Most of my friends’ kids think snowboarding is for old people.
Now that is funny.
Come to think of it most of the young people I saw were on skis.
We’re cool again!
1 Like
The struggle of finding snowboard-specific outerwear that doesn’t look ridiculous is real. Funny how we made it through the Shaun White skinny pants era and now everything is baggy again.
I didn’t even realize snowboarding went through a skinny pants era.
How could you know? They’re never standing up as always just laying all over the hill.
1 Like
I’ve never understood what makes outerwear snowboard specific, other than the marketing/look of it. I don’t see any functional difference from what skiers wear.
Agreed. Even on sites now some differentiate between them. But then the pictures show it being used for both. I’d always assumed the snowboarding ‘look’ was more baggy. But now it seems like there’s a trend moving to baggy fits for everyone.
Got out there over the weekend and did some skinning trips. One Friday night 9pm and one Sunday morning 6am with Saturday skiing between. Skinning was a first for me. My legs were thrashed but we had a lot of fun. My one friend caught the night pic of us. Being on the mountain with no one else is unreal. With the snow and no lifts making noise it’s peaceful. But takes about an hour to get up and 5 min to get down lol.
2 Likes
Functionally there’s not much difference. For me it’s partially style, and I like to support brands that support and promote snowboarding.
Skiing gear seems to be fracturing in to two camps:
More back country oriented stuff that still seems pretty skinny/athletic (especially European brands - Mammut, Ortovox etc).
More casual/free ride/park oriented gear for the youngins that is more baggy. Burton et al.
I’m tall and lean so I try to aim for the skinnier stuff, especially in jackets as the baggy gear just makes me feel like I’m wearing a giant pillow case, especially when my base and mid layers are pretty form fitting.
I found my Salomon shell is a perfect fit (fits almost identical to an Arc’teryx sabre) and their snow pants are a bit on the baggy side for my preference but not too bad. Here’s a recent picture of me for your enjoyment.
1 Like
I’ve found that snowboard-specific brands (Burton, Jones, 686, Whitespace, Volcom, etc.) all seem to be creeping back into pillowcase territory, regardless of how technical or backcountry-oriented they are. 686 is probably the worst offender which sucks because they make good quality stuff at reasonable prices. In my experience Jones is the most normal-fitting, although still on the baggier side of normal.
I bought a Burton [ak] shell this season and I have to admit I’m super impressed with the quality and the features. Just really well thought out with a ton of useful features.
1 Like
I like a lot of the Burton and Montec jackets/shells. I grabbed a HH because I got a discount but I’d really like to grab a shell from Burton.
I thought montec was super cheap quality? I’ve heard it’s kind of the “fast fashion” type of gear of winter sports.
I’ve heard great reviews about the flylow baker bib, but again, too baggy for my tastes.
1 Like
I can’t speak to the quality but between Montec and Dope I see that stuff everywhere. Definitely budget-friendly.
The NSPers I have skied with for the past 4 winters sport every brand of outer-layer made. All seems to be personal preference. With a couple of exceptions, I’m a Helly guy on the exterior. If I could take a minute to talk about the greatest baselayer “unknown” to man.
There I was… 2 Xmas’s back yonder - Women’s side of local Sierra Trading Post. Shopping hats/gloves for wife’n’daughter. Stroll past the Yoga stuff, and I see the yoga pants. Upon closer inspection, I see that these things come with different thicknesses. What??? - Furlined!? - AyFkgKdgMe?! These just don’t exist for men. At this point, I’m getting angry. Bitter, against women - All women! They’ve been keeping this a secret. WtF? So, I take a slow look L’n’R, start looking for a pair of XL. They gotta make these for big girls, right? And only $22! I sneak a pair into the changing room, slip them on, and L/XL (6’1"/175) stretches from ankle to under pec. They stay in place. Warm, comfy, sexy, ease of movement. I giggled with delight, but still bitter. Bought 2nd pair this year. Patrol shift is sometimes (-10’) for as long as 5hrs. on a chair. Buns and blz eternally grateful. Rarely even a chill. You will not go wrong. Wife may steal them. I have enjoyed every moment in the patrol room explaining why I’m wearing women’s underwear.
4 Likes
Amazing post! But, just fyi, at least here you can most definitely get this kind of weighted, fleece lined base layer at MEC (Canadian REI). Not quite at women’s underwear prices, but cheap enough that it shouldn’t be a deal breaker!
1 Like
Uniqlo has amazingly high quality and very affordable base layers.
If you do I’d recommend going with the [ak] line. More expensive but from what I’ve seen and heard it’s a significant quality jump from the cheaper stuff. PSA - they have a big sale going on right now. The jacket I bought at the beginning of the season is currently 40% off.
Agreed. Their Heattech line has been my go-to for base layers in the last 5 years.
1 Like
I’ve never heard of them to be honest. I have some of MEC’s house brand merino wool bottoms, I wear that at work through the winters when I need to and it doubles nicely as base layers on the mountain. I also have a few HH base layer tops that are great. I haven’t really felt a need or had to replace any base layer in quite a while, they still all perform great and are holding up well.