My local charity shop has listed a range of brand new snow gear from ALDI on their online store. I had a quick look and it seems to be at a reduced rate compared to the RRP. Free delivery for orders of $50+.
Other items (limitied quantity)
As a bonus, funds raised go towards programs for disadvantaged young people.
Mod note: No item besides the helmets satisfy minimum quantity requirement. Reference to other items removed from title.
Mostly 1 off items. Helmets have 8 or 9 pieces but most clothing is 1 off and a few have a couple more.
Upvoted for the cause, and the helmet looks like a good deal, but ALDI snow clothing is not great at waterproof-ness, just fyi. I think they are OK for casual use. I recall the Aldi snow pants were absorbing water (i.e. not beading) by the end of a 3hr night ski session where it was sleeting.
I used their gloves last week in Perisher and in similar wet conditions (sleeting) and they were saturated to the point of being able to wring water out of it, and needed to go to the restroom every hr or so to use the blow dryer to try to dry/warm up the gloves. It was not pleasant.
Depends a bit on which Aldi gear, they vary in waterproof levels from 4K through to 10K and you kinda get what you pay for. I recall that the ratings on the snowboard gear is lower than for the snow gear. The rating on the premium Aldi snow gear is pretty good. And if you're 3 hours in sleeting conditions then any gloves are going to stuggle. I carry two pairs if it's wet.
Hmm, the quality is pretty good. We've used Aldi Crane pants and jacket all over the globe. No issue in wet spring snow in Canada, NZ or Australia. No issue in a rained out July. Can't vouch for the gloves.
I'm still on the same aldi pants from 10 yrs ago. I keep thinking it's time to invest something better and pricier but they just keep going. Doesn't work for rain after an hour or 2 but nothing does. Wouldn't go a season with it but a few weeks a year is fine. Also works well if you don't do a lot of falling.
Agree - the Aldi gear has lasted quite a while. My jacket is starting the wear through in the back where my backpack rubs. Might get another season or two out of it. I have both the budget and premium Aldi pants. I think the premium ones are 20K and stay pretty dry in the wet. The budget ones are padded so will absorb a bit over time but even when wet still do a reasonable job of keeping the moinsture away from the skin. The cheap Aldi gloves are not a great long term investment. They do tend to soak up the moisture a bit but if you've got kids who tend to lose them twice a day so it's "better" because you just buy several pairs. The premium gloves are more moisture resistant and worth the extra money but I still take two pairs out on a rainy day. Don't buy the synthetic ski socks if your feet sweat a lot. Spend more on the merino. Your room mates will thank you.
@freesteakknives: Yeh agreed. Those aldi gloves didn't last at all. I invested in a good set of mitts and socks. I wish more places sold mitts. Very underrated must have piece of snow gear.
@mit: @mit There's a big performance difference between the cheap and expensive Aldi gloves but they tend not to carry too many of the expensive gloves during the sale. I think that the price puts off a typical Aldi shopper. Most instructors I see wear mitts so clearly a good idea. Plus easier to get in and out of when it's a bit wet I imagine. I usually carry a backpack so having fingers is useful. What brand mitts did you buy. I'll have to get a pair now :-)
@freesteakknives: I ended up getting some Burton basic (cheapest) end ones. Hard to find any locally. Paired it together with the inner gloves from a kathmandu gortex set I had previously. It works well. I can take my hand out and get to things while still keeping my hands warm. I wouldn't recommend it otherwise though. They're pretty thin by themselves. They've gotta have better stuff in the Northern hemisphere.
Edit: I remember now that I wasn't prepared to send $300 on a decent pair at the time so $60 did the job at the time and seeing how I don't drag my hands across the mountain much anymore, it's still as good as new.
It was precisely in Canada where I ran into that issue - it was in Grouse Mountain night ski and it was sleeting and I just remember seeing the droplets literally melt into the pants as I sat on the lifts. Pants & gloves will come into contact with wet surfaces a lot more from holding a T-bar to sitting on wet chairlift.
Did you wash them with normal washing detergent? That can stuff up the water repelling ability.
@tunzafun001: you are right there - I didn't previously use the proper wash, as the $20-40 on Nikwax was equal to the value of the pants. I've actually just re-washed them (with Nikwax tech wash + reproofing) in a big load of WR gear and then tumbled dried in proofing mode, so will see in the upcoming trip how it performs.
Like with any "breathable waterproof" membrane, you need to wash the garmet and reactivate DWR with heat, and after enough use, you need to reapply DWR. E.g. https://arcteryx.com.au/pages/product-care
Otherwise the garment will remain waterpoof but will absorb water on the face fabric which means it will no longer be breathable and will also probably get cold due to the usual evaporative cooling.
You can select quantity of 50+ on that site… Not sure if they're only selling one or if they're actually selling bulk.