Ski Jacket & Pants

[mark4217]

Hi All,

I'm heading to USA skiing in Feb 16. I am looking to get pants and jackets etc soon. I am happy to wait for our winter to finish in order to get the bargains. any tips or web sites would be appreciated.
I think its all in the timing to land the end of season sales etc.. USA or AUS works.

 

[robd]

Hi All,

I'm heading to USA skiing in Feb 16. I am looking to get pants and jackets etc soon. I am happy to wait for our winter to finish in order to get the bargains. any tips or web sites would be appreciated.
I think its all in the timing to land the end of season sales etc.. USA or AUS works.

If your landing in Feb, there will be US sales. In Feb 2011, I purchased snow gear (clothes & snowboard) at much, much cheaper prices in the US than you can get in Australia (by about half price or better).

 

[jgm]

Call into your local Aldi. Most still have stocks from their sale a few weeks back. Good quality and a lot cheaper than anywhere else.

 

[cory]

Call into your local Aldi. Most still have stocks from their sale a few weeks back. Good quality and a lot cheaper than anywhere else.

Just remember the old saying with Aldi, you pay peanuts and you get monkeys.

 

[mooingchicken]

Even if its not on sale in the USA, its probably still cheaper than here, unless your after the brand name stuff.

Ive heard the Aldi stuff is pretty decent, from a few people who use them semi-regularly

 

[Ausbt]

Ive heard the Aldi stuff is pretty decent, from a few people who use them semi-regularly

Some people do rate the Aldi stuff, so agreed. I think oz shops when on sale can offer some good gear. My $200 Rossignol jacket is faultless and so are my $150 Columbia pants (10+ seasons and still look good) proving you don't need to spend up big on SOS or Kjus. Since you are GC-based probably not helpful, but Alpsport West Ryde has a massive range of gear. Rhythm in Cooma is probably the biggest retail store in oz. There used to be a Snowbiz in Southport, I think. Regardless, if you want to annoy Gerry Harvey even more Outdoor Gear & Clothing | Ski, Snowboard, Camp & More | Backcountry.com | Backcountry.com or Ski, Snowboard, Wakeboard, Skateboard & the Freshest Clothes | evo or Snow Sports up to 70% off at Sierra Trading Post

 

[Cynicor]

Same sites I use for my gear. While I only rock arcteryx, I have heard that the Aldi gear is pretty passable for a season. Buy online now, if you know your sizing. It's the lowest season and everything 2015 model is in clearance.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

Costco had some good brand name Ski gear when I was in their Ringwood, Vic store last week.
Not a full product range, but nonetheless a few items such as Bollie goggles & the like.

 

[Trampel]

We went to Mammoth in Jan this year. The kids haven't snowboarded before so I bought all their gear online in the States during the Black Friday & cyber Monday sales. Shipping in the U.S. was free so had it shipped to friends who we met up with when over there. We did buy gloves from Aldi for them but they were soaked almost straight away and we ended up having to buy proper gloves in resort.

The main site I used was The House but there were others.

 

[pythonisman]

I have a couple of Aldi bits and pieces (gloves, middle layers etc) and have been really surprised by their quality. I have mates who swear by their jackets / pants - if they've got your size then I wouldn't hesitate to buy them.

That being said, the US will have a far bigger range and more brands / styles (Aldi tends to have one or two styles, and it's really obvious if you ever head to perisher when you see about 20% of people with the same jacket).
Where in the US are you headed? I bought a bunch of sale gear in Portland from US Outdoor (REI is also excellent) and it was dirt cheap - about US $250 got me north face pants, patagonia jacket and some burton gloves (but I hated the gloves and probably wouldn't buy burton gear again). I bought cheap (~$8) Aldi mittens, cause I didn't know if I liked mittens, and they've been bulletproof. Cheap and featureless, but bulletproof - water resistant and warm enough to keep my fingers working in Hokkaido this year, which stunned me. I'm now looking for a nice pair of mittens as I'm a convert. But I digress.

Personally I would go the USA, which should be cheaper in Feb than just about anywhere in .au during even sales. Incidentally, if anyone knows a good place to get quality mittens, I'm all ears (I'm back in the US in a couple of months).
Also ski boots - any thoughts as to good boot fitters either in Sydney or in the US? I've had my boots for about 8 years now and bits are starting to fall off them, the inners are worn out, and I'm thinking they may have done their duty...

 

[gogo419]

theres always deals on backcountry.com!

 

[mark4217]

If your landing in Feb, there will be US sales. In Feb 2011, I purchased snow gear (clothes & snowboard) at much, much cheaper prices in the US than you can get in Australia (by about half price or better).

Feb is their high season is it not. I would have thought prices would be higher. Do you recall what the AUS was worth???, would that be a factor these days at .77c ??

 

[mark4217]

I've signed up to a few sites to get their sale promo's. Sierra Trading Post, Backcountry and House look good. Buying in USA wouldn't work for me as I go BNE-LAX-ASP in one hit... I think prices in Aspen would be over the top... please correct me if I'm wrong.
Aldi gets a mixed review. I will check them out in any-case...

 

[Cynicor]

Now is definitely better than Feb in the US. I am looking or buying gear most of the year, and actually have 4 new snowboards and a bunch of gear winging their way from various locations around the US.

They mail pretty much every day with sales so just start looking for what you are after and see what you can get. If it's already 30-50% off with free internal shipping, you probably wot beat that.

 

[robd]

Feb is their high season is it not. I would have thought prices would be higher. Do you recall what the AUS was worth???, would that be a factor these days at .77c ??

IIRC, it was ~ .89. I purchased most of the stuff (all popular brands & the latest designs of snowboard, boots, jacket, pants) online and had it shipped to our hotel in California. You will be purchasing older stock at the end of our season in Australia. Even with the lower FX rate, I still reckon the prices will be better in the US by a considerable amount. February in the US is toward the end of their ski season.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I tried the ALDI ski bag (on wheels drag along) and it didn't even make it from OOL to AKL. Admittedly, I had two sets of skis and two pairs of boots, but hey, if you make enough room, make it strong enough!

We regularly visit the AU alpine areas in summer to get the last seasons clothes on sale. I'm a tight cough and I'm usually happy! My eldest daughters boyfriend came skiing with us and he spent more on his (in season) clothes then I spent on our whole family (of 5) and I'd say most "normal" people would not tell the difference. A bunny is born every second! BTW......we really enjoy bushwalking and relaxing in the alpine areas off season, so it's not a special trip.

 

[Meggsy]

Have a look here Outdoor Adventure Gear Online in Australia | Torpedo7

I've always been pretty happy with what I have been able to find on that site.

 

[mark4217]

Torpedo7 looks good. I will check it out tomorrow.

 

[Danger UXB]

I have used
www.sierratradingpost.com
a number of times and have never been disappointed with the products even the seconds Sign up for the dealflyer emails. The discount codes are great.
This is the latest one
JXC4931D

if you get the app on the phone you can enter it to get the discount prices before the checkout
If your are going to ski in the USA(Aspen) in Feb you will need to be warm, so just buy in once (ie not aldi) and go the breathable fabric (read gortex or similar). Some of the companies do not allow postage to AUS so use a forwarding company like MYUS.com .

I have also used backcountry (used to be departmentofgoods.com used to be great for north face stuff).

 

[jgm]

I skied at Winter Park for 3 weeks in Feb last year with my Aldi jacket. Only had thermal & compression top & T-shirt under it & was plenty warm enough. It was also fine this year at Whistler & still kept me dry in the 2 days of solid rain.