent
£200.00 on Eider Gore-Tex Pro Shell Pants and
£200.00 on a Zimtstern M-Arena Snow Board Jacket (not gore-tex)

I havnt been sking for 10 years and back then it was with the school.
I went sking for 1 week, once a year, for 4 years on the run, and i just had a realy cheep all in on suit.
By the last trip it was knackard and i was getting soaked. (like a said it was cheep)

Anyway ive just bought the above mentioned and was wandering if this is ball park figure or well over the top for ski clothing? I saw some salopets & jacket in Blacks for £100.00 each (cant remember the name now) they wernt gore-tex but seemed fairly hard wearing.

I quite happy with the salopets.
But im thinking of swaping the jacket because its not water proof (gore-tex or HyVent) it has some fab features like ribbed and velcroed cuffs, and a good hood and it also covers most of the face when fully zipped up.
The material does seem good and its treeted with teflon & has taped seems, but i just dont know if it will last the test of time?

Does anyone know if there is a better deal for £400.00?
Any advice appreciated, also i need some gloves so any recomendations on those would be good.

PS. i bought them from Snow and Rock if that makes any differance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

PS. i bought them from Snow and Rock if that makes any differance.

Well I guess it makes a difference to Snow and Rock Wink
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
On my scale that would be pretty heinously expensive, but it's horses for courses. For comparison my current jacket was £70 from a local independant ski store, salopettes £40 in the sales last year. Decathlon and tkmaxx are both good for cheap, reasonable ski wear if you do want to look for a bargain. aj xx
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Perhaps slightly expensive I would say, a good quality set (though not 'state of the art') can probably be picked up for around £200.

I recently bought a fantastic pair of insulated, North Face salopettes for CAD$220 (about £110), and they are great. There were pairs going for over $500 as well mind. My jacket, Volkl (just like my skis) cost me €300ish, so around the £200 mark (it replaced one that cost about £40).

For gloves, almost anything will do. Some good warmth obviously, and waterproof (but the quality/hardiness is less relevent for a skier than a snowboarder). Anything by reusch should be quite good (I've had my current reusch gloves for over three years now). I would avoid buying a pair I saw earlier today on one American website which were going for the equivalent of £130. Shocked
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It's a lot. It's hard to believe that jacket isn't waterproof - Goretex isn't the only waterproof fabric, though it is one of the best. If it isn't, dump it immediately. You can get perfectly good stuff for half that price, as the posters above have said. If you have plenty of cash, keep them if you like them. If you would rather have more to spend on apres, or your next ski holiday, get yourself down to somewhere like T K Maxx. I was tempted by a pair of £129 trousers in T K Maxx yesterday but they were way over the top, with lots of perfectly good ones at £60. I didn't buy them because they didn't match my jacket, much to my husband's relief! Last year he bought a pair of Rossignol trousers in T K Maxx, which were £75 (they were the most expensive in the shop!). They are fantastic and he wore them all last season. They are very high spec, and look terrific. You don't have to buy tat to save money.
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Karl Moto, £400 seems a lot Confused ?
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Karl Moto, It's easy to spend a lot more than £400 if you're so inclined. For me it's not the actual cost it's the spec I'm getting for my money that's important. I tend to run hot so wanted a lightweight shell jacket & lightweight shell pants with high spec properties etc. A pair of 3-layer 480 Goretex XCR shell pants can cost well over £200 & a similar jacket can be £400 at list price but by buying out of season I got both for less than £400.

There's lots of products that say they're Goretex or similar but I'd recommend checking what the actual spec of the fabric is & whether it applies to all or just part of the item. If you're Eider pants are all 380-480 XCR then that's a fair price but you're jacket sounds under spec for the cost. The Keela Munro jacket available from snowHeads comes highly recommended.
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Karl, it all sounds expensive to me mate but then again, if you buy good, it lasts and are happy with the product then it's not too bad. I bought a Berghaus Mera Peak Jacket four years ago which I paid £210 for, got it down from £270 by buying four pairs of sallopettes from Oswald Bailey at £30 each. My reasoning behind this is that I would wear the jacket any time but the sallopettes would only be used for skiing.
I have since seen my jacket in the M&M sports catalougue (they're online as well) for £125 but it has been replaced with the same jacket but in Goretex XCR fabric. I was tempted to change but it was thorugh vanity and lust rather than need so I resisted. A good source of kit is ebay. I know some people baulk at this but if you check their sales and they have good feedback, there shouldn't be a problem. Im a biker as well and bought a Rukka Goretex jacket and trousers from a German shop on ebay and saved £600 Shocked Shocked Shocked in doing so. The communication was excellent and it was delivered in four days. I guess I'm lucky as a lot of my bike gear, like windstopper stuff, I use skiing, mind you, my Rukka bike gear wouldn't look out of place on the piste and it has armour in the knees, elbows and back wink In my experience, what differentiates between a good and a bad buy is how you feel about the product a year or so on. It sucks when you wish you'd spent more to get the product you really wanted. My Berghaus jacket will undergo a Nikwax techwash before I go and will serve me for this season, and to be fair, probably another three or four, unless I get chance of the 'unmissable bargain' that always comes along, as frequently happens at the end of the season. I'm currently looking for a three way fridge for our summer camping trips. Confused Hope you are happy with your kit mate and as long as you are, it will have been a good buy. Smile Smile Smile
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Blimey!!! Shocked That Keela jacket looks exactly like my Berghaus. Smile
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If you want Gore Tex pro, then that is the premium fabric atm so expect to pay £300 ea for technical Jacket and Trousers in the UK but if ski in that for 5 seasons or so at 3-4 weeks a season then it works out ok. You'll likely not wear it out and you can always re-proof it. Also, if you break it by hitting a rock..as I did, I just sent it back to the manufacturer and they replaced the panel and the jacket looks brand new...

BTW..Gore-Tex is a membrane...which is uber breathable..the water-proof qualities come about by what face fabric you use...and they are treated, and you have to keep retreating this fabric to stay water-proof. The beauty of Gore-tex is that as you are asking the fabric to breath from the inside and repell from the outside. There are far more breathable fabrics for say, sweating... but once you make them waterproof, you hamper the ability of that clothe to breath so Gore-Tex scores because it does both better than anything else....
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i doubt its not waterproof. if you like it then its money well spent. i know i spent almost that on my jacket alone. at end of day, its your choice and money, i think its wrong for anyone to say you spent to much.
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Karl Moto wrote:

I havnt been sking for 10 years and back then it was with the school.
I went sking for 1 week, once a year, for 4 years on the run, and i just had a realy cheep all in on suit.
By the last trip it was knackard and i was getting soaked. (like a said it was cheep)


I don't think you have much to worry about. It is not as if you will be miles into the back country with 1 metre of powder. Rule of thumb to keeping dry ..... don't fall over!

Seriously though I have £100 6 year old colombia jacket and £120 North face pants. I still wear them and they are absolutely fine. I have worn them in many different conditions including icy winds as well as snowy white outs and they have always done the job. I don't fall over much but to be honest if you take many tumbles even the gore-tex won't help you because snow will go in at the waist as your jacket rides up your stomach.

It general the more you spend the better you get and so I am sure your purchases will be wicked.

Oh and by the way .... a few years back we saw these ski bums wearing nothing but black bin liners which had rips in them!
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Well im just off out now to see if i can find a replacement jacket. (i was unsure about the jacket when i bought it).
The jist im getting here is that the £200.00 Gore-TexProShell salopets are worth the £200.00 i paid.

My line of thought when i bought them was "buy them to last" i figured if i bought £40.00 salopets then i would only get 1 - 2 weeks out of them, and becuase im planning on doing alot more sking i didnt want to have to go out and buy another pair when the £40.00 ones packed in.

Conclusion:
Im happy with the salopets (for now at least) lets see what they are like on the 13th of Jan when i arrive back home.
Jacket is going back, unless i cant find a better one which i like.

Like spyderjon, said buying out of season will save me alot of money. But its too late in the day for that because i fly out in 7 days. Madeye-Smiley

Ill see how it goes this season and i might even think about buying my own ski's and boots in 2008.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

i think its wrong for anyone to say you spent to much.

graeme, he did ask whether he could get a better deal, to be fair. And the answer is that yes, he could. Especially as he thought the jacket wasn't waterproof!! You can get £200 goretex jackets in the outlet places - there are several I can think of round here, and I dare say they exist round Liverpool too.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
e.g. there was a superb Lafuma goretex jacket with zip out fleece in T K Maxx in Waterlooville yesterday, for £200.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi Pam. Smile Thanks for the feedback.

In Snow & Rock when i bought this gear, they had Gore-Tex / HyVent jackets for £200.00 that seemed quite good.
This jacket i bought has these internal elasticated wrists and outer velcro straps too keep the wind out (and snow in the event of a wipe out), + it looks nice. Its just the material letting it down. Sad This is why im thinking of swaping it.

Sadly i dont think ive got the time to FIND A BARGAIN, but i hear what your saying.
I will look in TK Max today or tommorow.

thanks Smile
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My personal feeling is that in most conditions you won't notice much difference between cheaper and more expensive gear, it's only when things start to get really horrible (when lots of people stop skiing) that you'll find any difference in performance both in terms of what type of fabric has been used, and also in how well it's been designed to keep you warm.
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humm. interesting
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For me that would be too much, why... because what you have invested in is a badge, or maybe 2 if you include the gore one.

Gore has been around for ages & has been cleverly marketed but its old hat... even xcr is duff for the money in my opinion. I've not yet had chance to try the latest offering, but I'm in no rush.

Like another poster has previously mentioned you can't go far wrong with a Keela Munro http://actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/keela-munro-mountain-jacket-p-1217.html
and you could get the salopettes from keela to match all for a shade over £200. It doesn't have the badge but it has all the features and then some... and its made in Scotland!


I currently use the velez smock http://actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/paramo-velez-smock-p-1233.html
with the aspira salopettes http://actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/paramo-aspira-salopettes-p-1249.html
I'm suprised that no one else on here has mentioned paramo - no one else on here ski in it?
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I dont see the point in buying 'this seasons' new styles and colours.
You can buy some very good branded stuff at much cheaper prices if you shop at the right time of year.
Im sure your new gear will be excelent Karl Moto, but by May next year it will be less then half that price. Sorry, just my opinion.
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A few other points I'd like to raise being a skier and a biker is make sure you have big chunky/long zip toggles as they're easier to use when you've got gloves on. Also make sure that you get elasticated bits and bobs around the waist as this really helps you to stay snug and warm. My £30 salopettes have lasted me about a dozen trips now and are still going strong. Dare2B I think they are. They have a few ski cuts around the bottom but nothing gaping or that noticeable, they've been fine. Smile Smile Smile
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Karl Moto, As mentioned I guess it depends on your disposable income, but I have this notion that I doubt the person standing next to you in the lift queue will remember what you were wearing an hour later and feel that we buy our gear to suit the type of person we view ourselves as rather than for how others see us. My complete set of jacket and Salopettes cost a combined amount of £69 in TXMaxx - it has taped seams, 10,000mm water resistant, breathable - a 'performance fabric', multi-pockets, toggles, pass holders, media pockets etc. I suspect that you will be no warmer/drier than I will and I will have £300+ extra to spend skiing - for me a considerable sum. Maybe you have won the lottery and can afford to splash out in which case I'm sure will be very happy in the knowledge that you are skiing in £400 quidsworth of gear - NB. if you now can't afford decent gloves try TXMAXX wink Have fun skiing whatever snowHead
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
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Karl Moto wrote:
My line of thought when i bought them was "buy them to last" i figured if i bought £40.00 salopets then i would only get 1 - 2 weeks out of them, and becuase im planning on doing alot more sking i didnt want to have to go out and buy another pair when the £40.00 ones packed in.


My £40 salopettes have currently done about 12 weeks without showing any wear. My £40 jacket did me about 15 weeks skiing plus loads of UK wear....that lasted fine until a friend skied over me when I was wearing it, cutting it with the ski edge. A quick visit to Johnsons (using clubcard vouchers) got if fixed up....so I'm sure it'll last me a lot longer.
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Elizabeth B wrote:
until a friend skied over me
A friend? And were you disguised as a rail or a kicker Puzzled
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My last £50 Trespass jacket from T K Maxx did three seasons of about three months skiing. And my £70 salopettes have done six. Careful washing with Techwash, no detergent. Any garment which lasts a week is not fit for purpose. But if it helps people feel good about spending £X to tell themselves that they'll get their moneysworth, no problem!
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Kramer wrote:
My personal feeling is that in most conditions you won't notice much difference between cheaper and more expensive gear, it's only when things start to get really horrible (when lots of people stop skiing) that you'll find any difference in performance both in terms of what type of fabric has been used, and also in how well it's been designed to keep you warm.

Agreed, the real test being rain or very wet snow. Most ski clothing will do more than adequately in most conditions
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maggi, Laughing

We were taking a short cut between pistes, I dropped onto the piste, but didn't quite land as planned. My friend was following a little too close and landed on top of me. I had a sje shaped bruise for weeks!
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Megamum mentioned about 10,000mm water resistance, on a ski slope would the 20,000mm water resistance and 20,000gcm2 breathability be noticeable over a jacket with only 10,000 of their respective amounts-if that makes sense to anyone.
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Far from it Megamum, it got lashed on the credit card, the whole trip is going on it. Ill worry about the bill in the new year.
And its nothing to do with how good i look, or how much they cost. I just want them to do the job. So i figured id spend a bit more.
Origianly i wanted to spend no more than £200.00
I was just in town today and didnt have time to scope out TK Max but im back there tommorow so ill check it out.

Renry, i wish id have done this research a little sooner (like last winter) then i would have known this.

Thanks Elizabeth B, its good to know that the less expensive gear is doing the job.

runner, The Salopettes you currently have are £48.00 cheeper than what i have bought.
If i was going to spend £152.00 on them (im not saying you did) and i thought i could get slightly better gear for an extra £48.00 then id spend it.
Im not saying my stuff is better than yours or anything, but personaly id spnd the extra £48.00 on the Salopettes for the fact they are gore-tex & good quality and not just becuase its a badge.

-----------------------------------------------

This is all good info peeps thanks.
My sister is wanting to go next year possibly so ill make sure she and her freinds know where too look & what to look for first.

Maybe it would have been better to buy a cheep set and see how they where for a week, and then if needs be bin them and get a decent set for next time, but its too late now.

Well there is still more spending to do, on gloves, boots, hat, scarf.

Ill keep you posted on all the kit and the cost before i go away. Smile
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Rossfra8, I was under the impression that 10,000mm was fairly water-proof - though yes, it follows that 20,000mm is more waterproof - the measurement (I believe) relates to the volume of a column of water that can be supported over given surface area of the textile. The thing with skiing is that (you would hope) to be out in snow or at worst drizzle - In theory you shouldn't be sitting on a lift in a torrential downpour, so I guess you can go with something that isn't 100% watertight in storm force rain conditions. There are probably some folks on here that can recommend a minimum mm for ski wear - it's probably more of an issue for boarders who (arguably) seem to spend more time sitting on their backsides than skiers do wink .
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Megamum, My current jackets are 15k and 20k (20k for breathability) and my salopettes 20k/20k but is this just a "gimmick" if you like, over something that could equally well do the job-an excuse for the main brands to charge more for a similar product.
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rob@rar wrote:
Kramer wrote:
My personal feeling is that in most conditions you won't notice much difference between cheaper and more expensive gear, it's only when things start to get really horrible (when lots of people stop skiing) that you'll find any difference in performance both in terms of what type of fabric has been used, and also in how well it's been designed to keep you warm.

Agreed, the real test being rain or very wet snow. Most ski clothing will do more than adequately in most conditions


Don't forget the high winds as well.

Basically if you're going to carry on skiing when most sane people have long since stopped then it may be worth spending the extra.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Kramer wrote:
rob@rar wrote:
Kramer wrote:
My personal feeling is that in most conditions you won't notice much difference between cheaper and more expensive gear, it's only when things start to get really horrible (when lots of people stop skiing) that you'll find any difference in performance both in terms of what type of fabric has been used, and also in how well it's been designed to keep you warm.

Agreed, the real test being rain or very wet snow. Most ski clothing will do more than adequately in most conditions


Don't forget the high winds as well.

Basically if you're going to carry on skiing when most sane people have long since stopped then it may be worth spending the extra.

Yes that's right. But if it's just cold (without much wind) layering underneath a cheap ski suit is just as effective as layering underneath an expensive suit IME.

I tend to buy what I think looks nice Embarassed
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Megamum, Well said
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halfhand, Very Happy Very Happy
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Have a read of this then tell me where your extra £48 went?
http://www.slate.com/id/2085417/


I'm not 100% on this but I think that if the hydrostatic head rating of a fabric is higher then the breathability of it tends to be lower.

Anyways these high numbers I feel are more just a gimick as a fabric in the UK only needs to pass a 1000mm hydrostatic head test in the UK to be called waterproof.
This is on the basis that 1000mm is equivalent to the pressure of driving rain in 35mph winds.
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Quote:

Anyways these high numbers I feel are more just a gimick as a fabric in the UK only needs to pass a 1000mm hydrostatic head test in the UK to be called waterproof.
This is on the basis that 1000mm is equivalent to the pressure of driving rain in 35mph winds


This sounds useful info Very Happy
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