Ski Clothes from Top to Bottom

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I have some wool socks and thermals, but I'm not sure if they are the right kind for skiing.

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I'm sure they would be fine. Are they super thick or something?

Are you a decent skier?

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Can any of you recommend some must haves before I start buying? Wool Socks? What type of thermals? Jackets and pants? Hats? Gloves? And buy from where?
TIA

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I wouldn't go expensive. Columbia is a good brand for someone who doesn't go often. Check online for deals. Steep and cheap, campmor.com, Sierra trading.

One thing I always say is don't go cheap on your gloves.

Light, thin layers. Nice merino wool socks and base.

Academy sells Magellan ski clothing

In use my my UA base layer, merino socks and whatever beanie I have laying around. However, I don't wear a beanie skiing due to wearing a helmet. Buy clothes from the-house.com.

I wear the following regardless of weather (0F - 40F):
There are lots of options for heat management while on the mountain, but I've rarely been cold.

Head:
Helmet, Ski Goggles, Gator.
- I keep a face gator in my pocket for windy days. (So face and neck gator on windy days).
- I keep a beanie in my pocket for when I take my helmet off.

Torso:
Under-armor base, merino wool mid-weight 1/4 zip, Gortex Shell.
- I used to use a shell/inner jacket combo, but I would use the same layering. Base, mid, outer.
- So even a shell vs insulated jacket, layer selection didn't change.

Legs:
Waterproof ski pants, Under armor base or merino wool mid-weight pants.
- Basically, just one base layer and then the pants. Base could be thermals, or whatever.

Feet:
Wool socks
- I prefer the padded socks because I rent boots, but it's not necessary.

Hands:
Waterproof ski gloves
- I prefer gloves with wrist guards when snowboarding.
- A lot of people like mittens when skiing, but any waterproof, insulated glove will work.

We went last year and bought just about everything on amazon for the wife and two teenage sons. I just needed some bibs.

Spent about $120 a person. Maybe a little less for the kids. They were able to use hiking baselayers and just needed bibs and jacket.

We wore shorts under bibs most days. It was warm (high 20’s low 30’s). Layer up so you can shed and add throughout the day.

A helmet - lots of ice in March

Depending on what you have for hunting they may or may not be suitable for skiing. Most southern hunters are sitting still for long periods of time and dress accordingly. Skiing is much more active. The goal when being active in the cold is to dress "comfortably cool" as opposed to "warm"

Your wool hunting socks are almost certainly not what you want. Too thick, short, and generally not great for skiing. Ski boots have an insulated liner and you are working hard in your ski boots so ski socks don't need to be super warm. They need to move sweat and be padded in the right places. I have some that are as thin as my dress socks. Get some smartwool PHDs or fox river. The good news is that ski socks work fine for hunting, I wear mine all the time.

Base layer depends on what you have. If you have some super thick stuff it is probably overkill. I usually ski in light or mid weight stuff. If I wear my insulated pants, I usually don't wear long bottoms unless its really cold. I mostly wear patagonia capeline but there are many good options out there

gloves. The cheap route is to get some insulated Kinco work gloves with the knit cuff and a thin pair of cotton liners or two and you'll be good to go. If you want to get fancy, they make a ski glove too.

Hat - get a helmet (you can rent). you can throw a thin beanie in you bag to put under it if you want, but I open the vents on my helmet way more often than I put a hat under it. I also wear a cheap fleece neck gaiter if its cold and its easy to stash in a pocket if you get hot.


jacket - pretty much any hard or soft shell will work. It is much better to layer than to get some super insulated jacket. I'm going next week and will take a fleece vest, thin down jacket, lightweight hard sheell, and a soft shell jacket and will mix and match those depending on conditiona

Pants - anything waterproof that fits over your boot will work. If you are cold-natured, you probably want something with light insulation. If you get hot just thinking about exercise, it may not be necessary. I ski in non-insulated shell pants on warm days and have some more substantial pants for when it is cold. If I only had one pair i'd go with the lightly insulated ones.

steepandcheap.com, sierratradingpost.com, and rei-outlet.com are where I would look first.

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One thing I always say is don't go cheap on your gloves.

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I used to think this too but Kinco’s are legit, are Hestra’s better? Yes, but they aren’t 5 times as good even though they cost 5 times as much. Spend $20 on some Kinco’s and use that $80 that you just saved on a Giro Ledge MIPS helmet or a better jacket.

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Your wool hunting socks are almost certainly not what you want. Too thick, short, and generally not great for skiing. Ski boots have an insulated liner and you are working hard in your ski boots so ski socks don't need to be super warm. They need to move sweat and be padded in the right places. I have some that are as thin as my dress socks. Get some smartwool PHDs or fox river. The good news is that ski socks work fine for hunting, I wear mine all the time.

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This is excellent advice. You don't want thick socks because your feet will sweat and also you lose a lot of responsiveness. Your boots are what you use to steer with so having thick socks is like having a lot of play in your steering wheel. The thinner the better and I even know people that ski without socks at all.