 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I'm looking for a new ski jacket and I'm a bit skint, so need something cheap! I've been searching online and keep coming across the "dare2b" brand. It looks as if it is really good value for money but I've never heard anything about it before. So has anyone on here heard of it and what's your opinion on it?
I'm an upper-intermediate/ advanced skier, can cope with all pistes and most weather conditions and am developing my off piste technique (in fair weather  ) so I don't need some high tech super mountaineer jacket but need something that I won't freeze in if the weather conditions aren't great.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Lots of my staff had their kit last season, heard no complaints.
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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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Dare2b the target for a load of p' take.
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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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Mollerski, what, like 'har har you're warm and dry and still have money left over to spend on food' sort of thing?
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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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They do the job, so if you like them then go for it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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mine is ok, pretty tough, breathable, no problems
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No, more like ' For that money, you could've gotton a decent high spec jacket on Ebay or at TK Maxx and you wouldn't look like your Old Man going for a post Xmas pud walk' sort of thing. 
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sar_m, Do you remember C&A?  You get the idea?
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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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Mollerski, marketing victim.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| Mollerski, marketing victim. |
Yeah, Mr Dupont got me with his 'Goretex'. He convinced me that being soaked with sweat would reduce my body temp. What a mug I am.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with a dare2be jacket for the occasional skier. Lots of our kids have them on our school trips and none of them ever freeze or get wet etc. More respect for the skier who buys a dare2be jacket and spends the rest of his money on ensuring him and his family have a good holiday than a ski snob who cant possibly have something off the highstreet rail.
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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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Thanks for the replies (so far)
like I said in the op I want something that is cheap as possible that'll keep me warm and dry. I'm not interested in whether or not they are the "coolest" brand on the market. I really wish I was an expert skier now so I could make a comment about a possible correlation between people with "super cool" gear and their ability to ski!
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sar_m, the Dare2Be stuff I've seen looks warm enough for normal winter weather. It might not be up to the job if it's chucking it down with rain, but in those conditions would you really want to be skiing all day?
There seems to be quite a lot of it in TKMaxx at the moment, so maybe try to get there to compare prices.
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You know it makes sense.
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sar_m, 2 of my friends have Dare2B jackets and are very happy with them. They're sold in Millets so you can easily go have a look.
The other place to go is TK Maxx who keep a range of makes at some very attractive prices. My salopettes are Mountain Warehouse's own make, Parallel, and they've been pretty good - they do jackets too but don't know about the quality.
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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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sar_m, said correlation us usually of a somewhat inverse nature. As I said, I had a bunch of resort staff with dare2be kit last season and they all seemed to be warm, dry and perfectly happy with it all season. They also had more than enough dosh to spend on beer.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| sar_m wrote: |
Thanks for the replies (so far)
I really wish I was an expert skier now so I could make a comment about a possible correlation between people with "super cool" gear and their ability to ski! |
It's 'All the gear and no idea'. 
We get loads of it down here with 'wannabe' surfers. The cooler guys wear battered quality brands rather than cheap brands. The 'emmits' (holidaymakers) turn up with £100's worth of shiney new gear and never catch a wave.
Why not buy a used decent breathable branded jacket on Ebay rather than new cheapy chearful?
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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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Lizzard, thanks, I'm going out for a season as well (hence why I am currently skint) so that seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for!
C+A in Germany (where I'm living at the moment) still does ski gear! Their smallest size seems to be M though, which is too big for me, so was looking on the internet. Maybe when I'm home next week I'll try and get to TKMaxx, does anyone know if the one in Glasgow does ski gear? I haven't been for a while.
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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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I am sure the Glasgow TKM does skiwear - I have not yet found a branch that doesn't. Also have a look in Milletts at the Dare2be.
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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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sar_m, My husband has a Dare2Be softshell jacket which he bought at the Ski Show, so it's not yet been used in snow, BUT - he has worn it to go to the match for the past few very cold, wet Saturdays and was impressed. He stayed dry and warm  By the way, my husband IS a bit of a label junkie but was happy with the quality and price and now the performance (so far)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Mollerski, I've had a look on ebay but couldn't find a decent second hand jacket in my size. The only ones they had in my size and price range were either pretty old (so I'm guessing quality wouldn't be great) or new and from "non cool" brands. Also quite a few of the dare2b jackets had breathability of 5000-10000mm, snow skirts, plenty of inner and outer pockets, "ptzips" and taped seams and I'm no technical expert but unless you're planning on doing serious mountaineering I kind of thought that would be ok. Although part of the reason I was asking here was to check that kind of stuff out.
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I have a dare2be jacket and it's great. I ski all day, don't shelter in rain/snow/wind, fall down more than I like (getting more wet) and have no complaints at all. It's actually quite a nice jacket, I think and has all the pockets in the right places and a semi-wearable hood. The only place it's not been tested is over 2500m but otherwise go for it.
Caveat: I've never tried the really really good stuff but considering the prices and hassle of buying in TKMaxx (none near me; fancy jumble sale that I haven't the patience for) or EBay (I want to try it on first please), it's unlikely that I ever will.
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i wore mine in Banff at -20, no problems. It's warm, comfortable and keeps me dry
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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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stevev, Are you the guy in Lech? you would be shot in Lech in dare2be... 
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Good job i went to St Anton instead then. I am in Warth tommorrow, so hopefully they can't see me from over the mountain in Lech.
I don't go with all this label snobbery, the jackets great.
I am actually living near Friedrichshafen, software engineer contractor working out here for the ski season.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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For the posters who aren't so keen on dare2b, is there a technical reason for this i.e. you don't think they will keep me warm/ won't be waterproof/ breathable enough or is it purely fashion? If there is a technical reason what? and what would you recommend at a reasonable price and technically good? I'm still learning about ski technical stuff so would be interested to know if this is purely brand snobbery or if there is a serious quality issue.
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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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sar_m, the level of waterproofness is lower than what most people would describe as technical jackets. However, I think this is an over-rated factor for most conditions. Regular snow, or even wet snow, won't really challenge a garment's waterproofness. It's only when you're in torrential rain that a fully-taped 20,000mm material like Goretex Proshell is going to be the only thing to keep you dry. But if it's raining that hard I'd head back for home unless I was being paid to be on the hill.
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who goes skiing in the rain ? Have I been spoilt, I have never been to a reosrt where it rained
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You know it makes sense.
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| stevev wrote: |
| who goes skiing in the rain ? Have I been spoilt, I have never been to a reosrt where it rained |
Not that frequent an occurrence for me, but it does happen from time to time. I would normally do something other than ski, but one day last season I was on a course and had to ski for most of the day in very heavy rain. I was extremely thankful that my goretex kit kept me dry - some of the other guys on the course were soaked to the skin.
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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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sar_m, You can pick up a D2B in TKMAXX for £30 in their isotex fabric. I've bought two in the past, one of which I've had a weeks skiing out of followed by 2 years day in day out everyday wear, including the last 2 perpetual raining autumn type summers that we've had. I've stayed warm and dry and its still going strong and it was out again tonight keeping me warm and dry on the childrens walk to the church nativity night in the cold and wet. I'd buy another without hesitation if I needed another cheap and cheerful ski jacket and I'd certainly buy another if I wanted another everyday coat. £30 is not a lot to pay for 2 years very solid use.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I got a (cheap) d2b jacket off the web for spring skiing - waterproof and breatheable, better than some others I've had which cost more, what more do you want? Who gives a fcuk what the label says?????? Label snobs get your £600 Spyder jackets on & p*ss off, you are getting boring. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'm a bit of a tech junkie (label does not matter) and all my stuff is either Goretex XCR or eVent goodies - bit sad for ordinary everyday skiing, but there you are. When my better half bought our kids some dare2b ski gear a few years ago it certainly raised an eyebrow! However, I went along with it for harmony and the kids have used it in temps of -10 and also on other occasions in rain. They have never had any problems with their kit and they can be real moaners if something is not right! Dare2b have different levels of waterproofness and breathability - so long as you stay away from the base level which is waterproof but not breathable you should be more than fine..! They are cheap enough to throw away and buy new every other season if you are that way inclined.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| sar_m, Do you remember C&A? You get the idea? |
What "idea" might you think that would be then?
Even the very best stuff around at the time of the heyday of C&A wasn't any better than Dare2B is now.
So long as he makes sure to go for stuff that is both breathable and waterproof, the Dare2B stuff will be fine for any normal recreational skier.
you and Mollerski are just being stupidly snobbish.
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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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My Trespass jacket (£50 in TKM), washed in the right stuff (v important) kept me warm and dry for 3 seasons. I bought a new one because I got bored with it and the colour had faded in the sun after so long. Anyone over 19 who still makes judgements about other people on the strength of what they wear (be it cheap or expensive) needs to grow up.
The consensus of opinion above, from anyone who's actually HAD a dare2be jacket, including some who've used them in testing conditions, seems to be that they'll do the job if you avoid the cheapest ones which are not breathable.
Have a great season. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
who goes skiing in the rain ?
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Scots. Horizontal rain, mostly. This is why they're always kitted out in Berghaus mountaineering gear.
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| ...Why not buy a used decent breathable branded jacket on Ebay rather than new cheapy chearful? |
And of course, a branded jacket on ebay is bound to be genuine...
My kids have had a Dare2Be suit that was not breathable and hence horrible and had to be binned. We have also had a Dare2Be suit that was breathable and was great.
My advice would be check what it says on the label, not the name on the label.
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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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I have a similar budget brand ski jacket and pants and I say go for it. All this label lust stuff is just that. You pay more for a badge, but they're probably still all made in sweat shops in the far east. Stick to cheaper brands and save money for your ski trips I reckon...
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queen bodecia, Perhaps a slightly simplistic view, but hey  In reality you usually get what you pay for, but you need to be switched on- ie. some expensive gear is a load of tosh, while some cheaper gear is actually really rather good.
sar_m, I'd recommend having a read up on the sorts of fabrics and qualities that exist with decent gear- if you've the patience. Then go to the shops- have a look at d2b, and if it looks and feels good, and you think you like it- then go for it!
My personal preference? Probably wouldn't go for it myself unless I was on a shoestring, it's less about fashion/brand awareness and more about liking decent gear and the qualities that they have, my main shells (top and bottom) are Schoffel for that reason as it's real good stuff.
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FAQ
Touche! Well, you will be at no risk of being mistaken for one of the "All the gear, No idea" brigade, you can dare2be sure of that! 