Noob to the snowboarding experience here.
I’ve bought a season pass and plan on going a fair bit, and so I figure I’ll be better of buying all the gear rather than renting it.
I’ve checked online ski stores in Australia and there’s not a great deal of specials and was wondering if it would be worthwhile going to the US at the end of there season and buying everything I need then.
Is there anyone else here who has gone through this and can help me make the right decision?
Thanks
Where/When to Buy a Complete Snowboard and Clothing Package?
MakeMoneyMoney on 01/12/2022 - 13:03
Comments
Very insightful, thanks.
I’d like to think it’ll be something I continue to do, but you never know.
Perhaps if I were to buy some cheap anaconda/Aldi/decathalon clothes(gloves, goggles, jacket, pants), some decent boots and rent the board and bindings this year, at least until I’m sure of how committed I am.
I was in a store today and the price guide he gave me was:
Jacket-$300
Pants-$300
Boots-$400
Plus the rest.
And if I was wanting to get my son and partner in on the action i could potentially save a few dollars with an international order at the right timeI’d like to think it’ll be something I continue to do, but you never know.
haha - I said that myself at the start too! And I never really got that into it, but I still went every time my mates went (for the pissup mainly).
It's been a while since I've shopped for this kind of stuff, but there used to be a line of ski shops along Kent St (Sydney CBD) that had a lot of gear. And if I remember correctly, $300 was enough to get a pretty decent (branded) jacket and pants (each item) if you dig through the previous seasons' gear. Prices might've gone up significantly since then.
There's plenty of money to be saved though, so it's worth planning things out.
These prices depend on how fashionable you want to be. I think the aldi stuff (which works fine btw!) would be a total of less than $200 for a jacket, pants, thermals, socks and maybe a helmet.
You can pick up basic beginner boards and bindings on marketplace for pretty cheap, using it more than two or three days would offset rental costs pretty quickly.
Boots are the one thing I'd really say to buy properly. They can make or break a fun day. Look up how they're meant to fit, and if you can, go into a few shops and try on different brands and sizes and see how they fit. Your toes should just be touching the end of the boot, and then when you crouch into your snowboard stance (crouch - not pooman stance!), your toes should retract from the tip. Make sure there isn't excessive slippage in the heel.
Great advice mate thanks mate.
I hear there may be a fitting fee for boots instore, to compensate the store for online shoppers. This seems fair as I'd have zero hope of picking a well-fitting boot online without trying a few on.
when I used to snowboard I bought my own board second hand - plenty on marketplace/gumtree/ cash converters
boots- bought new. inexpensive pair - $50 from a clearance place. even second hand is fine - $400 for boots is ridiculous.
i use to wear jeans , bonds singlet, flannette shirt, beanie, goggles and woolen himalayan jacket whilst snowboarding. it was perfect.if you're sticking to the main runs and then you're literally just going up the mountain by lift and boarding down and therefore there is no need to buy uber expensive stuff. especially as you're not going off runs, or cross country. snowboarding -you're just going up and down. you do get warm snowboarding (if you're working it that is) . buying brand new equipment /"all the gear" is unnecessary.
Your ass will get wet and end up freezing (literally, the moisture in your pants will turn to ice) if you don't have decent gear. Not sure what it's like on the runs in aus but I've done 4 trips to Japan, two in Europe and one to NZ and I can tell you that going from entry level cheap stuff to decent gear will make a difference, especially boots. If your feet hurt after 30 minutes you aren't going to be out on the mountain for 6 hours and if it's snowing/sleet/rain and your gear isn't waterproof you will get wet and miserable and cold. To start off with definitely go with entry level/cheap stuff just in case you don't get into it but if you have the itch after a season I'd recommend upgrading - especially boots
This was my standard gear for when I lived in both Japan and Australia..
Never had a problem with my ass getting wet and freezing
Thanks guys, I’ve found some cheap Aldi pants and jacket on marketplace, I’ll run that and reassess through the season. Hopefully the quality isn’t too bad. I hear our conditions call for better waterproofing than somewhere colder.
Now I’ll have to find some goggles, gloves and boots and see how we goI buy thermals, mid layer and outer shell as I can use them elsewhere. Anything else I would rent them.
This year I got new thermals during a macpac sale. Outer shell and mid layer I use Arcteryx.
Hey, so a few thoughts off the top of my head. I'm a skier btw, so not super familiar with board prices.
It's pretty rare you'll find great prices on snow gear in Aus through online retailers. The best time I find is late September in brick and mortar shops at resorts. Most only operate for the winter and are keen to get rid off stuff at the end of the season. Late season at Buller there were a heap of skis in one retailer for about 50% off and were decent brands/models.
A couple of good finds I've had have been looking at the Patagonia outlet stores. You'll pay a bit more than you might be currently budgeting on, but you'll get stuff that is good quality and generally (depending on what you go for) waterproof. They also do lifetime repairs on their stuff if you rip or tear any of it. You typically just pay the postage. It can be hit and miss as to what's there when you go. There's one in Geelong and another on Melbourne on Smith Street if you're down this way.
Focus on jackets and pants with waterproofing. Don't worry so much about insulation. Insulation doesn't matter a heap in Aus as you can layer up or down your inside layers to the temp. But if you buy a fancy insulated jacket, you'll just sweat a heap on warmer days. If you look at most practical skiers/boarders, they'll be wearing shells as outer layers.
Try not to cheap out too much on boots, they're a pretty important part of it. Bad boots = a bad time.
When looking at gloves, focus on waterproofing and think outside the box. KINCO 94HK gloves with some beeswax on the outside will be better than 90% of gloves out there. You can pick them up for around $30 if you hunt about. They're warm, waterproof with the beeswax, have a tapered cuff and pretty durable.
I'm pretty picky with goggles, usually end up using Oakley or Smith goggles. But there's a heap of cheaper options out there. Wear sunglasses on sunny days. You'll just get sweaty with goggles and they fog up.
You'll generally find a fair few used boards going up for sale on gumtree/marketplace as you approach the season. Don't buy anything 10 years old because its cheap. Try find something recent and look at the dimensions what would suit you. Additionally, google the model before buying so you don't end up with something that doesn't suit you.
For thermals, I remember Kathmandu having a pretty range when they run one of their bigger specials. Used their stuff happily for a few years. Otherwise the aldi stuff is good value.
Avoid cotton, it's a sponge in the snow. Scarfs are rubbish, use a buff or similar.
Once you have the gear that works for you, your experience is many times better. I have patagonia powder bowl jacket and pants I use in all conditions, then layer up and down depending on the weather, there's vents for sunny days and goretex for rainy days. Kinco gloves with beeswax keep the hands sorted.
Sorry for the rambling typing. Shoot through other questions if you have them. Bobbified, evocable and omguleh had good answers IMO. Kinda respectfully disagree with altomics response, but each to their own!Great to hear your thoughts.
Thanks heaps, it'll definitely be taken onboard.
In terms of clothing you can get it very cheap on clearance from various stores at different times of the year, for example ASOS etc.
I purchased a 20k rated jacket for $80, 20k rated pants for $28, 2x Kathmandu Ski Goggles for $35 and I purchased my merinos from Aldi which were very high quality.
I would definitely buy your own clothes if you can, its so much more convenient then renting.
I wouldn't buy any equipment until after you've been a few times and even then I would consider if you actually want to carry it around everywhere.
Sorry I'm late to the party. If you want to shop locally, i've had some great deals on Queen's Birthday opening weekend, a lot of the shops either on the hill or in the towns at the base of the hill have clearance sales to clean out all of the previous season stock. You get a local purchase where they'll give you full service to try on boots/clothes etc and you normally get clearance prices.
For clothes, i dont rate the Aldi kit but I'm a pretty serious skier so I probably prefer some better gear, i guess for a beginner that can duck into a shop at the side of the run within the resort its probably OK, Australia tends to be wet snow and it sometimes rains at the snow, not snows, rains. Poor quality gear with a poor waterproofing means that water gets in and then freezes. theres nothing worse than cold water running down the back of your neck or your gloves filling up with ice cold water.
As others have said, if you are new to it I would probably rent at first. there is a bewildering range of boards around of different sizes. unless you know exactly what to get and understand all of the choices, you'll end up turning up to the hill on a 20 year old stiff carving board that is 3 sizes too big. Of course the 'expert' dude on FB marketplace would tell you it was perfect as long as you hand over the money.
Clothes-wise i would pay $300 for some 3L Goretex bibs for backcountry skiing in Canada. I wouldn't pay $300 for some 5-10k rated Quiksilver pants from a ski shop because they are stylish with a prominent Quiksilver logo.
I've had some great deals on ski kit from sportpursuit (EU), levelnine sports (USA), here in Australia a local brand called Pure had a great sale on some awesome gear about a year ago and i love their stuff. https://www.purebrandz.com I find the mail order stuff from the US is chep-ish depending on the exchange rate but either there are rules restricting sale to Australia or the exchange rate/shipping costs kill the deal. Stuff from the UK can be a much better deal. If you want to pick through the leftovers online when their season starts winding down around March/April you might get some bargains.
I wouldn't spend too much on your own boards and bindings just yet. if you get hooked, you'll improve quickly and want something better than a beginner board, if you dont get hooked you won't want to be spending too much on any board.
Anyhoo, I've already walked the path you're hinting at, i used to buy cheap kids snowboards from level nine sports in the US then my older kid would pass them down to the younger son etc until they hit their late teens. They're now 20's and older son is a Snowboard instructor. They now have jobs and buy their own gear. What costs the most though is the unavoidable costs of skiing, I didnt have a lot of money to buy a ski chalet etc so i had to find another way if i wanted to have ski holidays. My tactics were/are:
- We bought our own kit on specials out of season.
- I joned a club ski lodge at our closest ski resort (Mt Buller near Melbourne). There were a couple of K joining fees and I have to pay a few hundred per year membership fees plus attend a summer working bee at the lodge. For that I could stay at the lodge and the per night fees were around $50 per adult and $25 per kid. I have a locker and ski storage at the lodge, so I leave all our boots, helmets, skis/boards at the lodge. This has saved us untold thousands compared to regular snow accommodation costs over the years, additionally, the lodge has a communal kitchen and fridges so we took up our own food and booze and could have our own meals rather than having to eat out every night. Also, I've become good friends with many other members of the lodge to the point where I'll be going to Canada for a couple of weeks skiing with other friends from my lodge in a fotrtnight.
- I buy seasons pass each September for the following season. These sell for $700 ish i think and give you full seasons lift ticket. Most of the mountains are now doing 'dynamic pricing' whereby they change the ticket prices regularly to ramp them up on popular times like school holidays then drop them down on quieter times like weekdays in September. It doesnt bother me, I already have seasons pass, as long as i ski for 5-6 days per season the pass pays for itself, everything beyond about 6 days on the snow and I'm saving money.
- When i go up for the Summer working Bee at the ski lodge I take up regular priced beer and wine and leave it in my locker at the lodge. Lets just say that the small supermarket at the snow during the school holiday break doesnt exactly do 'specials' on alcohol, you'll be paying top dollar for everything at the snow normally.
- Courtesy of being a member of the lodge, there is always somebody there that is totally dialled in to whatever is happening on the mountain. Which pubs are having happy hours, which are serving good food, where is impossible to get into, somebody there will always know. We used to go up every School Holiday when the kids were little and our kids essentially grew up with the same kids from 2-3 other families, they had their snow mates they would catch up with every year. it still amazes me that we would stress about letting them ride their bikes to school but no dramas letting them roam free in the frozen wilderness with 4 or 5 other kids they hadnt seen for a year. They loved roaming off with their snow mates for a week and would come back with all sorts of stories. We had my younger sons 21st this year and one of his snow mates turned up to it!!!!!
- If i ever forget something, break something or lose something, either i have a spare back in the lodge or somebody else in the lodge will loan me one of theirs. I dont have to pay peak resort prices if a kid loses a glove on a chairlift etc. I just ask around the lodge and somebody else will probably have a spare.
- aldi ski sale for kids clothes then big kids hand down to smaller kids.
I think a lot of people go through a phase where they think they'll be going a fair bit so decide to spend lots of money buying their own gear. But after the first few times, they find that they're not that into it and the gear ends up collecting dust.
So I'm not sure what stage you're at with this hobby, but I definitely think it's worth renting (or borrowing from friends) the first few times before shelling out hundreds or thousands to buy stuff straight up. As you get into it, you might also find that your preferences with certain equipment might be different to what you initially thought. For example, the different types of board, boots, bindings, etc.
Historically, the US has been significantly cheaper when it comes to buying gear (not sure about now) and you can mail order if need be. The most difficult thing to do properly is the fitting of the boots if you're not physically there. You could try boots here (shops often charge a fitting fee that then gets taken off if you buy from them after) and then order the same online if it still works out cheaper or, of course, you can buy from that shop directly. The "fitting" fee was introduced in response to people getting fitted at a local shop then walking away to order the same online for a cheaper price.