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High-End to Budget-End Clothing Brands
Ok, so there are so many brands and manufacturers out there of winter sports clothing, and a similarly baffling range in prices,
that it's sometimes hard to know where to start. Well, seeing as though the first consideration for many people is the cost,
we've split the brands into groups from the ultra-high gear for the Russian oligarchs amongst you, down through the top-end and
mid-range brands, and finally down to the budget brands, for those who are feeling the effects of the credit crunch.
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With Bogner clothing, the style is definitely as important as the functionality, and the designs are heavily influenced by
Bognor's upmarket non-ski range such as Sonia Bogner, Bogner Man, and Bogner Woman - all extremely popular, particularly
on the continent. The importance of design within the company is reflected in it's ski-wear - close-fitting, almost tailored
appearance of it;s gear, give Bogner outfits a real cutting edge.
Bogner gear may be noted for it's style, but there's substance in it too.
Don't expect to pick up Bogner clothing on the cheap - this is a brand for fashionable jet-setting skiers, the sort of label
you'd expect a Bond girl to be dressed in on the slopes !
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Bogner section.
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Killy has had a reputation for creating stylish, bold and forward-thinking designs from the moment it first hit the slopes
in the 1970s. Some of it's quirky ideas from the early days, such as detachable sleeves and reversable garments, may have
been and gone, but it sowed the seed for a level of design-innovation that has stood Killy in good stead over the proceeding
40 years.
Killy gear is as charismatic and as elegant as it's creator was on the slopes, when someone as successful as Jean-Claude Killy
was puts their name to something, then you expect it to be pretty special. And it is.
For those skiers who take their wintersports seriously, and who are looking for a range of ski clothing that gives the highest level of
performance and quality, then Killy is a brand that will meet their needs.
Killy has a history of know-how and technical expertise, it's placed a lot of emphasis
on investment in research and development, and whilst some of it's rivals have gone down
the path of exploring other sporting avenues, Killy has stayed true to it's roots
and kept it's focus on the mountains and skiing.
Killy ticks all the boxes for style, elegance, comfort and, imporantly, performance.
However, it also tick's the box that is labelled in bold as v.expensive.
Men's Jackets for sale this winter are ranging from 500 to 800 pounds !
Whilst women's are a comparative bargain from between the 400 to 500 pounds mark.
So get saving folks !
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Killy section.
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So what is KJUS gear like ? Smart. Stylish. Modern. The materials are innovative - they're not afraid to dabble with new fabrics or ideas,
whilst the designs are clean, exciting, with contemporary little twists here and there. It's like the clothing equivalent
of top end Scandanavian interior design.
High performance gear ? Kjus ? I should coco !
Ok, so if Roman Abrahmovic is reading this then... hey, Roman, KJUS could be the ski brand for you ! For the rest of us, go and get a nice cup of tea and have a sit down ...you'll need to when you hear how much a Kjus jacket can set you back - anywhere from 500 to 1000 of your finest english pounds !
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Kjus section.
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Moncler is about as close as the skiing industry gets to a high-end fashion catwalk at 10,000 feet !
There's not many other ski brands that use silk, tweed, let alone sequins, in their ski jackets, but with Moncler that's what you might get, and not even
the other uber-chic ski brands such as Bogner or Prada Sport do that.
Moncler seems to be intent on achieving a status of being a globally recognised luxury brand, along the lines
of other fashion houses, such as Prada, or Chanel, and has branched out into other areas of luxury accesories, such as
leather goods, shoes etc, and so you're now more likely to find shops selling Moncler in Hong Kong than you are around Hochkonig.
This is a bit of a tricky one, because Moncler's reputation started with the quality of it's down jackets.
The jackets can still cope with the weather in the mountains, but when the emphasis on the jacket has become so heavily weighted
to the item's styling it's hard to talk of it in performance terms the same way as you would a brand like Mammut, Arc'teryx or Spyder.
And given the high price of the jackets, it seems that whilst serious skiing fashionistas with money to burn may strive for a one thousand pound
Moncler jacket, serious skiers with money to burn would probably strive for a thousand pound Kjus jacket.
It seems a shame that when people discus Moncler nowadays they are more than likely discussing the merits of what it looks like,
rather than how it will perform under certain weather conditions. Why is it a shame ? Well, this was historically an innovative
company - Moncler manufactured the first quilted down and nylon jacket, the down being blown into the jacket to fill the voids,
so it just seems a shame that the jackets are now best known for how they look, rather than for how they perform.
So yes, Moncler has produced an iconic quilted jacket, but it's a jacket that is now more iconic on the streets than it is in the mountains.
Hmmm, how can we best explain how expensive Moncler's gear is ? How about this...
Ok, so you're as pleased as punch that you've managed to save up some serious cash for a new ski jacket... yes, you've lied to your wife
about the weekly budget, you've not had a drink for two months, and the kids are wearing shoes that have been hurting their feet
for a year, but you've done it - you've got about 300 shiny one pound nuggets in your pot and you're ready to purchase a new
jacket. Fancy buying a Moncler jacket with your hard-earned lolly ? Well keep saving sunshine. Yeah, keep saving for about
another two years, because to buy a Moncler jacket you're going to need to save the same again twice over. Yes, Moncler is
seriously expensive stuff, with their jackets ranging anywhere between 700 and 1100 of your most sterling of English pounds.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Moncler section.
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Nice and simple, with a modern feel to it.
Arc'teryx's top end range is second to none for quality and
some of Arc'teryx's technical innovations often become industry standard ideas.
It's not cheap - you can be paying over
400 pounds for a jacket and 300 for trousers, but if you're after cutting-edge quality then you won't be disappointed.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Arc'teryx section.
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Well, if you're heading out to Italy and you want to have that look of on-piste finesse that many of the locals manage to
pull off so effortlessly, get yourself a Colmar jacket.
If you go to some of the classic well-heeled Italian resorts like Cortina d'Ampezzo or Madonna di Campiglio,
you'll notice that the skiing glitterati out there are all wearing them. The top ski shops in these resorts all
give them pride of place in the shop window displays too. And why not - they look the business, Colmar jackets look like
proper ski jackets. with contrast colours and stripes in red, black and white, or black with white striped panels.
Coloured panels ?! Stripes ?! "Is this the 1980's!?!" we hear you scream. Yes, these could look a bit corny or
cheap if they're not done correctly, but not with Colmar - it looks great.
Naturally the Italians make them look uber-fashionable with their dark looks, and be warned that it probably won't
look quite as good on pasty British people, but what the hell !
With a background that hails from creating outfits for professional ski racers, you can rest assure that Colmar is a decent bit
of kit. You don't tend to sponsor World Cup events and kit out internation ski-race teams unless you know what you're doing.
Well, as you've probably guessed given it;s popularity amongst the Italian elite, Colmar is expensive stuff. Seeing as though you
hardly see it priced in pounds because no-one sells it over here, you'll be looking at euros, and about 400 of them for a jacket,
which translates to around £350 given the current exchange rate.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Colmar section.
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As with the other Japanese winter-sports brands, Descente has a strong reputation for the technical performance of it's clothing,
but it has the added bonus of looking fantastic too.
You can date Descente's dedication to both areas right back to the 1950's when the company shot to the fore-front of the ski-clothing industry
in it's native Japan by designing one of the first range of jackets to combine both style and functionality.
And Descente became the ski-racers choice of clothing by the 1970's, not just because their fabrics and aerodynamic design were knocking
off vital seconds from the racers times, but because Descente were leading the way in how racers looked, becoming the first brand to include
graphics in racers' outfits, and creating iconic competitive skiwear such as the Spanish team's rainbow-coloured, modern-art-esque skisuits
from 1976, which completley changed the standards and expectations of ski-race attire from that period onwards.
This vibrant history of design is still reflected today in it;s range of outfits for recreational skiers, with
a real attention to detail in the way Descente's jackets and pants look.
In a word... quality. But what else would you expect from a company that has been at the fore-front of technological and design adavances,
not just in ski-racing but other wintersports such as speed-skating, ski-jumping and sledding, as well as a successful dabble into
creating clothing for non-winter sports such as cycling.
From the company's creation back in the 1950's, Descente's philosophy has been to strive for excellence in every step of a product's
creation, from it's inception and design, right through to the manufacturing of the final product.
The Japanese company has specific teams to think up innovations, team's to work on the design of these new ideas, and
team's of craftsmen to bring them to reality.
And from it's early days the company has worked closely with professionals from the winter-sports arena to
develop and test their products.
Such passion and committment to designing and creating quality clothing, coupled with the fact that it's been used consistently
at the highest level of the sport for decades, all add up to a brand that is the real deal when it comes to top-notch skiwear.
Unfortunately, top performance and style doesn't come cheap !
The majority of the Descente jackets that you'll come across for sale in teh UK will be around the 400 pounds mark,
for both men and women. As ever, you can get them much cheaper in the end of season sales, where you'll often
find them right down to 200 pounds, not bad for something that's still technically as good as ever, but that
it's style is about 6 month's old !
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Descente section.
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Eider's ski gear has a nice modern feel to it, a decent mixture of brightly coloured items, and some more sombre colours given a bit of
a lift with some brighter contrasting zippers and similar neat features. The company was founded back in the early 1960's by a French
tailor, so it's good to see that company has stuck to it's heritage with quality, fitted-styles and decent cuts, which all add to
the modern look and feel of their products.
As well as being a stylish brand, Eider hits the mark technically as well. And with the company's founder being a tailor you'd
expect nothing else either - he'd want to know that company was using the best materials possible and constantly striving
for new fabrics and innovations.
Eider are still based at Annecy in the French Alps, and this physical proximity to the mountains gives you the feeling that the
company has still got a genuine connection to winter sports. It's not based hundreds of miles from the slopes, it's right in the
heart of them, so the people who work their and design their products are going to live and breathe winter sports, and be passionate
about their products. The company work closely with a whole host of wintersports people including a team of free-riders such as
Lionel Daudet, Kevin Guri, Adrien Coirier, Maxence Rollin, Matthias Giraud and the superbly named Thomas Diet.
So as you'd expect, their ski jackets and pants do the job in the harshest of conditions - sealed seams and fabrics designed
to withstand all sorts of weather conditions.
Ok, so to cover both bases on the slopes - looking good and being protected from whatever elements are thrown at you,
doesn't come cheap, and Eider is no exception to this general rule.
The majority of their jackets are around 250 to 350 pounds, although there are some up in the 400's and some slightly cheaper
ones around the 200 pounds mark. But this is a ski clothing brand where you definitely get what you pay for... top notch stuff !
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Eider section.
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In our eyes, Goldwin produce ski jackets that give a bit of a nod and wink back to the olden days, wilth multi-colours, panels and stripes.
Not in a corny, or cheesy 80s way, but a more modern version of this style, what many old-skool skiers like to think of as proper-looking ski attire.
A bit like the jackets you often see on ski instructors. Quite similar in style to Colmar, which is possibly why it's
so popular in Italy.
Ever since it's early days back in the 1950s and 1960s, Goldwin has placed a strong emphasis
on using high quality materials and striving for technological advances
in both materials and product design. The company has a big technical centre based
in Toyama, and with a high investment in researching and developing it's clothing,
Goldwin continues to get great feedback from it;s customers.
All this dedication and development gives it a great name amongst serious skiers,
which has a knock on effect that lesser skiers want it to make them look serious by
association !
specialised in thermal technology, windproof and stretch materials
With Goldwin jackets and pants being so hard to come across in the UK it;s hard to give you an exact price, but you are basically looking at
around 300 pounds for pants and around 400 pounds for a jacket. This ties in with the sort of prices you'd pay in Europe, where
we;ve seen a lot of their jackets around the 400-500 euro mark.
When some of Goldwin's stuff has magically appeared at TK Maxx (albeit the previous season's gear) it's been half these sort of prices.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Goldwin section.
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Halti gear has got a good, clean, modern look to it. It's probably not got the same reputation for style as some of it's Scandanavian rivals such as Peak Performance but it still looks pretty good.
No worries when it comes to how Halti gear will stand up to the rigours of winter wear,
this is good stuff that comes with a decent reputation.
Halti ski gear is not cheap. You're looking at somewhere between £250 to £300 for the majority of their top
jackets, although their are some below £200 and some above £300.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Halti section.
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Mammut clothing is definitely more about the performance than the style. Mammut aren't trying to be a Moncler, or a Bogner,
they're just trying to create decent, well-performing clothing. That said, some of the jackets and pants from recent seasons
have been really rather fetching.
The brand's popularity has increased ten-fold since the 90's and Mammut stores have now popped up in major cities
around the world as well as world-class sporting centres like Sapporo in Japan.
Having a good reputation in niche markets like climbing has helped give Mammut a great technical reputation, not only in
it's traditional areas such as hardware/equipment, but now also in it's clothing lines.
And whilst the brand may not be as trendy as the likes of say Peak Performance, no-one is going to doubt it's reputation
for quality when you have world famous mountaineers actively using their clothing on trips and expeditions.
Mammut sponsors lots of professional wintersports men and women, using this not only as a way of advertising their
products but to use comments and feedback from these world-class sports men and women to improve and develop their products further.
Well, you can pretty much tell how well Mammut's gear is going to perform when you see it's price, as it certainly can't
be described as cheap - you're talking around 400 pounds for the majority of it's high-performance winter sports jackets.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Mammut section.
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You can almost tell that Norrona is a Scandanvian company from the style of it's clothing -
brightly coloured (extremely brightly coloured in some cases !), well-fitted apparel that will definitely stand out against
the backdrop of the long, dark days of the Norwegian winter.
One of Norrona's signature features is the contrasting bright coloured zips that appear on most of the gear.
It says a lot about them as a brand that such an old company has managed to re-invent itself with such
a modern image.
As with so many of the Scandanavian outdoor clothing brands, the performance of Norrona clothing is excellent.
The primary objective of Norrona has always been for it's gear to be wearable in it's homeland of Norway, so if it's
been good enough to withstand a bashing during their winters it's definitely going to be good stuff.
You're looking at £400 for one of Norrona's top-end Narvik or Lofoten Gore-Tex jackets. And then just down
below £300 for some of it's lighter-weight jackets. So it's not cheap, but if you've got the cash then we doubt if you'll
be disappointed.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Norrona section.
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Peak Performance is really stylish Scandanavian gear, one of our favourites for the look and
appearance of it - a nice clean, modern look.
Peak Performance gear may be some of the most stylish around but it's also extremely functional.
They're gear is really stylish, top-notch stuff but dont expect to get it for peanuts - you can expect to pay upto £500 for one of
their GORE-TEX ski jackets, and around half that for non-GORE-TEX. But if you can afford it, buy it... you won't be disappointed.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Peak Performance section.
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Not only is Schoffel's clothing well constructed it's also really well designed. Their jackets in particular have a classy,
sophisticated look to them, with smart, modern fits.
The Schoffel brand is now one of the most highly regarded in the winter sports arena and they are also a company with a customer
service that is second to none - fancy having your sleeves lengthened ? Lost a hood ? Need a zip
replacing ? Then take the item back to one of Schoffel's specialist retailers and they'll arrange with the head office to get the
problem sorted. An all-round quality brand.
So how much are we talking for one of Schoffel's lovely ski jackets ? Well, how much are your
monthly mortgage repayments ? Skip one or two and you might just have enough for one of their flagship jackets - usually available
at around £500.
A far cry from the beginning of the 19th century, when Georg Schoffel first obtained a licence to start selling stockings !
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Schoffel section.
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As well as supplying outfits to many of the national ski teams, Spyder's clothing is also available to
the casual skier, with a wide range of jackets and pants.
Some love to wear it because it identifies them as serious skiers,
whilst others aren't took keen on the enormous Spyder logo that tends to get emblazoned
on the back of many of their outfits !
With a background that hails from creating outfits for professional ski racers, it's no wonder that Spyder is so widely
respected in
the industry and known as creators of serious ski gear.
Like the car manuufacturer that the brand takes it name from, you'll
need a well stocked bank account to get one, with many of the jackets over £500, and pants over £300.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Spyder section.
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Colombia's skiwear is generally quite conservative and solid. You basically know what you're going to get from it - mainly basic colours and styling.
I know we've made this comparison several times before, but even the styling of Columbia's gear is quite similar to that of The North Face.
Ok, so the styling of Columbia's gear may not be as cool as Norrona, or as sharp as Peak Performance, but when it comes to performance
it's a reasonably solid brand, decent materials and fabrics making a good honest product at an affordable price.
Given the huge size of the company and the widespread availability of its ski wear, its no surprise to see Columbia coming in the mid-range price bracket for
it's snowsports gear. The prices are generally quite comparable to the other massive American outdoor brand The North Face, with many jackets
around the 200 GBP mark.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Columbia section.
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There's nothing too flashy about Helly Hansen gear, it's pretty similar to the functionality side of things - it just pretty much
gets on with things and does it's stuff. Some basic coloured jackets, a few patterned ones, even a couple of throwbacks to 80's
jackets thrown in there with the contrast coloured-panels.
And if it's important to you that people know what you're wearing then the HH logo is now very well known off the slopes too.
Helly Hansen prides itself on its innovative history - breakthroughs and research into new textiles and products
so the performance of it's all-weather gear is usually pretty high. Remember, this is stuff that's traditionally been
used amongst Noway's ocean industries, it's fishermen, it's sailors. So if it can keep them relatively warm and dry
out in the perils of the North Sea you should be ok with it for a few years on the slopes !
You're looking at between £150 and £250 for the majority of Helly Hansen's jackets, which makes it a decent
alternative if you want a hard-wearing, solid jacket but don't have the extra money to spend on some of the premium brands.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Helly Hansen section.
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Nothing too flash or fancy to be honest, but plenty of bright colours. It's a bit of a middle of the road brand to be honest,
nothing to get too excited about in the style, but not a lot to dislike either.
Marmot's clothing is good quality stuff. The company were one of the first to use Gore-Tex in some of it's products, albeit
they were mainly manufacturing equipment like sleeping bags and tents back then. However, the company has a reputation
for looking at modern materials and advances in fabrics and is not afraid to test out new areas to give it an edge
over the competition.
Marmot's ski jackets are mainly around the 200 to 250 pound mark, so the brand falls into the mid-range
bracket of winter sports clothing.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Marmot section.
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Mountain Equipment's clothing is definitely designed with functionality in mind, rather than trying to compete with the
likes of Moncler or Bognor in the on-piste fashion stakes.
Is this stuff weatherproof ? Oh yes. You don't your equipment used in hundreds of expeditions to some of the world's highest
mountains, or to the North and South Poles unless it's really well made and designed.
Mountain Equipment have become experts in their field by working closely with some of the world's top climbers and
mountain adventurers, so rest assured if you buy their stuff you can expect it to keep you warm, dry and comfortable.
The price range for a Mountain Equipment jacket mainly comes in at around £100 to £150.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Mountain Equipment section.
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As with other large mainstream outdoor clothing manufacturers such as The North Face and Columbia,
Patagonia has become popular as everday clothing, and can be spotted just as often on the streets of a
city as it can in the hills and mountains. This, coupled with it's high price, has seen it acquire a yuppie
image in hiking and climbing circles that has seen it tagged as Prada-gonia and Pata-gucci.
It doesn't have quite the same exclusive image in skiing, where it's not as common as a brand and probably
because there's much more expensive gear to be found anyway!
Yeah, performance wise it does a job, similar to other brands of the same ilk. One thing that's worth noting is Patagonia's use of recyled materials in many of it's products over recent years, with the company as a whole taking a
strong lead and a healthy involvement in a number of environmental movements.
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Patagonia clothing is quite expensive for a relatively big, mainstream brand, and you're looking between
200 to 450 pounds for one of their jackets.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Patagonia section.
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Ok, so Salomon are, and probably always will be, best known for their ski equipment, but their clothing is good quality too.
There's nothing too outrageous or outlandish in it's styling, and the design and approach seems more aimed at a mainstream market.
With such a strong background in winter sports, Salomon gear is always going to have a functional approach, and this applies as much to it's range of clothing
as it's hardware.
Pricing is quite mainstream too.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings Salomon section.
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Sales of the brand rocketed in the 1990's as
some outdoor brands achieved fashionable status (think of Liam Gallagher giving it some Wonderwall
in his Berghaus jacket) and 'Wilderness Chic' became a widely used term in fashion mags.
So as North Face gear started to be sold in sportshops and fashion retailers, far removed from the
specialized outdoor shops that were it's previous domain, so it's popularity exploded.
It's popularity amongst many of the brands wearers may be down to it's image on the high street rather than how it performs in the
mountains, but for those of us who also need to wear jackets for their functionality, The North Face still has a decent repuation for
keeping out the elements. The company has made so much money in recent years that it can afford to invest it in new technologies
and materials.
The North Face have such a range of jackets that there's a range of prices to suit most mid-range budgets,
anywhere from around 150 to 500 pounds.
For more information, go to the main
SnowKings The North Face section.
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