Cheap ski gear

laurat

I noticed some skiwear in Primark at the weekend!! Not sure how much the jackets were but the ski pants were about £15. Thanks for the reminder actually - I meant to go back and buy some and forgot.

Laura

Sami_Bee

Has anyone seen any proper snow stuff for little 'uns?
We're going to Austria in Feb , My son will be 13 months and I can't find Thermals especially socks, waterproof bottoms and good shoes I've only seen boots small enough in Clarks - (Very expensive for a 1 week trip!) he'll be around a size 4 when we go

Chilled_mole

In my honest opinion! TK MAXX is a must! ... I see a lot of people mentioning the lidl and aldi stuff! .... yes it's cheap, but it's cheap for a reason?! ...

I also see people giving the usual 'oooo I don't buy branded stuff' ... there's never a reason why?!

The brands in TKMAXX usually range from quiksilver, Hally Hanson, Berghaus ... these names 'brand names' have been in the game for years! ... they're hard wearing, warm, and most importantly vented, double stitched, and extremely water repellent! ...

When I first started snowboarding I opted for the cheaper range (Asda! Quecha etc ... ) and I probably spent more money on replacing them than if I was to have just gone out in the first place and bought quality! basically false economy!

TKMAXX offer this quality at an extremely affordable price! .... (£40 for Hally Hanson snowboard pants should be £120) ...

if there's an option between LIDL's own brand at £9.99 or a known brand such as HH for £40 ..... go for the HH every time!

I frequent the dry slopes in my HH and quiksilver! my quicksilver are on their 3rd season! ... HH are on the second! ..... both pants are going strong!

also a recommendation too ... if you're a new boarder buy one size bigger! ... and buy some long johns! ..... you'll thank me for that one day !!!



I forgot to mention too! that a lot of the dreaded horrible 'brand names' offer little benefits such as RECCO avalanche locators! .... I very very very very very much doubt that LIDL have these built into their product! .... very much doubt it in fact! ....

also don't peck the head of the brand name! ... it drives me mad! ... these 'brand names' keep these sports alive! if it wasn't for the welcome interference of brands such as burton, quicksilver, billabong etc, half of these sports would be dead! ....

Chilled_mole

Sami_bee as for lil'uns, again, check TKMAXX! ... I've bought my little lads gear from them for about 2 years! ...

you might also consider looking at a place called DECATHLON! ... not sure if there is one in your area! but deffeniately check them out!

seftonsun

Chilled_mole wrote: »

In my honest opinion! TK MAXX is a must! ... I see a lot of people mentioning the lidl and aldi stuff! .... yes it's cheap, but it's cheap for a reason?! ...

I also see people giving the usual 'oooo I don't buy branded stuff' ... there's never a reason why?!



also don't peck the head of the brand name! ... it drives me mad! ... these 'brand names' keep these sports alive! if it wasn't for the welcome interference of brands such as burton, quicksilver, billabong etc, half of these sports would be dead! ....

Yes, Lidl is cheap but the quality of all of their products are normally at least as good, if not better, than the branded top dollar equivalent. This goes for their sports wear, tools, plants, food, etc. There are some exception but not too many.

The only reason these companies can afford to pump money in to these sports is that it is good marketing and publicity for them. They can pay all this nice sponsorship money because they overcharge the punter for the goods in the first place. Unfortunately there are too many brand name junkies who have not got the guts to be seen in something as good but with the wrong label on it. Indeed, you could buy yourself a box full of RECCO avalanche locators on the money you saved if you were not subject to such silly peer pressure.

I agree abot TK Maxx. Good place for brand label junkies to get a cheap fix.

Chilled_mole

seftonsun wrote: »

Yes, Lidl is cheap but the quality of all of their products are normally at least as good, if not better, than the branded top dollar equivalent. This goes for their sports wear, tools, plants, food, etc. There are some exception but not too many.

The only reason these companies can afford to pump money in to these sports is that it is good marketing and publicity for them. They can pay all this nice sponsorship money because they overcharge the punter for the goods in the first place. Unfortunately there are too many brand name junkies who have not got the guts to be seen in something as good but with the wrong label on it. Indeed, you could buy yourself a box full of RECCO avalanche locators on the money you saved if you were not subject to such silly peer pressure.

I agree abot TK Maxx. Good place for brand label junkies to get a cheap fix.

I agree with the TKMAXX thing! good on yer! .... but I completely disagree with the quality! ....

if that was the case it wouldn't cost in regions of 10's of thousands of pounds to climb mount everest! ... they'd all just shop at LIDL and save themselves a fortune!?!?!?!?

I've been boarding in Alp D'Huez! January! white out blizzard job! I distinctly remember seeing my mate slowly freezing to death bcos he thought the same as you 'oooo big horrible corporate brands! who'd have them' ..... there was 3 of us! and he was the only one that had the cheap gear on! .... needless to say his mind changed, and he decided to hit the plastic whilst we was away! ... being such good friends we made him eat humble pie all week!

basically! mixture of opinions! which is fine and healthy! I'm an experienced boarder! and consider myself to be quite knowledgable on the technology that goes into buying the correct gear!

I'll just leave the reader to decide! ....

planning a winter holiday! .... buy cheap clothing and run the risk where it 'might' be ok! or buy clothing from a company that's experienced in the field?!

It's your call ...

then again, if you're not planning a winter holiday! then £9.99 for a pair of waterproof salopettes for walking the dog IS AN ABSOLUTE BARGAIN!

My opinion is, your health is just too dangerous to mess with when on a winter holiday! .... you can really get caught out at times!! ... buying cheap gear just isn't worth the risk! ... that goes for coats trousers goggles thermals etc! ... even helmets! ... I spent a fortune on my first holiday making this stupid mistake! ... you can probably kit yourself out with 'horrible corporate brandnames' pants, coat, goggles and a wooly hat for good measure, for about £100 - £120. Now I know this isn't 'money saving' but if you're savvy enough you would have saved that much on the price of the holiday! ... so just do the right thing!

Horace

I can vouch for Lidl ski gear, I bought some salopettes from them last year and wore them throughout my ski holiday in preference to the more expensive makes that I have. What a pity, we're not in Germany because if we were we would be able to buy cheap ski holidays from Lidl!

pjttlk

Sami_Bee wrote: »

Has anyone seen any proper snow stuff for little 'uns?
We're going to Austria in Feb , My son will be 13 months and I can't find Thermals especially socks, waterproof bottoms and good shoes I've only seen boots small enough in Clarks - (Very expensive for a 1 week trip!) he'll be around a size 4 when we go

Think seriously about whether to buy when you get there - it will depend on whether you are driving or not, but you may find a better variety and at better prices on the continent (not in resort). Alternatively you might stock up for the following year.

We currently live in Switzerland, and by the end of January the Swiss have all bought their gear, and the sales are on. Good local bets are Ochsner and Doesenbach, but the main DIY and stores all do home brands (Migros, Manor, and good old C&A and H&M) on skis etc as well as clothes. By Easter there won't be any gear left in the shops.

If you are in or near Switzerland in June/July its' sale time and the end of year stock take. When it says 10%, its not 10% off but 10% of the original price - often the winter gear comes out for clearance too. Decathlon (UK and France) used to be good value but have been moving up market - can still be good for offers on slow movers, though.

smcknighty

Re: recco avalanche finders - the only ski wear ive ever had with them in was my £10 snowboard trousers and £20 jacket from Tchibo. Great stuff, the jacket was very warm during a very cold trip to Austria, it did one more trip after that and then i upgraded - reason being that although it was warm enough, i liked to board all day all week back then and being not very breathable it absolutely hummed by the end, same as the £5 gloves. But i was never cold which is the key point.. And the trousers? Still wearing them now (not right now..), 5 years later..

Replaced the jacket with an oneill one from gunwharf keys outlet store which was another great way to save, main benefit is its a lot less bulky and a lot more breathable..

Anyway - key money saving question - where are the cheapest/most stylish for the money ladies snow boots as my girlfriend is hell bent on spending £70 on some despite being unemployed and im trying to talk her out of it....

withabix

The Ski Warehouse or http://www.skiwear4less.com/skiwear4less/home.htm

They usually have excellent prices on ski wear and equipment.

Even better if you're near their outlets:

Longtown (near Carlisle) - their original warehouse and head office
Castleford
Tamworth

Used to be known as Colorado Ski Warehouse, but are still the same company.

No connection with them, just live a few miles from their Longtown branch!