Ski Apparel

[NbyNW]

I'm just getting back into snow sports so I bought a pair of North Face Freedom insulated pants (early Christmas present to myself):

http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/...ated-pant.html

I've only spent two days downhill skiing (first day was about -12C and second day was about -2C) with them and I've worn them to walk my dog for about an hour in -15C temps. I wore midweight thermals under them when skiing and flannel pj pants when walking. It gets quite cold here, and I've been very pleased with how warm they've kept me. If I were to get too warm, they have vents on the sides.

I love the fit. They're not the bulky snow pants of my childhood, the waist adjusts easily with two velcro straps, and I have a lot of range of motion.

I expect they'll be fine for xc-skiing too, but haven't done that in years either so I'll have to let you know.

[Zen]

I bought some ski bibs on sale 12 years ago. I don't know what they're made of. They still fit and they keep me dry.

I wear Sugoi sub zero tight underneath. A SAC buy.

I got my coat at an end of season sale at Target. I think it's by Champion. $25.

Downhill or XC, it's pretty much all the same. If you can't keep moving, keep drinking peppermint schnapps

The main thing I'd be concerned about is good gloves. Fingers frostbite easily.

[Cataboo]

I'm just totally against insulated pants or jackets for skiing and it's a personal preference really - too bulky and too limiting. I don't want to have to have a different pair of pants because I'm spring skiing on 35 degree sunny days vs. skiing at 10 degree days vs snowshoeing or cross country skiing. Different layers, sure.

I skied with the ibex backcountry pants + cloudveil run don't walk boxers + smartwool midweight or ibex woolie tights + rho ar pants the 2nd week of this december in Breckenridge when the temperatures were getting to 10 degrees fahrenheit as a high with 30 mph winds in town & 45-60 on the mountain...

LIft rides were cold, but I was fine skiing. I had my theta ar shell, my ibex tank bra thing, my ibex pico over that, with a smartwool synergy over that, an icebreaker sport rock zip over that + a down vest. What was getting cold was my fingers (fine if I switched to my mittens) and my toes - just wiggled them, but I only ski with a capilene liner sock + a smartwool glove over that.

I did have my down puffy with me & coulda just put it under my shell but didn't.

[Triskeliongirl]

Thank you all for the helpful posts (and PMs Catriona!). I am new to the shell/layer concept but I am going to give it a whirl, cuz I really need the versatility given that I don't even know yet if I will end up cross country or downhill, I did invest in a shell jacket last winter, and I do already own a lot of base and mid-layers.

So, scorpion pants are on the way....... (50% off right now at backcountry.com if anyone is interested, I've been watching this stuff for a while and its a good deal to find in non-extreme sizes).