Hi all!
Just learned how to ski, but the suit I borrowed is super old and started getting wet.
I’m looking for something ideally made in Europe, if not, at least from a European-based company (and made outside), that would be good for a beginner, fairly light and packable. And water-proof. :)
I always ski in my hiking jacket, which I also tend to use on rainy days throughout the year. It’s wind and water proof (I’d think wind is more important than water as I wouldn’t ski in rain, but you mention getting wet so what do I know), and has zippers under the armpits so I can cool down a bit if necessary. It is extremely thin and lightweight. The brand is Bergans (of Norway, middle end), but there are plenty of good options. Underneath I just layer up with wool until I’m comfortable.
Not really a specific jacket recommendation, more a general advice to get a good jacket you can use for other activities as well. For a beginner there’s no reason to have a jacket dedicated specifically to skiing.
I also ski in winter hiking pants. The problem with those is that they don’t go over the shoes in alpine skiing, which would have been more ideal. I can’t say it bothers me much though.
I was skiing in around -5°C to -10°C and, apparently, that was low enough difference for my body heat to elevate the surface temp of the jacket to at least 1°C, which meant that snow that landed on me was melting. On day five the jacket’s waterproofing went away and for the next two days it was getting (slowly) soaked.
Hmm… I get where you’re coming from, but wouldn’t you say the opposite is also true? Might as well go hiking in a skiing jacket, no?
Sure - I had a snowboarding jacket as an all purpose one for a few years, and it was great. So I think it’s more about finding a good jacket that you could see yourself wearing in many situations.
And yeah, it makes sense that the snow could melt and all that, sounds extremely uncomfortable. In either case I’d want a waterproof jacket for sure. :)