First Time Boarder, heading to Livigno

WillyWonka

Hey guys,

I'll be heading out to Livigno for two weeks in Jan. Just a few questions for some people that are "in the know"

I was thinking of buying jacket, pants, goggles and gloves before I head out. and rent the rest. is this wise? Anyone know any good sites for this stuff?

Was also thinking of heading kiltiernan beforehand to get a feel for it. good idea/bad idea??

Any other advise would be much appreciated :cool:

Cork Skate

Someone was saying that the skiing gear in Aldi's is very good quality, a good company makes them. Cant remember exactly how much they were but seemed really good value.

Have a look at Buy and Sell aswell .... just type in snowboard and there is a bit there.

I aint in the know but hope that helps !!

da7a

do buy the jacket, pants, gloves and goggles before you go - but get them online - http://www.blue-tomato.at/ or http://www.hotzone.at - they deliver free anywhere in europe for most decent sized orders.

dont waste your money in aldi - youll regret it on the mountain, you need jackets/pants made with technical fabrics that will be waterproof but still breathable to let the sweat out (you will be sweating - a lot). The aldi ones may be waterproof but theyll trap all the sweat.
you should be able to get a half decent jacket for about 160 euros and pants for about 120. I made the mistake of buying cheap crap last year and regretted it.
Buy good gloves as well - be prepared to spend 60-80euros - having crap gloves and soaked wet freezing cold fingers is no fun.

dont buy the board and stuff, just rent it - itll likely cost at most about 150 euro for a week, but you need to know what kind of snowboarding youre actually into before you go and spend 600+ on equipment.

go to kilternain before you go. it helps a lot even if you only go once as real snow is far easier to board on. if you can master stopping and get started on turning before you go, it will mean less time on the nursery slopes and more time on the pistes.

good luck, youll have a ball, snowboarding is extremely addictive!

RasTa

All of the above about Aldi's is rubbish tbh. Its thinsulate insulation and i have no complaints. Actually Livigno is pretty warm i was skiing in a t-shirt last year, although it was March

da7a

thinsulate?!! are you F**king joking me?
That stuff soaks up water like a sponge! maybe as a skier you dont spend much time on your ass so you dont come into contact with the snow that much.
You will be on your ass a lot when showboarding so water proof breathable clothing is a must. You should be looking for stuff that has gore-tex fabrics or equivalent stuff. I gaurentee you that you will regret wasting your money on cheap gear.
Being wet and cold really takes a lot of the fun out of it.

RasTa

Gwan outta that, i know breathable clothing is a must but im just saying from personal experience i have had no problems with the cheaper stuff. 160 for a jacket is too expensive imo

Cake Fiend

RasTa wrote:

ctually Livigno is pretty warm i was skiing in a t-shirt last year, although it was March

It warms up pretty quickly on the Carosello side, particularly later in the season, but the Mottolino (much better for boarding) is pretty cold for most of the day (although tbh, you get so warm from snowboarding you don't even need that much cover). But yeah, either way, 160 is too much for a jacket, particularly if you buy in Livigno (tax free). I bought a casual jacket there for about 100 three or four years ago, and I still wear it as my regular jacket at home. One thermal top underneath and I'm grand.

da7a wrote:

go to kilternain before you go

Urgh, don't know about that one, Kilternan has claimed a lot of victims, particularly beginners looking to get a bit of practice in before a trip! Those dry slopes are lethal for wrists. I know several people who picked up injuries on a dry slope that meant they had to sit out on the real trip. Snow is much more forgiving, and if you're serious about boarding, you'll benefit more from an hour on real snow than half a day in Kilternan IMO.

WillyWonka

Sico wrote:

It warms up pretty quickly on the Carosello side, particularly later in the season, but the Mottolino (much better for boarding) is pretty cold for most of the day (although tbh, you get so warm from snowboarding you don't even need that much cover). But yeah, either way, 160 is too much for a jacket, particularly if you buy in Livigno (tax free). I bought a casual jacket there for about 100 three or four years ago, and I still wear it as my regular jacket at home. One thermal top underneath and I'm grand.



Urgh, don't know about that one, Kilternan has claimed a lot of victims, particularly beginners looking to get a bit of practice in before a trip! Those dry slopes are lethal for wrists. I know several people who picked up injuries on a dry slope that meant they had to sit out on the real trip. Snow is much more forgiving, and if you're serious about boarding, you'll benefit more from an hour on real snow than half a day in Kilternan IMO.

ahh 160 is not so bad for a jacket, if you pay less than 100 for any type jacket its not going to be the best quality.

does anyone know of the outdoor shop in Maynooth that does all this gear?
I've heard they rent and sell...might be worth checking out?!?

Takeshi_Kovacs

try tk max, they usually have decent gear inside there if you have time to root through the clothes racks, although spotted a nice helly hansen jacket few weeks back, didn't have money that day on me, so went back next day and it was gone.. (will hide them in future ..)

kenmc

160 is cheap for a jacket! Mine was 290! Love it though, really warm.
I would say don't buy goggles here either, you rarely need them on the snow! Most of the time it's shades weather unless it's a) REEEEAAAALLLLLLY cold or b) snowing. They will have far more choice in the resort also. Same for gloves - cheaper and more choice. If you're boarding you could go for mitts or gloves, mitts will keep your hands a lot warmer. Make sure you get ones with removable liners so you can dry the, on the radiator overnight - they'll get sweaty and wet.

WillyWonka

Any know if there are any sales on for any of this gear?

Imposter

I bought a ski jacket in an outdoor place on talbot st in Decemer. It's a Columbia jacket and was 145. The only complaint I have about it is the lack of pockets. Other than that it's great. I don't know about Ireland but over here H&M occasionally have ski/snowboard stuff. Usually very cheap and quite good quality. Arnott's also seem to be quite cheap but seeing as the sale s are well on their stock could be dessimated.

banchang

Arnotts post Christmas sale is yer only man - dont miss it every year for skiing gear - goggles, gloves salopettes etc

I got a fantastic Hely Hansen jacket with all the trimmings for 125, genuinely reduced from 260