I'm planning to go to the snows in a month's time.
Anyone know where I can buy the whole kit and caboodle. Clothes, snowboard, bindings, boots, goggles, thermals. The works!
Happy to pay for 2013 stock.
If anyone recommends any great brick and mortar stores, I'll happily pay as well.
How keen/committed/into it are you. If you are a beginner heading up to try it out and throw some snowballs, maybe take in a beginners class the Aldi stuff is OK. You wont get a snowboard from Aldi though! If you are after the whole kit and kaboodle, decent stuff that will last you for a while and keep you dry and warm beyond the beginners slope here is my recommendations:
Board/Boots:
These guys are my first choice. Shipping to Australia is normally cheap and sometimes quicker than Australia Post (even though they are based in the US). I have bought 2 snowboards, bindings a couple of sets of boots and numerous bits of snow clothing from them. Highly recommended. i received an email from them yesterday advertising that they had 'Scott' brand leather or goretex gloves (worth probably nearly $200 retail here) for $40 US. they also normally have awesome deals on goggles and helmets. Sometimes they have deals on clothes as well, last time I looked they had some sweet deals on some DC brand pants and jackets.
All of the stuff above would leave the Aldi stuff for dead. It might be overkill if your lifetime boarding ambition is a weekend in beginner classes but if this is something you want to take up worth doing.
Most of my personal ski clothing comes from these guys. They are second on my list because their postage is normally expensive. In fact it is so expensive that it kills a deal for smaller purchases. if you are buying a few things though it can still work out OK. They often have awesome % off sales. Sierra is basically an online outlet shop so most of their stuff is already discounted by US standards. On top of this they regularly have additional discounts. There is a 30% off code at the moment SFB71714 copy and paste this into your shopping cart at checkout for an extra 30% off. Up until yesterday there was a 40% off coupon code but it has just expired. These guys are the best for snow clothing, they normally have a great range.
Look for something with 10K or better waterproofing and breathability ratings. Better than 10K would be my choice as Australian snow is very wet compared to US or Japan. What that means is that eventually all that sitting down to do up bindings etc will see your pants soak through and your @r5e get wet. I would be surprised if the Aldi stuff is 5K rated. I would be amazed if the woolworths stuff is 2K rated!! if you find Goretex etc that is 20K+ rated you can just about swim in the stuff without getting wet (slight exaggeration there).
Only rub on Sierra is that normally their hardware (boards/bindings) dont seem that cheap.
http://www.thrivesnowboards.com/store.htm
These guys used to trade under the name sierrasnowboard. they were the #1 destination for snow bargains, so much so that the big guys pulled rank with the suppliers and had them closed down. Their old site was taken over by others who immediately jacked up all the prices so i wont even mention them here. I've never bought anything from their re-created website but next time I need something I definitely will. They have a free international shipping promotion at the moment, if you buy more than $500USD worth of stuff from them they will throw in free international postage. You would be able to get your whole kit from them I am sure and they would probably be able to advise on which board etc to get.
As a snow tragic that has wasted loads on all sorts of snow stuff, for decent gear you cant go past the overseas deals from the US. It is the middle of summer over there at the moment, what you are buying is their clearout end of season stuff at massive discounts. If you look at Sierra Trading Post for example they have merino wool thermals that would cost you over $200 here going for around $50. There are googgles that would cost a couple of hundred here gong for $50, there are snowboard socks that would cost $30 - $40 going for $8 etc. I bought my son a helmet 2 seasons ago from levelnine. Local price was $250, their price was $80. I feel sorry for the local B&M shops but for them they need to make a year's worth of profit in 2 months. The only people that pay their prices are people that don't know any better. I once bought a Spyder Ski Jacket from Sierra, cost me $200 USD and my local B&M ski shop here in OZ had it for $750, exact same one! That is just too big a markup to justify! Let's be clear here too, this wasnt a copy/pirate version Sierra is a genuine US shop, they have a big retail outlet in Reno that you can go to if you are in town. All their stuff is 1st grade gear.
I would just like to thank you for this write up. Just bought a sizable chunk of stuff from level9 and have easily saved myself a few hundred dollars. Many thanks!
Most welcome :)
Dear 2ndeffort,
I came across your post, and really learnt a huge chunk. I normally get my snowgear from rentals.
i was wondering if u could personally recommend me some quick gears I need to buy before my snowtrip this thursday.
I know its abit rush, even if i don't make it, I dont mind investing in some good snowgears to prepare myself for next year. I feel veryyyy ripped off by renting all the time.
If you could so kindly help me, I would be so grateful.
I bought snow jacket and pants from Aldi a year ago. (quite warm, i like it)
Will be wearing heat tech - Uniqlo to protect my body.
Gloves, I've yet to find a very good one.
Googles, I dont mind if its really cheap.
I refered to the website u recommended.
Does that mean I would have to buy a board + bindings + shoe? (most important)
I'm 175cm tall, 70kg, and size is 10.5 US.
Please advise. Thanks ^^
Kind Regards,
Timothy
Hi Timothy, Sorry I took so long, didn't see the post. If you are after a board, bindings and boots I would have a look at www.levelninesports.com They are pretty helpful, if you aren't sure which length board or which size bindings to match your boots ask them. Given it is Tuesday night I doubt you will get it by Thursday though, only way to get one that quick is to walk into a shop.
They normally have cheap gloves and goggles. Wherever you buy, see if there is gloves and goggles at the same place as the board so you save on only paying 1 set of shipping.
If you go regularly, rentals add up. Having your own boots helps as well. There is an argument in the ski community that you should go in and get your boots professionally fitted as bad fitting ski boots are agony and will ruin your trip. I've had several pairs this way but the downside is obviously that you pay top dollar. You get professional fitting help but you also pay a lot for it.
Snowboard boots are possibly a bit more forgiving as they have soft-ish shells and are generally more comfortable than ski boots to begin with. The best advice for someone getting their 1st pair of boots is to have them fitted, personally, I've bought my kids 3 or 4 pairs of snowboard boots over the internet and they've all seemed to go OK. The option of paying $400 a pop and getting them professionally fitted was not an option. If you know what size you take when you rent go for a pair of that size. If they are a bit uncomfortable there are special insoles you can buy later that help a bit. If you are unsure what size boot to get, email and ask the guys at the shop, it is very expensive to be mailing boots back to America to swap for the next size up.
Anaconda
I bought ski pants and a ski jacket from Woolworths (Rundle Mall, SA) a couple weeks ago, for $15 a piece.
You local store may have some or none.
Also, it may be worth hiring if you're not planning to be a regular
Thanks everyone.
I'd like the gear to last me > 5 years. Hoping to go every year and thought i'd invest in fun times and happiness.
I'll definitely look at Aldi's for clothing and the boots i'd like to be snug and comfortable.
FYI: I'm a beginner
Levelnine beginner package, board boots and bindings. My son has these boots and loves them!
$259USD + postage http://www.levelninesports.com/Rossignol-Trickstick-Amptek-C…
Damn, sizing is pretty difficult for me.
Both levelninesports and sierra.
I might just have to pay the premium
Would highly recommend Skate banana by Lib Tech for board, if you can find it cheaply.
http://www.evo.com/snowboards/lib-tech-skate-banana-snowboar…
Me i'm using a Ride Dh2 atm
I've had pretty good experiences shopping from Sierra.
If you need a brief guide on gear then this is a site that I usually use: http://thegoodride.com/
What I noticed is a huge price difference on snow gears bought here and America, but most of them there don't ship it to Australia so what you could do is get a freight forwarder to handle it for you!
Hope this helps :)
Check your local aldi for snow gear on clearance - great value and performance despite what the brand snobs might say (and I used to be one, a lot of my gear is burton, analog, sessions etc but in future I'd be quite happy with aldi). Kathmandu occasionally have their thermals on sale and they do the job just fine, but like everything at kathmandu never worth paying full price.
Don't think aldi have snowboards/boots/bindings though. I used to buy boards/bindings from trusnow.com but with shipping time now not sure you'd get it in time for whenever you're going. You can often find good local shops with decent sales, if you're in vic I often got great bargains at ballistix in ringwood.