 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
I have always bought my trousers and jacket from TK Maxx whilst I have been learning to ski, spending about £100 in total and then replacing whats had it at the end of each trip.
This year I decided that I really love to ski and will carry on with my 3 trips a year (planning 09 already!) so I bought some boots.
Now i need to replace my jacket and trousers.
I am browsing on the sales for some new stuff ( EB and S+R) and have seen some nice Salomen and North Face womens stuff.
However this looks like in the sale it is going to cost me £300 quid for a set?
Is it worth it? does it keep you warmer/dryer and last better?
(have previously been wearing "dare 2 be", "bilabong", "Surfanic" and "Groove NZ")
Help me please want some nice stuff but petrified I will get it wrong! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Charlotte
Anything with waterproofing above 10,000 will be good and reliable at keeping the water out
The only way you can go wrong with North Face is with Fashion and colours their gear is amazing and will never let you down. Their Free thinker jacket is one of the best on the market at the mo. North face gear is amazing and always gets good reviews
Nike ACG gear is fantastic aswell very warm and very funky also bought a pair of their pants this year and have previously owned one of their jackets
A friend of a friend works testing the material and says North Face and Nike are always top of the pile.
Spyder gear is fantastic aswell Happy shopping 
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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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charlotte366,
I splashed out last season and replaced my old Protest jacket etc with Spyder. It was worth every penny.
It has been the most comfortable gear I have worn, warm and very durable (having completely wiped out on ice last year). It also looks good too! 
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I've been in a North face jacket for the past two years and it has been superb. I am a ski instructor so it is used a lot.
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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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thank you,
I thought this might be the case, it seems alot of money but now I stay on my feet most the time 
I think its another commitment im prepared to make,
off to EB at MK tonight to get some custom footbeds, will have alook for something then!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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charlotte366, it depends why it's pricey; you can pay a lot for a name. Waterproof and breathable is obviously good, but you don't have to pay the earth for that. Some features like pit zips, goggle pocket, powder skirt and so on may appeal; they are usually found on the pricier stuff, not always on the cheaper stuff. One would hope the pricier stuff is better made, not sure that that is true. Our kids have been largely kitted out from Tchibo (rhymes with 'cheapo'), typically about £50 for a jacket, perfectly good stuff.
My trousers and waterproof are reasonably up market jobs (Spyder, North Face, something else), bought cheap in sales, mind (except the jacket), and I'm very happy with them. I'd probably be just as happy with something half the price, though. I seem to remember some uncomplimentary remarks on here about the durability of North Face; my jacket is fine, but I only wear it 2 or 3 weeks a year (not at all this year because the weather was fine). My £20 windproof fleece (Tchibo) is brill.
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| charlotte366 wrote: |
Hi
I have always bought my trousers and jacket from TK Maxx whilst I have been learning to ski, spending about £100 in total and then replacing whats had it at the end of each trip. |
I can't comment on TKMax but you can ski comfortably with cheap gear. I've never spent more than 100 quid on a jacket and ski most of the time with a jacket that cost 15 euros (sale).
I suspect more expensive gear buys you some durability, is better made and is better tailored. If you are piste skiing having good waterproofing on your bottom is useful when taking chairlifts in bad weather.
Probably beginners need better gear than more experienced skiers as they move around less and fall more. If you "fall" into this category then make sure your salopettes have good gaiters and sleeves and stuff won't let snow in.
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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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charlotte366,
My Helly Hanson woman's jacket is excellent and noticeably better than the Mambo one it replaced. It is warmer, keeps me dryer, has well thought out pockets etc... including one in the sleeve for electronic lift pass. The powder skirt is great and the hood is excellent and stows away neatly when not needed. It has had 6 weeks use and will do many more. My OH's North Face jacket and pants has seen 11 weeks wear and still looks and wears great.
We were both caught in a monster gale at the top of the Gornergrat at New Year, they shut the gondolas and we had to ski almost blind down to the train. At one exposed point the wind was so strong it pushed my boyfriend uphill in a snowplough and I had to brace against my poles in a stationary wide snowplough to prevent myself being blown off the piste. Ice crystals were pelting our faces like needles but our bodies and legs were just fine (although I think our a**eholes might have been twitching a bit!).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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charlotte366, get the jacket, but then to justify it, you need to go skiing more often. Win/Win situation, in my book.
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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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charlotte366, I didn't realise it was a quiz. The correct answer is obviously, yes, it's well worth spending £190 (which is not particularly pricey) minimum on a ski jacket, and the North Face Foxy suede etc etc is a particularly good bit of kit, a bargain at twice the price.
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I think this feed back means that my credit card might be red hot by the time I leave MK tonight.......
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You know it makes sense.
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charlotte366,
Buy the jacket - you know you're worth it 
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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 your budget is limited (whose isn't, but it's relative), spend most on the outer layer and get the inner layers in TK Maxx, Lidl, Aldi, Trespass etc
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Poster: A snowHead
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charlotte366, if you're going to buy expensive stuff, think about what else you could use it for - eg I bought a TNF shell rather than a padded jacket on the grounds that I can use it in the summer for walking etc. More use, better value.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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charlotte366, Just remember that next year the HP brown sauce look will be out and the fashion police will be after you 
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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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Dypcdiver, black is the new black. And always has been.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Lizzard, That's a good point about use - I only use my gear for skiing - I wonder how many people get more use out of their gear than just skiing.
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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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Yup, I prefer a shell so I can use it for hillwaking too. This year I bought a Salomon primaloft jacket to wear underneath my shell to keep my cosy warm and the combination of the two has been brilliant!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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My salopettes cost me $20 when I bought them about 3 years ago.
I've skiied them in -20 and in waist deep powder, kept the water out fine enough (I had thermals as well). My Jacket cost me £56 on ebay (with tags attached, so new).
Expensive gear is better yeah, and probably will last longer. But it's possible to ski with el cheapo as well.
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In 1985 I splashed at at a ski sale held at Wemblety conference centre on a Tenson Air push jacket, it's still being worn for skiing. Earlier than that I bought a Cand A jacket but that is now only used for gardening in the rain
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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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boredsurfin,
Tenson Air Push - there's a name from the past. My OH has one of a slightly later vintage but it's a great jacket, replaced only last year. Is yours red??
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Bought my last kit in 2002 and went for jacket & trousers from Whitestuff. Am still wearing the same kit and it is still waterproof, shows little signs of wear and came with all the usual goodies that you expect...lots of vents (in all the right places), lots of good sized pockets (including goggle & phone/iPod pockets), skirts, storm zips, and my favorite bits...fingerless-glove type lycra storm inserts in the sleeves (great for keeping the hands warm) oh, and a lycra balaclava for when it is proper chilly
All very resonably priced, think the jackets are around the £125-£150 mark and the trousers £99. Great kit, would highly recommend.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| ccl wrote: |
| If your budget is limited (whose isn't, but it's relative), spend most on the outer layer and get the inner layers in TK Maxx, Lidl, Aldi, Trespass etc |
I've gone precisely the other way. Crap Groovestar jacket from TK Maxx, admittedly some Schoeffel pants, but with awesome Icebreaker and North Face bases/mids that cost a fortune.
I'm both warmer and less sweaty than I ever was with my cruddy cheap under-layers. I reckon spending money on good bases is worth every penny.
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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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You know it makes sense.
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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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If buying expensive gear means sacrificing some of your time on the slopes, then to me no, it's not worth it. However, if your bank balance says yes, I can have that fancy jacket with the designer label on it, and still go skiing five times this season, then it might just be worth the investment. I say this with the thought in my mind that for most of us there will be nine, ten, eleven or more months between ski trips, and although I have plans to go again next season, many things can happen between now and then which may make this impossible. So essentially I'd prefer to have cheaper gear and go more often now, than expensive gear that might last me for many years, but limits this years skiing or worse, might rarely get used.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PisteHead, mmm are you at risk of being considered part of the 'All the gear but no idea" brigade? When I played competitive cricket that was considered the lowest of the low....
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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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| red 27 wrote: |
| PisteHead, mmm are you at risk of being considered part of the 'All the gear but no idea" brigade? |
red 27, Not quite. With my own style I have skied down a few easy reds and steep blues safely and without falling over. Some of the turns were skidded but no snow ploughs Have you been to LDA? To my surprise I skied blue Thuit and Gours without stacking it and both runs have pretty steep initial sections for their blue grading. The gear was bought at sale prices and/or last season's gear so it cost marginally more than the less expensive gear I have. It's mid range gear at best. With my skiing level I'd feel like a complete twit for wearing top end stuff like Spyder, Arc'Teryx, Schoffel, and the rest.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Lizzard, I think you're right. I've edited my previous post. You wouldn't spot me on the piste though, my gear isn't really noticable.
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PisteHead, we're only joshing with you... sounds like you bought very wisely...
I have been to L2A - hated it! There was a long blue somewhere fairly high up that was basically the link from the upper area to the lower - the only link... Is that the run? As I recall that had some great Shussing potential. I was about the standard you describe for yourself when I was there.
I remember a red down into town called Les Sapins (The Saplings en anglais je pense) which was a tough ask... I made contact with several of said Sapins on several occasions 
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red 27, This is better than work, all comments taken in good spirit.
Probably not, i think the blue run you're thinking of is the one about two cars width across with the mountain on the right and a sheerish steepest drop on the left hand side, shuss down it and turn left for the lifts. It's probably a road in summer.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| Les Sapins (The Saplings en anglais je pense) |
The pines, not that it matters.
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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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| smwbounce wrote: |
boredsurfin,
Tenson Air Push - there's a name from the past. My OH has one of a slightly later vintage but it's a great jacket, replaced only last year. Is yours red?? |
Yep, is there any other colour apart from black....
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richmond, ah... je pense-ed wrong... 
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FAQ
I have re-proofed it so hopefully its wateerproof again 
my salopettes were brand new of ebay for £15 
