The Skiing Department Blog

One of the most important items of equipment to purchase before going skiing is a good set of skiing goggles.

It does not matter what level of skiing you are at, from first time beginner to professional racer, a set of goggles is essential for many reasons. There are a wide variety of models available that have a range of prices, to suit all budgets. Typically, you can spend between £30 to £120 (€35 to €150) on a set of goggles.

The differences in pricing mostly reflect the goggles lenses and the added benefits more expensive lenses would offer.

Why do we need to wear ski goggles?
There are two main reasons why we wear ski goggles: The first is protection from the wind and the cold on our eyes when we are travelling >> Continue reading

The debate regarding the question over ski helmets and skiing has been going on for many years. Recently, the news headlines have brought this subject to the public’s attention with the sad death of the actress Natasha Richardson.

There is debate and conflicting opinions regarding the effectiveness of helmets when skiing. Would Natasha Richardson still be alive if she was wearing a helmet? I cannot answer that question, but clearly a helmet can protect certain head collisions from causing more injury than if a helmet was not being worn.

The vast majority of skiers do not wear helmets and certainly throughout the history of skiing this has been the case. Downhill skiers have worn helmets for many years, although racers in other disciplines, such as slalom, giant slalom and freestyle have only >> Continue reading

In previous posts, I have highlighted the importance of several items of essential ski clothing like Hats, ski gloves and Thermal Underwear.

The key to successful dressing when skiing and being out in the mountains is to use layers. This helps with allowing perspiration moisture to ‘wick' away from the body efficiently whilst also regulating body temperature more effectively than one or two ‘thick' layers. It also allows you to remove a garment if it becomes too warm. Skiing is also an athletic sport and therefore we need to balance our need to stay warm along with the need to stay as light as possible. Modern technology in fabric manufacture >> Continue reading

In previous articles, I have discussed the importance of ski clothing and looked at ski gloves, ski hats and ski socks. One of the most essential set of garments to consider when skiing is thermal underwear, which makes up your thermal base layer.

A thermal base layer can consist of a top and/or leggings. When choosing what items of clothing to wear before your skiing day begins it is always good to start with a thermal base layer. After that, depending on the temperature and humidity that day, you can decide what else you need to wear on top.

The outer layers of ski clothing perform better when a thermal base layer is worn as the moisture from the body is wicked away quickly, allowing any outer breathable garment to deal with >> Continue reading | 2 Comments