 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All
I am going on my first skiing holiday in January and need to get myself the usual collection of "newbie" kit. Jacket, pants, thermals, fleeces, goggles and gloves etc etc.
I went to Snow and Rock on Saturday and nearly had a coronary at some of the prices! My North Face coat I use for cycling was £180 - I bought this 4 months ago from Decathlon for £80, so i drove to Decathlon to see if they did ski stuff.
They had quite a lot in (although a lot of their new season stuff was waiting to go out on the shelves). They do an own brand called "Quechua" and some of the stuff is pretty nice - and stacks cheaper than the stuff in Snow and Rock!
It seems pretty good quality, but has anybody actually used any of this Decathlon stuff? Any opinions? Does cheaper = rubbisher?
Cheers!
Edit - typo corrected
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 3-10-05 9:42; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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magic_hat, Decathlon a pretty good source. Quechua stuff used by many friends and they like it. Definitely worth a close look.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Quechua is fine, MRs NBT uses quechua ski pants and they're great. You do run the risk of being taken for a local if you ski in France though as 90% of french people seem to sport at least one item of quechua gear 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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magic_hat, never bought Decathlon ski stuff, but we love Decathlon. It's a real must whenever we go to France or Spain, for, well, everything sports related. Never had a problem with any Quechua stuff except just once when a cheap jacket was less than breathable but what did I expect? 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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magic_hat, I would also check out ebay as a good source of second hand ski clothing. You can pick up soe great bargains. Also I would recommend not spending too much until you are totally hooked like the rest of us snowheads!
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Decathlon is an excellent shop, I was in there on Sunday. My view is that for the basic equipment / clothing they are great, but you wouldn't get supremely technical kit from them. I have a few of their Nova Dry base layers, they are £7 in comparison to a £20 North Face and perfectly adequate. I also have waterproof trousers and some hiking kit. You should be fine with them, they are excellent value.
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magic_hat, All of my stuff/clothing is Decathlon own brand ( Quechua) . Not in itself a commendation but it is perfectly adequate and their base clothing is superb ... AND I wear a one-piece 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I echo the comments above, have bought very good stuff in Go Sport over the years - big supermarkets all over France, including Annemasse, on the motorway out from Geneva to Chamonix, Flaine, PDS etc. I think they are distinct from Decathlon, but same idea. As well as ski stuff we bought Quechua walking poles, fraction of the price of the fancier brands, and they do the job very well. However, I do find that gear bought locally in resorts is generally rather expensive - you need to go to a big shopping centre.
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Excellent!
Thanks to everyone for the replies - they were just what i (and my bank balance) wanted to hear!!
That's my Saturday afternoon sorted - I'll be off to Decathlon!
Cheers!
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Tue 4-10-05 8:52; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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magic_hat, if you can get along to Castleford (where the Xscape is), the retail park there has a regatta shop.
Was in there last Friday, and they were doing Dare2be Sallopettes for £25 and Dare2be Jackets from £30 in their sale. They also had a full range of all the Regatta jackets and fleeces etc...
Got meself a nice Regatta fleece (one of the windproof/waterproof/breathable ones) with all the inner linings in for £20 instead of £45.
May be worth a look, and there's also a Lowe Alpine shop there which had some excellent deals on jackets.
Hope this helps.....
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Also drop in TK Maxx if you've time, they currently have Tresspass, Dare2Be, Regatta, etc, jackets and sallies.
Stock changes very quickly so you might need to visit more than once. My son bought Tresspass jacket and sallies for about £75-80 last week. I bought a Cross 2 piece for about the same money last year.
My first ski stuff was from Decathlon (their own make) and proved more than adequate in Canada even when skiing in the -25/-30 temps you some time get there. Also agree their base layer stuff is great value for monay and performs well.
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M and M Sports have got some cheap ski jackets in at present, Berghaus, Columbia & Helly Hansen mainly. Worth keeping an eye on as their stock and sizes available change constantly. Some good bargains to be had.
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