Any advice on buying ski gear for kids?

[Chris71]

The whole possibility of me ever going skiing again hinges on persuading my family that it's fun.

When we were playing around in the snow here last year I noticed that my son very quickly lost interest in it when he got cold, so I'm on a mission to make sure he's 100% toasty the whole time we're out there on holiday. On the other hand, he's at the sort of age where anything we buy this year will be too small for next year and our budget is pretty tight anyway.

I'm assuming that buying second hand will be the best option. Is there anywhere to keep an eye out aside from the usual eBay etc?

Any advice on what to go for? He's just turning five and the hope is that he will be doing some skiing, as well as sledging, snowball fights etc. I presume an all-in-one ski suit with thermals underneath is the best option? Any brands to look for or avoid? Any other tips? (We taped his gloves onto his splash suit when it snowed here last year and that seemed to help...)

[Chris71]

bristolbaron and PurpleTurtle said:

Aldi/Lidl have kids ski gear this week or next, for throwaway stuff will do what it needs to!

Thanks for the heads up! Sounds like a good call.

On a different note ... retro all-in-one ski suit or jacket and salopettes for a five-year old?

ETA This looks good and goes to an adequate size: https://www.littleskiers.co.uk/ski-wear/all-in-one...

Edited by Chris71 on Friday 15th November 19:33

[Chris71]

Bill said:

A jacket and salopettes gives more scope for layering up and growing so it might do a few years.

I suppose. I'm just a little bit paranoid as it was game over the moment he got snow into his suit and got cold when we were playing in the snow last year.

[Chris71]

Bill said:

Most jackets have snow skirts so you don't get as much snow up them. He'll also be on piste when skiing and the snow's bashed and less fluffy.

I'm just thinking there'll be a lot of falling over and sitting down on the snow, being both a young child and an absolute beginner. I take your point that it's different to playing around in fresh snow in the garden, though.

[Chris71]

Alas, we're in the depths of rural Somerset, so the nearest Decathalon is an hour and a half away and posh charity shops are pretty sparse. We are about to head off to Aldi, though.

[Chris71]

Welshbeef said:

Chris71 said:

Alas, we're in the depths of rural Somerset, so the nearest Decathalon is an hour and a half away and posh charity shops are pretty sparse. We are about to head off to Aldi, though.

Any reason why you cannot do mail order on Decathalon (simple to return if they are the wrong size).

Fair point. Didn't think to check if they did mail order.

We went and bought a job lot of stuff from Aldi, including a jacket and salopettes, but I'm thinking we'll need at least two of most things, so I might get one of the Didriksons snowsuits too.

In the meantime my son - who used to nag me to put on PoV skiing videos on YouTube - has suddenly decided that he's afraid to try skiing. I'm suddenly worrying that it could be a long week! Any tips to avoid a meltdown (him or me!) would be appreciated.

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 20th November 16:49

[Chris71]

ThorB said:

I know you've not asked this but get them going at a snowdome before you go it will make a huge difference. We put ours into a half term camp at our local one, 9am to 5pm for 5 days in the school holidays and they were able to put their own boots and skis on and were coming down Reds on their first day in resort. Made a massive difference to the first holiday and meant we could all ski together.

I was wondering about that.

We're about an hour away from the nearest dry slope and two or three hours away from a snow dome. I'm slightly fearful that a one-hour session on Dendix somewhere could do more harm than good. Certainly hurts more if you fall over.