Snow gear

Snowboarding Gear Guide 2012: Soft Goods

By Jackie Williams, 2-18-11

	POW Gloves new Sultan model in black: made as a "second skin" for people who hate gloves.

As the 2010-2011 snow season begins its descent, it’s time to start saving your money for next year’s gear. In that spirit, New West brings you a gear guide to help you figure out what’s worth it and what isn’t. Today’s entry: The softer side of snowboarding, from head to toe. Next time: hardwear.

HEAD
You’ll be seeing a lot of aviator-style hats and beanies, complete with the fur-lined ear tabs. Not your bag? Then opt for the baggy, long and loose beanies ala seven dwarfs’ style. Just about every line has at least one style that has some type of integrated sound system, whether you plug in your own or buy theirs, you can be bumpin’ on the mountain. If you’re looking in the kids’ market, they’ve got some cute animal inspired hats and beanies to make them look like bears and sharks and all sorts of crazy creatures.

Face Masks: Everyone needs a couple of these for those sub temp days and wind chills. Several manufacturers are making face masks with warm fleece layers and windproof overlays, complete with air holes so you don’t get all snotty on the inside. Another style has molded neoprene over the nose and mouth areas. And one more trend you’ll be seeing more of are bearded face masks so you can look a little more like Danny Davis…

BODY
Base layers are super important. In my opinion, it’s better to splurge on some quality under clothes more so than your jacket. After trying out several brands, weights and styles, my all-time favorite brand is Polarmax. They’ve got an awesome product that is super comfortable and keeps you warm and dry all day long. Other brands are good, too, and sometimes you have to just get what’s on sale, but I guarantee if you buy Polarmax gear, you will be totally satisfied. My team of testers all got a pair and loved them. The fabric is super soft on your skin and it feels like you aren’t wearing anything. They even have a new wicking cotton line called TransDRY, which works great.

This coming year you will be seeing more interchangeable lines of base and mid layers (and everything else). Manufacturers want you to be loyal to their brand, so they are making patterns and styles that match with everything else they offer.

HANDS
We’ve seen a lot this season already with the gloves that have tech touch features so you can use your phone and iPod with ease. Next season, everybody’s got it. Gloves vary with special fabrics on the thumb and forefinger so you don’t have to remove them when receiving a call. I think gloves are a personal choice depending on how cold you get and how much your hands are actually in the snow. POW gloves are getting pretty popular and they have some pretty cool styles depending on what you’re doing on the snow. If you happen to be the one in the group who’s always filming or taking the pics, the company has two new styles that allow you to pull back the thumb and forefinger part of the glove so you can access the camera without taking your entire glove off.

FEET
You’ve got Thorlos, Smartwool, Lorpen, Wigwam… the list goes on and on. Making sure your socks are snowboarding specific helps. I haven’t had a pair of socks that left me cold, but you need to get different styles for comfort and temperature. I keep a variety on hand – thick, thin, extra padded, depending on the snow day. The new ones coming out are made with new threads that are recycled and have better performance qualities and padding in all the right areas. Thorlos is all about foot protection, so if you tend to get blisters, I’d opt for those.

Jackie Williams is a writer currently based in Wyoming, specializing in luxury and adventure travel, outdoor sports, health & fitness, restaurant and product/gear reviews. In the winter, 90 percent of her articles are focused on snowboarding and all things related to snowboarding.

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