I briefly talked about this in the blog about ‘How To Buy Ski/Snowboard Jackets & Pants‘, but let’s go into more detail on how to correctly layer your clothes.
When going to the slopes, you have two options for keeping warm:
- Wearing 3 or more layers of clothes
- Wearing 1-2 layers of thicker clothes
Here’s a guide on how to layer correctly and why you might want to choose each option:
1) Wearing 3 or more layers
The advantage of wearing 3 or more layers is that you can change things really easily if it gets warmer. In addition, it’s a lot more flexible when it comes to altering thicknesses of your layers to match the temperature.
The typical method of layering 3+ layers is:
Base Layer – Your warm thermal/base layer shirt and pants to wick away moisture and keep you dry
Special Blend's Base Layer
Mid Layer – A fleece zip up or pullover to keep the heat in
A good plan for those who ski/snowboard a lot is to buy a thin, medium and heavy fleece. This allows you to match your fleece thickness to the temperature.
Burton Fleece Layer
Outer Layer – Shell or lightly insulated jacket/pants. This keeps out the wind and moisture while providing an extra layer to keep you warm.
Burton Jacket
2) Wearing 1 to 2 layers
The advantage of wearing 1 to 2 layers is that it’s simple and easy. You wear the same thing every day. The big downside however, is that you rely on vents and zippers in your jacket/pants to cool you down and you can’t remove a mid layer if you get hot.
The typical method of wearing 1-2 layers is:
Base Layer – Your warm thermal/base layer shirt and pants to wick away moisture and keep you dry
Special Blend's Base Layer
Mid & Outer Layer – Thick puffy jacket/pants with heavy insulation. This functions as both your mid layer and your outer layer to keep you warm and keep moisture/wind out.
In addition, many people don’t get as cold on the lower half of their body, so it’s not uncommon for many to go with a shell or lightly insulated pants.
Burton Puffy Jacket
One more tip
Don’t forget that if you ski/snowboard a lot, you can buy multiple sets of outerwear for cheap, as long as you’re willing to buy the previous seasons gear. This mean you can have both a 1 to 2 layer set and a 3+ layer set of outerwear.
Stay warm and happy riding!