 Poster: A snowHead
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Some Swedish researchers seem to think that Scandinavians spend far too much money on outdoor gear - especially ski gear. Some quotes for those who can't be bothered to read the article:
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Breivik thinks people buy far too much stuff that they don’t actually need.
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“The gear is often completely superfluous with regard to the activity, but many seem to get pleasure from wearing advanced equipment and particular brands,” says Breivik.
“It’s a place where they can show off and reinforce their self-image with the help of equipment.” |
And, perhaps most cutting, is this remark:
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| We see that those who were rarely in the great outdoors as children and adolescents spend more on equipment as adults than those who are more used to outdoor activities |
A French friend of mine learned to ski on school trips. He didn't have and couldn't afford any special gear - so he simply skied in his jeans and school coat.
Is your love of fashionable gear greater than your love of the mountains?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Jonny, I would always put my ski jolly 1st as the priority. If I could afford any form of ski attire, then that would be 2nd.
I feel that the Ski Clothing brands are pure snobbery....my opinion. My joy is just to get away and enjoy it..
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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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Definitely see some sense here- I think as you go out more and do more "stuff" be it skiing, climbing, cycling whatever- you seem to worry about gear less and less and just enjoy it.
That's not to say when gear is worn I don't get excited about getting cool new stuff  it just happens less and I'm more careful about the purchase.
I'm still wearing my first ski coat bought in summer 2005 that was heavily reduced in summer sales... Not to say I don't keep a look out for new ones though, ha!
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Everyone likes toys, shinier the better. Simples.
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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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well there's more Norrona and Arc'teryx worn on the average London commute than is strictly necessary for that harsh alpine environment
(says he with a Patagucci shell on the back of his chair - it was cheap in a sale honest!)
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Also, those who are already active outdoors tend to be active in more than one sport. I can use a lot of the same clothing for skiing, cycling, sailing and motorcycling. If I was to buy a specific set for each activity, it'd cost a fortune.
e.g...
Base layer tops : all sports
3/4 length base or mid0weight bottoms : skiing and off-road motorcycling
Body armour: motorcycling and skiing
gloves: ski gloves get used on the off-road motorcycle in winter
fleeces and mid-layers : all sports
cycling shorts : cycling and also off-road motorcycling (those seats are like planks)
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If I was called Breivik I think I'd think about changing it...
Anyway - absolutely yes - the old timers who have been going out in the hills for years have 20 year old kit that does the job perfectly well. Stuck working in a city, browsing the interwebs while dreaming of mountains leads to daft purchases in my case.
stuff white people like: outdoor performance clothes
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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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The brits are probably just as bad or worse given how much use it will get. I guess the people that ski loads usually live in ski towns and don't have the cash to blow on the latest and greatest.
I imagine the US is probably the worst for actual skis, last seasons skis over there are practically worthless.
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People buying things for fashion shocker. Next in the news at ten, water found to be wet. Stick around for that and more including a special report from Jenny on the amazing relationship between bears and defecation in woods!
SRSLY.
The other side of the coin are the people you see completely inappropriately dressed though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My current ski kecks cost £12. I got 3 pairs so I can save on techwash.
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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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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Everyone likes toys, shinier the better. Simples. |
I love you
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meh, you've completely missed the point. The article argues that outdoor fashion has disguised itself as being a technical ncessity, and the cost of these unnecessary fashion purchases discourages participation as newcomers believe the hype and think that the gear is essential. I think he's probably right.
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You know it makes sense.
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Jonny Jones, It gets even worse with 'badge' engineering in clothing where there is no difference between high and low cost quality except the branding.
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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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Jonny Jones, no it's an issue of demographics. People with lots of disposable income will buy needless expensive stuff, it's fashion (e.g. self affirmation). It happens in all hobbies where there is cheap kit and marginally better but more expensive kit. "All the gear, no idea" is a really old saying to describe it. Norway in particular is a special snowflake in that regard because the country is amazingly well off.
Take a look at lower-middle income families in the UK and you might see something different.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Evolution
No gear, no idea
All the gear, no idea
Right gear, right idea
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mike Pow, plus the idea of what the 'right gear' is, can be very subjective. Lots of trends and fashions there too which is something the original press release mentions in regards of niche activities but also applies to changes over a longer time period. Take Alpine Climbing where 'light is safe' and lots of money is spent on getting the lightest kit that still works because that safety factor is as true on some PD snow plod as it is on TD terrain. Then you have secondary concerns like the environment where people will pay a premium for brands they perceive as more environmentally friendly (bamboo EVERYTHING!) and the romantic notion of going back to nature which crops up in everything from arguments about bolting to what kinds of activities should even be allowed to access 'nature'.
That's without mentioning the peacocking that goes on when you wear you're "look at me I'm a mountaineer" clobber on the tube, downtown or on an easy walk whilst sporting an exceptionally manicured rugged beard. 
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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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| meh wrote: |
| That's without mentioning the peacocking that goes on when you wear you're "look at me I'm a mountaineer" clobber on the tube, downtown or on an easy walk whilst sporting an exceptionally manicured rugged beard. |
I do chuckle at that. Some people even wear insulated ski jackets. What's wrong with a good wool coat and a brolly? It's the city for pete's sake, you're hardly going to be stuck out in the elements for hours.
Reminds me of a story (may have told this one before) of a Londoner who was invited to spend some time with friends who lived in Colorado. He was told to "bring wet weather gear." First day out on a wilderness trip, it was pissing down and they all piled out of the 4WD with the Colorado guys all pulling on their expensive Gore-Tex gear. The Londoner stepped out of the car, reached into his bag and pulled out a brolly.
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Zero-G, you can literally spot the tourists here because they're wandering around downtown Reykjavik like they're on one of the glaciers which is particularly jarring with the propensity for the locals to be very chic.
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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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On the other hand I part cycle to work so do not own a sensible city coat - one of my many shells, fleeces, puffys etc does duty as it's just more practical and you don't smell like damp dog after a rainshower.
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Zero-G,
"I do chuckle at that. Some people even wear insulated ski jackets. What's wrong with a good wool coat and a brolly? It's the city for pete's sake, you're hardly going to be stuck out in the elements for hours."
Not tried using Arriva Trains Wales, have you? You could be stuck for hours and hours and hours
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| Scomber wrote: |
If I was called Breivik I think I'd think about changing it...
Anyway - absolutely yes - the old timers who have been going out in the hills for years have 20 year old kit that does the job perfectly well. Stuck working in a city, browsing the interwebs while dreaming of mountains leads to daft purchases in my case.
stuff white people like: outdoor performance clothes |
Love the web site, so true, actually read a bit more and it is really true.
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I have been looking into making 'fashion' wear combined with technical fabrics. There'd nothing wrong with a nice wool coat, but wouldn't it be better if it had a windstopper membrane in it somewhere? That sort of thing.
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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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feef, lots of brands do that already.
ETA: Although I think it's an expensive waste of time. My winter jacket for around town this year is which so far has stood up well to big negative temps, lots of wind, rain and snow:
http://www.ontour.nl/collection/jackets/Pointer03/
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Because arcteryx's normal gear just ain't expensive enough: http://veilance.arcteryx.com/?EN
If your nice wool coat isn't up to whatever you're currently demanding of it, then civilisation already has a good solution for you in the form of a taxi 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| meh wrote: |
feef, lots of brands do that already.
ETA: Although I think it's an expensive waste of time. My winter jacket for around town this year is which so far has stood up well to big negative temps, lots of wind, rain and snow:
http://www.ontour.nl/collection/jackets/Pointer03/ |
And, spot the manicured outdoor beard on the model.. 
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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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gbium, indeed, rugged beards are in this year with those hipster types.
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I thought it was Stanton.
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You know it makes sense.
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As if by magic:
http://vimeo.com/55420992
Be warned if you are female, sensible or don't think gin and tonic is a particularly wilderness oriented drink.
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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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meh, I saw that earlier on TGR and was saving the link for when someone started getting all whiny and metrosexual
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Poster: A snowHead
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Zero-G, yer I just found it on there and was ranting at my girlfriend about it. It fits this thread perfectly. But seriously what in the shuddering  is going on there?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It honestly comes across as satire but the production values are so high and the product tie-ins so realistic that I am unsure...
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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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The comments on the video and the fact commenting has been turned off make me think it can't possibly be. But I live in hope that no one can be that lacking in self-awareness and such clueless, misogynistic douches.
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2 mins in, does the nasal-can't-grow-a-moustache-yet voice shut up?
OK done now. Oh my giddy aunt. Watched that through my fingers and am giggling as I type.
I realise now I have been doing it wrong my whole life. I'll stock up on blow torches and artichokes for my next trip to the wilds.
Edit: they're on twitter. Attempting to troll now.
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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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Zero-G, There are very few over here who understand and can use satire. The over-melodramatic depiction of every-day mundanity is common if not all pervasive.
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FFS, even if I had the money I wouldn't, I'm surprised there's even a market for that these days. I'd also feel completely out of place! 
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| RichardB wrote: |
FFS, even if I had the money I wouldn't, I'm surprised there's even a market for that these days. I'd also feel completely out of place! |
There'll always be a market for that. The sort of people that go there have so much money that even in the biggest recession, they might have a a few million wiped off their worth, but they'd still have billions left. It's like the megayachts you see in St Tropez... It really is a whole different level of existence.
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feef, I know that there is a lot of rich people who ski but it surprised me how excessive they can go, we all ski the same mountains at the end of the day! Maybe I'm thinking too simply.
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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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| Quote: |
Is your love of fashionable gear greater than your love of the mountains?
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No, I can ski well enough such that others in the group don't notice the worn out Aldi / Lidl / Decathlon ski gear that I wear
To be fasionable is to follow, to follow is to be a sheep, to be a sheep is to be sexually abused by a man in wellies 
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FAQ
