So after seeing the Aldi snow gear sale, I came across the BigW catalogue also selling something similar. Basically it's $10 less than Aldi's pricing for each of the above-mentioned, but imo the latter looks better.
And just out of interest I think the picture has been mirrored looking at the wind flap that goes over the zips.
This is available at Big W at Salisbury.
I bought these the first time I went to the snow. Terrible. In this case it really is true, you get what you pay for.
Aldi gear is very decent quality
pay a little bit more for some really good branded stuff from sierratradingpost.com
you can find their coupon code very easily online to get extra discounts. anyway i received their emails twice everyday. and just missed out a gorgeous HH coat yesterday (rrp $600 in the states, on sale at $127. the same one will be sold at $1000 in australia).
Agree with this. It is coming into summer in the Northern hemisphere. Any unsold ski gear is on massive discount as it is all old season stock and people over there are buying boardies and t shirts! Sierra is great but as mentioned look for a discount code at www.retailmenot.com . Also have a look at some of the UK online shops, they should give the VAT off (20% discount) and unbelievably shipping is normally cheaper from the UK. Shipping can be expensive from Sierra, probably $50 so not worth it for socks and a thermal etc but OK if you are going to get the full kit.
Also have a look at both www.levelninesports.com and Amazon.
Aldi gear and the Big W stuff looks OK but if it gets wet, really cold or even starts snowing you will find this stuff starts soaking through. The numbers to look for are the waterproofing and the breath-ability. Cheap stufff is normally around 5K or less for each. The 5K stuff is good for ski lessons on a clear day on a groomed run somewhere in a resort and the odd dash to the pub/lodge of an evening. At the other end of the scale you'll get GoreTex stuff rated at 20 - 30K+ for both which is what you want for your Backcountry BC epic heli adventure hucking off 30ft cliffs and shralping the gnarr!
For a basic family ski trip I would recommend 10K rated clothes. The Ski boots/apre boots whatever, I wouldn't bother with. I've skied all over the world never owned a pair. You normally see teenage snowboarders of an evening darting to and from the pub wearing banies, skinny jeans and those silly slipper things they all seem to get around in. I normally just wear outdoor style runners, my kids just wear normal runners at the snow. All of the roads and paths are normally cleared at Aussie resorts, it would be a dream come true and I'd be running for my ski boots if the snow on the roads and the paths was too deep to walk in with runners on!! I guess the Apre boots might be OK for the odd snowball fight or making a snowman etc.
A final note….don't skimp on cheap gloves! I will always remember having to pick up my 7 YO son (now 12) from a snowboard lesson and he was bawling his little eyes out. His cheapo gloves had sprung a leak and his little fingers were soaked and frozen to the point of agony. You'll see reasonably priced gloves with Gore-Tex inserts. My experience with kids is that their gloves get a beating. My Adult gloves hopefully don't even get wet, my kids are continually sticking their hands int he snow to make a snowball or do up their snowboard bindings etc. Their gloves get a smashing and often last only a season before a seam pops etc.
Yeah I agree, just thought this may appeal to people just giving skiing/snowboarding a go. Just like those $60 bikes, they do the job but obviously get something better if you're going to use it often. I got a couple of TNF stuff from eBay (look for sales samples if you don't care about warranty) as most stores that sell their gear don't ship overseas. If I remember correctly Dr Jays is one of the few retailers that ship TNF gear to Australia.
Any good walk-in retail stores to buy snow gear in WA? What do I need for a ski trip to Japan? Boots, couple of pants, Jacket, and gloves.. Anything else?
Layers! Base layer (Thermals), mid-layers for your chest, such as a fleece. Neck warmer, gloves, might even consider glove liners if your particularly susceptible to the cold. Good warm, wool or merino ski socks. Hiking socks or rugby socks won't cut it.
I don't think I have ever seen snow gear in SA bigW, is this Victoria exclusive?