15 cool alpine ski and snowboard suits for 2023: technologies, trends, prices

Weather conditions will not prevent you from engaging in your favorite winter activities if you choose the right clothing for them. Each sport – be it snowboarding, alpine or cross-country skiing – has its own criteria. Let’s understand what beginners and experienced athletes should pay attention to.

General rules for skiing and snowboarding

If we look at the ski slope today, we will see dozens and even hundreds of different images and combinations of clothing, selected both in style and technical parameters. What do the latter depend on?

One of the main criteria for choosing the necessary combination is the place of skiing. The south or the Caucasus will be radically different from Siberia and the central part of Russia. Experience also plays an important role, because it depends on how active the skater is and, accordingly, how much his body releases heat and moisture.

However, the main principle in the selection of clothing for any winter sport remains unchanged – multi-layers.

The first base layer is thermal underwear. It removes excess moisture from the body. The second thermal layer helps to keep warm and provides moisture transport to the outer layer. The third – protective – saves you from wind and precipitation, while removing excess moisture and heat to the outside. For this purpose, it is made of special membrane materials.

Depending on the conditions and purpose, you can combine different layers, duplicate them (for example, putting on two insulators). Sometimes the manufacturers themselves combine different layers in one piece of clothing. For example, the category “softshell” means that protective properties are added to the insulating layer. In winter outerwear, membrane fabrics and insulators are often combined.

Snowboard

PRO-expert Sportmaster PRO

Snowboarding clothing should first of all be loose enough not to restrain movements. The nuances depend on different parameters – from the level of skill to fashion preferences.

Beginners, as a rule, are less active, fall more often and, therefore, have more contact with snow, so they should take care to keep warm.

Wool or polyester medium-density uncompressed underwear can be recommended as a base layer. The thermal layer would be good to close the fleece jacket, and the protective layer is suitable for a jacket with a filler of natural down or synthetic, but with an indicator of about 200 grams of insulation.

As for the membrane, which helps the jacket to remove steam and protect from moisture, the indicators of such jackets will be from 10 000 mm/10 000 g/m2/24 h to 15 000 mm/15 000 g/m2/24 h.

Amateurs are people who are already experienced and understand what awaits them on the slope. They move more, fall less often, so they need more advanced clothing.

Synthetic thermal underwear with a medium level of compression can be recommended for the base layer. It has many advantages: it increases muscle strength by supporting muscles and joints, thermoregulation is better controlled, the body recovers faster after exertion.

Next in the thermal layer we will take fleece, but made of Polartec material – it is one of the most high-performance models at a low weight. When choosing a jacket, it is better to give preference to a model insulated with synthetics up to 120 grams, and it is desirable to choose models with a membrane not lower than 15 000 mm/15 000 g/m2/24 h.

Professional snowboarders are used to severe tests and high loads. As a rule, they choose the most technologically advanced clothing: thermal underwear high-compression synthetic or one hundred percent composed of high-quality merino wool.

In the first case, a person can count on long skating with maximum performance and energy saving, in the second case – on excellent heat retention, which will save on all the following layers. The thermal layer in the experts is already a down sweater, which looks like a very thin jacket, but has noticeably higher heat and moisture retention than fleece jackets, and is also twice as light.

The pro jacket will have absolutely no insulation. It looks like a windbreaker and is popularly called simply “skins”. Such jackets are suitable for severe tests both by wind and moisture and therefore have lamination on the inner surface and glued seams.

About trends

As far as trends are concerned, from season to season, oversize is popular in snowboarding culture. It is considered the absolute norm to take jackets one or two sizes larger. An alternative to a jacket can be a jumpsuit or a snowboard hoodie. The latter are gaining more and more momentum on the market, but they can’t compete with jackets in terms of moisture and wind protection.

About accessories

Mittens are considered to be a classic in snowboarding, but there’s nothing stopping you from getting gloves if it’s more comfortable for you. Ideally there should be two pairs, as this element of equipment is most at risk of getting wet. It is necessary to select mittens according to the membrane indicator, consider models with a waterproofness of at least 10 thousand millimeters of water column.

Jacket (8499 rubles), pants (4999 rubles), mittens (1399 rubles) and hat (599 rubles) / Termit

It is also better to have twobalaclavas: a thin synthetic one and a fleece one in case of frost. You can look at the fleece hood, it is a stylish and functional accessory. But in wet weather it is better not to use it.

Beginners often underestimate socks – and very in vain. On the feet is the biggest load, and the best option is to take anatomical socks with a medium level of compression, dense inserts from chafing, and the classic thick socks to refuse. The boot itself is quite well insulated, the more thick sock reduces sensitivity in controlling the projectile.

Alpine skis

PRO-expert Sportmaster-PRO

In alpine skiing we warm up during the descent and then cool down during the ascent. In order not to freeze on the elevator, it is important to have good thermal underwear and waterproof membrane jacket and pants. How to choose all this?

Jacket (10,999 rubles), pants (3,999 rubles) Volkl / Sportmaster

Thermal underwear and insulation choose without cotton (cotton retains moisture). Advanced models of thermal underwear are characterized by anatomical cut and zones of different weave for maximum fit. There may be a compression effect to support the athlete’s muscles. Prices depend on materials, cut and other features and range from 1800 to 35,000 rubles per set.

Jacket (24,120 rubles), pants (15,480 rubles) Level HERMES / “Trial-Sport”

The characteristics of the membrane are indicated by two numbers – waterproofness (measured in mm of water column) and vapor permeability (measured in g/m²). The higher these numbers, the better the membrane performs. Simple membranes can have values of about 5000/5000, high-end membranes – 40,000/40,000 and more.

Poivre Blanc ski overalls, 55,040 rubles / KANT

It is also highly desirable to have a snow skirt on the jacket (and pant legs), it will protect from wind and snow ingress in case of a possible fall. Even the most perfect membranes do not always cope with ventilation in warm weather or during very active skiing, for this purpose special ventilation valves are made in jackets and pants.

Jacket (4899 rubles), pants (3149 rubles) Glissade / Sportmaster

The price of a set of jacket and pants strongly depends on the quality of materials, cut and additional functionality such as pockets for mask and skipass, additional ventilation and other elements. Prices start from 6000 rubles, the cost of a fully functional set with a good membrane – from 25 000 rubles.

Jacket (18,890 rubles), pants (12,190 rubles) Maier Sports / KANT

Don’t forget about good waterproof gloves. Gloves and insoles with electric heating have long been available for the coldest of you – the built-in heating element is powered by an external battery. And lately even socks and jackets have been equipped with electric heating – in such clothes you won’t freeze even in severe frost.