Ski Season is (almost) here!

Part 5 - What to wear at the ski trip/mountain/resort

In Part 5, we will go into detail about accessories.

This blog series should help you make informed decisions in buying, packing and using your gear.

Let's quickly see what are the accessories:

- Wool blend socks

- Wool or synthetic neck gaiter (optional but useful)

- Ski gloves (must be windproof)

- Ski goggles (nothing fancy needed at first, but photochromic lenses could help)

- Ski helmet (not your bike helmet, they are not interchangeable; preferably with MIPS technology)

- Beanie/hat (not necessarily required for skiing itself but you'd like to keep one in your pockets)

How to choose the accessories for the ski day?

Once again, to remember, skiing is a very active adventure, so it is crucial to dress right to avoid both getting cold and overheating issues.

The Objective

Objective of accessories differ in which part we talk about.

- Long snow socks will keep your feet warm, wick moisture and provide cushion against the burly ski boot.

- Gloves will provide insulation and cut windchill to provide warmth to your hands.

- Neck gaiter or balaclava will protect your neck and provide extra coverage.

- Ski goggles protect your eyes from the wind and provides sunshine protection (similar to sunglasses).

- Helmets will provide head protection and ideally your cover your ears to provide extra warmth.

This will be packed with information, as promised.

Buckle up and let's dive right in.

Ski Clothing 101

Accessories

Let's dive in one by one:

Ski socks:

You want ski socks that are long so that they can provide warmth and ideally cushion for your shins. That's all there is. Rest is taste and budget - patterns, price, availability.

These long socks are now as "over the calf" socks. We recommend some sort of cushion especially for the shins for extra protection. It is, however, possible to buy ski socks with zero cushion as well.

Your regular hiking socks are not recommended here, even if they are wool blends.

Best ski socks are made from merino wool blends. 100% wool won't work here. Ideally you want about 55-60% merino wool for maximum thermal performance and odor resistance with some blend of nylon and elastane for durability.

Neck gaiters and balaclavas:

For additional neck protection, a neck gaiter is recommended. However, to get the full head protection, you can also get a balaclava aka ski mask.

As we talked about earlier, if you got a fleece hoodie that offers neck protection (see our founder's picture below), a gaiter or balaclava may not be needed. However, we saw a benefit regardless, especially on windy days, to, you know, protect our hoodie from our nose.

Fabric rules also apply here, make sure to opt in for a wool, wool blend or a synthetic product for best performance.

If you have fleece mid layer that protects your neck and fits close to your head, you can skip a neck gaiter and wear ski helmet directly on top to have extra warmth and ear protection.

Ski Helmet

Most important thing to know here is to have one. Don't risk any injuries to your head. Do not ski or do any snow sport without having a proper ski/snow helmet. Beanie alone isn't enough to protect your head from impacts.

When choosing one, we recommend getting a MIPS certified helmet. MIPS (Multi-Directional Impact Protection System) is a helmet technology that adds a low-friction layer to protect against rotational motion from angled impacts, i.e. good to have.

Make sure that helmet fits snug, not too tight nor not too loose. Make sure that it can be positioned low enough in the front to protect your forehead.

Also make sure that it fits with your goggles. Make sure to try it on both before the ski day. Some goggles are wide and may not be compatible with some helmets.

Ski Goggles

Goggles protect your eyes from the wind, cuts the windchill and thus tearing-up. They also protect your eyes against the sunshine reflection/UVs from the sun.

Make sure that the goggle you are buying fits great. There should be no gap between the top of your goggles and the helmet.

It is best to get a goggle with interchangeable lenses to accommodate for different weather conditions. Overcast days and bright sunny days usually call for different lenses.

UV protection, anti fog coatings and polarization are tech specs to consider. If you are a beginner and feel overwhelmed already, don't fret, prominent brands usually incorporate some forms of these in most products, so you usually don't have to buy the most expensive goggle for your first day.

The technical explanations are out of the scope of this post but photochromic lenses might help overcome brightness changes, as it adjust automatically.

Now let's get into ski gloves as they deserve their own section.

Ski Gloves

How to choose ski gloves?

There are many options in the market when it comes to ski gloves.

The most important features to look for is being windproof and have some sort of insulation.

Your normal leather and/or work gloves will most likely won't work in extended ski sessions, so a separate ski glove is usually recommended.

Honestly, we still don't have a GOAT glove among all the gloves in the market. However, of course, some are better than others. Let's dive into the world of gloves and compare/contrast different qualities, so you can reference this guide when comparing the gloves that fit into your budget.

Leather or synthetic?

- If you already know us, we are all for natural materials. So leather is almost always our choice when possible over synthetics.

- Leather is more durable and abrasion resistant. It needs to be processed and usually impregnated to withstand the moisture. If a full leather glove is out of your budget, you can look for a synthetic gloves with leather palms to get the abrasion resistance where it matters the most.

- Most gloves in the market is a combination of both.

- Leather is more expensive than synthetic options.

Over the cuff or under the cuff?

- This is a bit personal. For us, over the cuff is better for ease of use, especially the glove features a longer cuff.

- Under-the-cuff gloves might be more stylish and screams less of mountain sports, while still being warm. If you trust the velcro on your jacket wrists, by all means go for it. Usually velcros are dangerous against wool garments, so be careful.

Waterproof ski gloves or not?

- This sounds like a no-brainer: You go skiing, there is snow everywhere and you don't want your hands get wet and cold. So waterproof all the way, right? Not always. There is some nuance to it.

- Waterproof gloves are great but they have to have a membrane to not let any water in. This membrane reduces the time the glove can dry. So it may not always be the best choice.

- In backcountry skiing, waterproofness could come in handy, also since the backcountry skiers are experienced and already know what works for them.

- In resort skiing, where we focus on here, waterproofness isn't that big of a deal, in our opinion. What matters more is to get them to dry when you are eating your lunch or taking a break. (you will probably fall and the outer glove will get wet)

- Ski gloves isn't exactly built for making a snowmen. So, the decision comes down to your preferences and your budget. Waterproof gloves are usually more expensive.

5-finger vs 3-finger (lobster) vs mittens?

- 5-finger gloves offer the best dexterity, while mittens offer the best warmth because you fingers share the heat.

- 3-finger gloves are marketed as best of both worlds, however, it takes to time to get used to. You can keep using your index finger alongside your thumb while the rest of your fingers share heat to keep warm.

- For skiers, 5-fingers are usually the best choice as you need require dexterity to use the pole. (that is unless 3-fingers aren't weird for you)

- For snowboarders, mittens become an option as the hand dexterity isn't needed. It is ultimately a personal choice.

Down vs synthetic insulation?

- Down is a great natural material that provides ample warmth without bulk. However, one downside of down is that (see the pun there?), down loses the ability to insulate when wet.

- There are some waterproof ski gloves that use down insulation in the market. However, it isn't as widely used as polyester filling.

- Most brands use synthetic insulation and getting a recycled insulation could be better for the environment.

- It ultimately comes down to your choice.

Touchscreen compatibility?

- This is a nice-to-have for most, a must-have if you want to film in the mountain. However, some gloves don't have this feature, it usually requires some proprietary technology used in fingertips to make them touchscreen compatible, so it is more expensive to manufacture.

- Sometimes a great glove is short of being excellent just because it lacks this feature, in our opinion.

- If you cannot get an outer glove with this feature, you can check if it has a removable liner that supports this. You might get away with only removing the outer shell to use your phone. Otherwise, you'll have to expose your whole hand to take pictures.

Removable liners or not?

- It is definitely nice to have removable liners for added versatility. In theory, you can remove the liner and use alone in warmer months, and combine both in ski days. Also known as 3-in-1 gloves.

- However, in practice, even some expensive products don't really pay attention to the aesthetics of the liner glove, practically rendering it unusable without its shell.

- So again, good to have, but it doesn't always equal to versatility, so keep that in mind.

Wool vs synthetic liners?

- In situations where drying faster is of utmost importance, go with a synthetic liner. Yes, it is coming from us, as a natural-fiber-first brand. Because plastics serve a purpose here.

- However, in resort skiing, usually you shouldn't need that level of fast-dry feature, so we recommend natural fibers, like wool, to have the most thermoregulation feature for your hand, and softness for the comfort.

Nice to haves:

- Wrist cinches: It is almost a must for us. There has to be some form of securing the glove to your cuff to keep the snow out. Wrist cinches are a very common way to do it.

- Glove leashes (wrist cords): They keep the gloves tied your wrist so you don't lose them when you remove them. They are also sold separately and if you already have a ski glove that has a loop ring, you can attach/tie one to it.

- Thumb nose wipes: Some gloves feature a soft/brushed fabric, usually located at the thumbs to wipe the nose when it begins to drip. Might be nice to have but it might require cleaning afterwards.

- Zippered pockets: Some ski gloves feature pockets. You can unzip for venting in warmer days or put in warmers in colder days.

There are also heated gloves in the market, which we won't go into detail. Unless you run very cold or have circulation conditions, they are usually not required for beginners. They are much pricier as well.

Simsek currently does not make any ski accessories, so your current gear is the best until we make them. Stay tuned.

That's it from us. We thank you for joining us in this journey, seeing it through the end.

We hope you feel more confident about your days at the slopes!

See you at the summit!