Live your own Winter Olympics with this top ski gear
If the Beijing Games have whetted your appetite for cold-weather sports, we have the perfect round-up for you, with some of the hottest ski and snowboard gear for sloping off to the mountains.
Viking of the mountain: Oakley Flight Path L Aleksander Kilde signature series snow goggles, £183. Developed with Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer Aleksander Kilde, these goggles were inspired by champion Alpine skiers from his country known as the Attacking Vikings. Their wide view and greater upward visibility make them ideal for anyone planning to attack the mountain.
Colour pop: Men’s midlayer Murren stripe charcoal in cobalt and green, £145, and women’s midlayer rainbow stripe in navy, £135. Brighten up your ski wardrobe with slim-fit merino wool jumpers with a rainbow of bright colours. The natural wool fibre makes an ideal second layer – ideal for keeping core body warmth without adding bulk.
Sage decision: Arc’teryx Shaska stretch women’s jacket in green, £400. Heading to the backcountry? You’ll need a jacket that’s windproof, water resistant, breathable and comfortable. Made of Gore-tex, the thigh-length Shashka has all that – and a natural green shade to make you the envy of all.
Goodbye frosty feet: Snux overboot, £64. Frozen-footed skiers will give the Snux overboot a warm welcome. Fitting over any ski boot, it is designed to keep moisture out and heat in for a toasty day on the slopes even in alpine conditions.
Quantum of solace: Dalbello Quantum ski boot, £660. Italian designers have turned up the tech to make this lightweight boot ideal for both ski touring and on piste. The boot is made using a bonded shell with the two halves fused together using a special vibration process developed originally for heart valves and later to make Formula One chassis.
Ski-whizz: Volkl Mantra M6 skis, £660. Designed as an all-terrain ski, the German-made Mantra’s main USP is its tailored titanal frame. The amount of titanium built in to the ski depends on its length – making it better adapted to each skier’s size to increase responsiveness and stability at high speed. There’s more science involved in the carbon tips – aimed at giving greater precision even on hard snow.
Wood you believe it? Dewerstone summit wooden polarized sunglasses, £59.95. Outdoor lifestyle company Dewerstone makes wood-framed sunglasses that are certified climate neutral. It also plants a tree for every set sold and one per cent of annual sales go to support non-profit environmental organisations. All in all, they’re giving a pretty good view of the planet.
Full coverage: Maier Sports Liland outdoor men’s jacket in red, £299.95. Here’s a coat for all weathers and all shapes. The three-layer technical shell jacket is built for hiking, trekking and skiing as well as round town and comes in ten sizes. It has an environmentally-friendly, water-repellent, PFC-free finish and is made from 65 per cent recycled polyester yarn.
Holding the folding: Here’s a game-changer for travelling skiers – the foldable ski. Elan has created the Voyager, which folds to less than 1metre in length for easy carriage. Starting at around £1,100 for just the skis, it ain’t cheap. But Elan boasts that you’ll be ‘plane, train, car and space rocket ready to go’ so that must be worth something? A pack containing skis, travel bag, ski poles, snow removal brush and drying cloth costs euros 1,600 ( £1,343).
What a beast: The Volkom Nitro X Beast, £580, is a freestyle board for advanced riders, developed by pros Marcus Kleveland and Torgeir Bergrem. Built around a balanced true-twin shape with traditional camber, the Beast X delivers all the support, pop, speed, and flex you could ever need.