Black Diamond has some nice stuff too.

I will be picking up some Black Diamond, Mission pants this year

I ski in UT all the time.

Currently rolling with:
USGI ECWCS base layers
Outdoor Research Carbide Bibs
Outdoor Research down jacket.  This recently replaced a USGI fleece.  The fleece was adequate but the down is thinner, packs nicer and is warmer.
Truspec rain jacket in OD green (wasn't willing to pay full freight for the OR carbide jacket -- truspec isn't as good as a real ecwcs but I don't love the ACU look on the slopes).
Crocs for apres ski and tailgating in the lot.

Warm and dry.  I get a nice discount on OR; you might want to wait for a sale.  It's pricey at full rate.

Arc, MHW, BD stuff is all good and durable. HH is shit, tears easily. NF (except their mountaineering) is shit, Mammut is shit. Marmot is solid. Trew is supposedly good, but I have never used it.

Obermayer and most Burton is “good enough”.

In your range Id look for MHW and Black Diamond.

My Burton AK variety coat and Ride pants have been bomb proof. Have an old Capel jacket as well. New pants this year are Armada. Just don't cheap out. Decide if you want a shell or something insulated. All my shit is 20k waterproofing and 20k breathability. Stay away from the cheap single layer 10k garbage. Columbia stuff sucks and Patagonia are maybe the biggest sjw brands in the industry. Browse through evo.com to get some ideas. Use the filters to filter out the cheap crap.

HH for outer shell (or other brand with good fit)

Quality vest with down front and tech fabric on the back

Cheapie dry fit stuff for base layer

Buy good socks and boots

Oakley for helmet and goggles (their system fits together without gaps)


Btw; mountain sports outlet in silverthorne is hooked up. Hit them at the end of the season.

I also would stay away from HH. If you want to spend HH money go Patagonia.

Better grear out there for the price for sure. Trew looks nice but I have heard there are fit/cut issues.

Flylow, Stafe, BD, Patagonia, RAB, OR all great good reviews even on Blister gear. I ski MHW myself and I like it a lot.

Depending on size look at Freeridesystems.com, stuff handmade in Denver. Excellent quality and fantastic warranty, good luck finding anything in stock, anywhere with them though. I have been waiting for 3 years.

Patagonia fit sucks (and I want to like their gear). It’s always cut for a dude that is 6’2”and 130lbs or a dude that is 5’6” and 240lbs

Lol HH has same eurotrash cut too.

I won’t buy Patagonia, except for capilene base layers. That shit is great. I have not found anything better and it’s durable as hell

To be honest, I probably tried on 15 HH shells to find one with a good fit. Lol

They had my color combo...

Pics of sister?

Hell yeah.

I also don't ski.  I operate in a mountainous environment.

Generally with a Walther P99 when state law allows.

Welcome to the party.

Outdoor Research is what I have. Bib pants and shell jacket. They always have stuff on sale.
I wear a thermal base layer, then a mid layer shirt, then a thinsulate inner jacket from OR also.

Good stuff.

Burton will probably get hate, but they make great technical outerwear, with a range of fits/styles. With that said, you can’t go wrong with Burton/686/Oakley/HH/L1/TNF/Volcom/Quik/Saga/etc., as most of the companies are sourcing their textiles from the same books each season. I have a background with many 200+ days on snow each year, including a number doing R&D for Burton.

The-House has been around for decades and is absolutely legitimate; however, I’d recommend checking out your nearest Burton outlet store - their W48 warranty is the best in the industry.

Get a shell so you can layer appropriately.

Last time I went skiing, I was wearing army issued ACU goretex pants, jacket, and ACH, with all the issued snivvle gear underneath.

Flylow

That's interesting.

It seems like I regularly see people that regularly work in hard weather conditions wearing HH

Alright well a member from this thread got me setup with a coupon for Mountain Hardwear. I have a bit of their lighter duty gear already and love it, so I bought some of the middle ground stuff from them.

I appreciate all of the responses!

Check out kit lender, you can rent gear and mail it back.

Don't listen to the people recommending down anything while skiing. If you are actually skiing, you'll soak it through and it will be worthless. Fleece or other synthetic if you need an insulation layer.  I don't wear any insulation unless it's below 25-30 degrees

For a 300.00 budget, your best bet is North Face pants and Columbia jackets.  I would get a smart wool base layer to compliment whatever you get.  Columbia makes good value gear, not the best.

Gross.

Yeah if you work on a fishing boat and want rubber gear, by all means.

This.  A shell with a reflective inside and a base layer will keep you comfortable to 30 degrees or so.

Yup. Pretty good stuff. I daily some of their pants right now and use some of their snowboard boots when I snowmobile.

I live in Lake Tahoe and ski, snowboard, snowmobile a lot. I have Columbia, Volcom, Burton, OR, Oakley, etc...

Layers are key. Get good waterproof shells and layer according to temp. I layer with cotton/poly blend long underwear. I don't sweat much so it works great. Good synthetic socks are a must.

My stock setup is Burton pants that I bought on clearance from Evo.com, OR (Outdoor Research) leather gloves and a kickass Oakley jacket that I bought full pop. The only things that I change up are base layers and I go to a Burton puffy jacket when it's really cold. Sometimes Burton park gloves or mittens depending on weather.

I have some bibs that I wear when it's deep out and a few other pairs of pants if I want to change things up. Honorable mention are some Volcom pants that stretch. Badass.

I'm pretty particular about using ski/snowboard specific stuff because it's cut to keep snow out. The jackets will usually have a snow skirt.

Hit evo.com and shop clearance stuff.

I purchased my Spyder gear 20 years ago and it’s still going.

Mountain hardware makes some nice stuff. I also have some of their jackets and shirts I use for hiking, good for layering and harder physical activity. Nothing I'd want to ski in though.

Again for me one of the most important things is mittens, not gloves. Being able to keep your fingers together and even bunch them up into a fist if needed is very nice.

What resort do you ride? Forecast is looking pretty epic this week!

I climbed a 14 thousand foot mountain in Colorado in December ( 2 months ago), in cheap, made in China shit that I got off Amazon. It worked fine for me, although you should spend BIG on better gloves than you need. When it’s -5 with 50 mph wind, good gloves matter!

Attached File


Also, at 14k, you can just visually look at the horizon and tell that the world is NOT flat. It amazes me that it took renaissance era smart people a bunch of time to come up with that.

Airplanes fly at 30k but you’re looking out of a tiny little window. When you’re at the top of the world, like on Pikes Peak on a clear day, you can literally see to Denver Co, and SEE the curvature of the earth.

Many times that gear is given outright or is a negotiated purchase at a steep discount to get brand exposure. (at least in the ski world)

If you are skiing in early spring, I doubt you need much insulation as the direct sunlight and constantly moving will keep you warm with a base layer then a waterproof shell jacket and pants.

I can tell you this, I have Arcteryx and my jacket that I had for 15 years finally had a seam come loose on the bottom of the jacket.  I sent it in and they let me pick a new full replacement jacket and they have improved things over the years.  

It kinda depends on what kind of skier you are.  Some people cruise groomers all day and don't generate as much heat.  Some people hit the bumps and get really warm.  It also depends on how hardcore you are.  Some people head indoors with hot chocolate when the temp dips below 25 and the sun goes behind a cloud.  Some people are pounding it when its -10 and snowing so hard the lifties have to broom the snow off each chair.  You just have to dress for what you want, or else the clothing becomes a limiting factor in your limited amount of ski vacation.

I'd recommend something wind and waterproof for the top and bottom.  It's worth it to spend some money, but you don't have to go crazy.  You do not want to be cold when the sun goes under, the wind whips up, the temp is 5 degrees and the chairlift stops 4 times because idiots don't belong on this side of the mountain.  Go fairly thin.  Not just a shell, but resist the urge to get a thick down jacket or heavily insulated pants.  You'll be wise to dress in comfortable layers and a little of that should give you all the insulation you need, and you can shed a layer when it warms up.  Also get a jacket with pit zippers.  They are a lifesaver on a 30+ degree day.  Water is the enemy of heat regardless of how warm it is.  You will get wetter in warmer weather, and you want to stay dry.  It's worth it to get Gore-Tex or something similarly waterproof and breathable.

Jacket and Pants - $250ish

Spend some money on gloves too, waterproof and well insulated.  I don't know about you, but the worst place to get cold is in the fingers.  Rarely does the rest of me ever get cold.  My fingers do with regularity, and since I often ski with my phone out or a camera in one hand and poles in the other, I don't always wear them.  It's wonderful to have good gloves to warm up stiff fingers after skiing Outhouse with no poles and a glove in your coat because you are filming your son on the moguls.  I have one pair of good warm gloves for all ski weather.  You can keep your hands warm with $30 gloves, but they get can damp inside, the finger insulation pulls out of the finger shell, they are hit and miss, etc.  Using the "wetsuit strategy" with gloves is a bad idea.  Yeah, your hand might keep the wet interior warm.  For today.  Tomorrow if it's still wet, you'll freeze and never get them warmed up again.

Gloves - $75ish

Thin socks are fine.  If your feet get cold in ski boots, you likely don't have a good fitting pair of boots.  You won't need a hat most likely.  Most everyone wears a helmet anymore, and and a good one is comfortable and warm.  Spend what you want on goggles.  It's hard to find really bad goggles these days, even for $30.  If you want to wear glasses under the goggles, that is where it gets more complicated.  I don't mind spending a hundred on goggles, but most of my youth I did just fine with cheap Smith or whatever.

Helmet - $100ish
Goggles - $30 - $130

This year masks are a "thing", but I recommend a neck warmer if you are skiing in the cold.  They can double as Karen Repellant.  $10 will get you something polar fleece that is more than adequate.

ETA - I have a Marmot jacket, and NF pants.  Probably 10 years old for both.  Still work perfectly.

back when I snowboarded, I would just use my Woodland Gortex top and bottom, shorts and a t-shirt, and Burton boots. Sadly though, I haven't been on a mountain in 10 years.

That shit works

I've traveled to cold places, from Texas, only a handful of times. That being said, I don't know my own dirty, filthy asshole from a dirtier hold in the ground when it comes to this thing called "skiing". That being said, I'm alive today because I'm a good judge of character and somewhat intuitive in authenticating others.

THIS dude seems legitimate and genuine.

If you make your purchase decisions on 60% of his recommendations, you should be fine on the bunny slopes.

I've climbed a little less than a dozen 14 thousand foot mountains in Colorado. As a straight arrow,  I have a lot of stress and misery in my profession, which leaks into my head and life. Hiking / climbing mountains in Colorado is one of the only things that's difficult enough, and in the winter, life endangering enough, to fully engulf my mind and distract me from the administrative stress and worry of work.
I've been climbing these mountains with no real clue of what I'm doing. MOST are in the dead of Colorado summer (which is relative to Texans).

But, the ones I climbed in winter were a new experience and a new challenge. It was eye opening and horizon expanding. I've regained feeling in most of my fingertips about two months after my last winter fourteener and I'm excited to fuck up my health and safety again! I look forward to the next adventure to distract me from life for a while...

but what I've learned from my past experiences is that... you don't have too, and your shouldn't spend stupid money on name brand, but you SHOULD spend a LITTLE time researching what requirements and standards that you want from your gear. There's a bunch of stuff that can meet your needs that doesn't have a brand name on it.

Patagonia gear isn't what it used to be. I have one of their "fleece" jackets that they've made for decades. That's it, and I don't wear it skiing. Their gear is very trendy around here.

Clothing trends kinda follows sport. Snowboarders are in Burton, DC, etc. Skiiers tend toward Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, Patagonia, Arcterix.

I'm a mutt since I do both and snow-mo. I buy gear at the end of the year, for the most part. 30-50% off. I don't get crazy because some of my stuff gets destroyed in a few days. Shit goes sideways in the back country fast. Torn by tree branches. Torn by snowmobile carbides,  etc. I try not to use my good gear around the house, but it never fails that I'm wearing ski gear when I need to change tractor implements. Anyway.... moral if the story: buy cheap, stack deep

I do down, but that's when it's under 20 degrees and blowing sideways. I also don't sweat much, so....  That makes up 5 or so days per year. All of my gear is vented.  You can open it up to breath if you're cooking.

90% of the time my gear is a un-insulated shell. I have only one pair of insulated pants. I usually use them when I'm moving snow at the house.

@bradbradbrad I'm an old school Sugar Bowl guy. That or back country (which I probably won't touch for at least a week.... Conditions will be really dangerous for a bit). Yup, We're in for it this week. Calling for 80 inches!! I'm pumped. My snowmobile has been mostly sitting. Folks have been going out, but it's been low tide out there.

Ha.... My phone is out filming my kid in the park. I feel ya there, on gloves. I was just thinking that I need new mittens.

This guy knows ?

Wait for the end of season sale at evo.com and grab the best stuff you can afford. Arcteryx my be expensive but it will last for 20 years. OR also makes good stuff. Pants I only buy Flylow or Quicksilver gore-tex.

He's darn close, for sure. I spend a decent amount more on goggles. Something with changeable lenses and a good anti-fog coating.

About the only other thing I'll add is that on long days I'll keep some back up gear in the car. On deep days you're bound to find a way to get snow somewhere you don't want it. That usually means I just go home, but people make a mission of skiing. You don't want it cut short because you're cold and wet.

Until you get good enough to realize that jeans are cold and hold moisture, while simultaneously restricting movement.

And rain pants will make you slide uncontrollably if you fall.

Any other tips for a first time skier from Florida??
Hand warmers, ect??

Thanks

So I ended up with This for pants.

This for a jacket

These gloves.

Already have This for a little lightweight shell if it's warmer.

I have some merino Smartwool baselayers with their socks. Maybe a thin down puffer if it's cold but assuming I won't need it.

I have some old Spy goggles but might get a cheap set of Amazon or Smith goggles this trip. I'll just use a gaiter as a mask.

Hopefully g2g

I haven't worn hand warmers. I haven't been a fan of sock or glove liners either, but some people swear by them.

Honestly, I was OK in my cheap Columbia setup. I just wanted to get something nicer...vents for when it gets warmer and a little more flexible.

i wanted to drive up to the top of pike's peak when working in COS a few years ago but decided $20 was too much for the entrance fee.

How much did you spend?  Also for Ski Socks I would get several different weights if you don't own your own boots.  Boots fit differently and having options has served me well.  Tight fighting boots you will want thin ski socks.

Your gear kind of depends on how much moisture you plan on dealing with, which is how much to you plan to fall down.

I have an old ass Mountain Hardware jacket and Burton bottoms. My girlfriend got me the Burtons for X-mas, before that I just ran some uninsulated Columbia bottoms. The Burtons are a lot nicer anbd heavier.

As said, You can "just ski" in about anything. Depends how swanky and high class you want to appear. If you dont see being out in 0 degree shitty weather, you dont need to go super exotic.
My load out:

32 Degree base layer upper
REI midweight base layer lower

Whatever t shirts and jeans I grab. Probably an Old Navy t shirt and Levi jeans
A hoodie (Specifically an Oliver Hammer, its a local clothing store)

Mountain hardware jacket They dont make the one I have anymore, and mine is water proof. I really shoudl replace it, in a wet heavy snow it picks up some moisture. Not the end of the world and it is water resistant and I like it

Burton cargo snowpants

I just recently switched from Columbia snowpants (Really just a hard shell, they had no insualtion) to the Burtons. Love the Burtons. Dont feel restricted when usingf them with jeans put will probably move away from jeans and just run thermals.

Honestly, the REI brand stuff is good quality and wont break the bank. Skiing is damn similar to walking so if you can hike in the cold you are 95% of the way there to skiing in the cold. Just get a good outer layer.

lol @ all the southerners giving (retarded) advice on ski outerwear.

so what do you like for ski clothing?