What's hot in ski and board gear for this winter
If you're looking at updating your ski/board wear for this winter, then it's an exciting time in the gear market to do it. Carrying on from last winter's trends for brights, this winter's jackets and pants can be found in a riot of colours - purples, yellows, pinks, baby blues, acid oranges - it's all out there. Loud and lively prints are still available but it looks like the stylish skiers and boarders this year will be wearing big, bold blocks of colour which can be carried through to goggles, helmets and accessories.
For the extroverts amongst you clashing brights is the order of the day - think blue with lime green, pink with purple, yellow with just about anything. If going out on the slopes and drawing attention to yourself is something you really don't want to do - then you can play it safe and tone down a bright pair of pants with a neutral jacket, or vice versa.
Hard working as well as good looking:
There's a great choice of wintersports clothing coming into the shops right now to suit a wide range of budgets. Plus there are a few real technical innovations to help keep you warm and dry whether on a chairlift, a nursery slope or a 60 degree off piste run on a powder day.
The Columbia Omni-Heat technology for example helps keep body temperature stable when warming up and cooling down after physical exertion, whilst wicking moisture away. Columbia garments also tend to be good value - "great technology at the price" says Claire Collins of Snow and Rock.
Another innovative design to look out for is the Salomon S-Line range - a new range of high tech garments with a technical spec to compete alongside Arc'teryx, long regarded as one of the best brands for mountain sportswear.
Meanwhile Kjus, the prestigious Swiss brand developed in partnership with retired world champion Lasse Kjus, continue to push the envelope with their Schoeller PCM (Phase Change Materials) linings. Designed to "actively balance out temperature peaks above or below the wearer's personal comfort climate", these smart textiles were originally developed for NASA. The PCMs change their state of matter at a certain temperature, from liquid to solid and vice versa. When the temperature rises, the excess heat is stored. When temperature falls the previously stored heat is released again. "It's ideal for skiing where you're moving down the mountain but then are sitting still for several minutes in a chairlift," says Nico Serena, Kjus' head of design.
Something for everyone:
For the budget conscious Snow and Rock can offer a good choice of good value technical gear starting at around £100 - look at Helly Hansen, Bonfire, Burton, Protest and the previously mentioned Columbia. If you can afford to splash the cash a little take a look at Peak Performance, Arc'teryx, The North Face etc. There's a lot of great styles out there so if you want to treat yourself before your next ski holiday the sky's the limit.
Just for good measure we've included a great pic of three of the As We Are girls below - taken whilst skiing yesterday (9th October) on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun, Sandra, Melissa and Pia are proudly modelling the new brights - Sandra in Peak Performance, Melissa in Ziener and Pia in Sweet.
