Smart Shopping Before a Winter Trip: Where to Save and Where to Splurge

Planning a winter trip and quietly panicking about the cost?

Most do. Tickets are purchased, cabin paid for. Then the gear list arrives and sucks all the fun out.

Winter travel can get pretty expensive. According to Expedia's data, the average spend was $2,888 on a winter sports getaway, not including even one glove, sock or jacket.

Here's the problem:

Nearly all travellers waste their money. They spend a few hundred bucks on things no-one cares about and scrimp and save on the three or four things that make a holiday awesome... or not.

That's backwards. Let's fix it.

What's covered below:

• Why Your Feet Get The Budget First
• Two More Things Worth The Splurge
• Where To Save Without Regretting It
• Shopping Tactics That Actually Work

Why Your Feet Get The Budget First

Splurge on shoes if you can only treat yourself on one packing list item.

Nothing ends your day faster than cold, wet feet. They also force people into unplanned contact with the ground. Research published in the Journal of Safety Research shows that 97% of weather related injuries involve slips or trips on ice and snow. And the only thing separating a traveller from that ice is their rubber outsole.

Waterproof boots for snow are doing three jobs at the same time:

• Keeping meltwater and slush out
• Keeping body heat in
• Keeping you upright on packed ice

Cheap boots will often excel at only one of those three. Which is precisely why a good pair of snow boots is the best bang-for-your-buck item on this entire list. Find a boot with an actual waterproof membrane, temperature rating appropriate for your destination, and deep lugged sole made of a rubber compound that doesn't harden at low temperatures. Rubber hardens into a hockey puck when it's -10°C.

One quick warning:

Water resistant does NOT mean waterproof. Water resistant means the boot withstands a sprinkle of powder. Waterproof means you can leave it in slush for an hour and the sock won't get wet.

Read the label. Not the marketing.

Two More Things Worth The Splurge

Shoes rank first. You can break the bank on these two.

A Proper Outer Layer

Your jacket and snow pants are your shell. Everything else hides behind them. They take the brunt of wind, water and abuse.

Cheap shells break in one particular way - they cease breathing. Sweat is trapped, the base layer absorbs it, and before you know it you're shivering in a jacket that "won't leak." Most common gear complaint ever.

What actually matters:

• A waterproof rating of at least 10,000mm for real snow conditions
• Taped or sealed seams (an untaped seam is just a row of holes)
• Pit zips or vents for warm afternoons
• A hood that fits over a helmet or hat

Buy that shell once and it'll last you 5-10 winters. Factor it out over that many seasons and that costly jacket is now cheap.

Travel Insurance

Boring? Absolutely. Skippable? No.

Winter excursions require more logistics than summer jaunts. Winter storms close passes. Flights get cancelled. You slip and break a hip. Medical evacuation off a peak is going to make your eyes water.

Policies can be an extremely small percentage of the total trip cost. If you cancel your entire trip you lose 100% with no policy.

Where To Save Without Regretting It

Now for the fun part... because much of the packing list can be acquired cheaply nobody will know.

Base Layers

This is where you'll find the highest markups. A high-end brand merino base layer can be four times more expensive than the supermarket or budget brand equivalent, with minimal difference in performance.

Rule is simple: synthetic or merino baselayers trump cotton every time. Cotton absorbs moisture against your skin and makes you painfully cold. If it's not cotton, then the inexpensive option is functioning at 90% effectiveness.

Ski And Snowboard Equipment

Renting beats buying for anyone who goes fewer than about ten days a year.

Rentals are cleaned all the time, sized specifically to what's forecast for the day, and aren't schlepped through an airport. Airlines make you pay big bucks for oversized bags, and that fee alone can negate any cost benefit of owning a set.

Buy the gear once the trips become a habit. Not before.

Accessories And Après Clothing

Beanies, neck gaiters, thermal socks, casual goggles. You can purchase all of these things at the cheap end of the spectrum with negligible loss of comfort. Purchase multiple pairs of inexpensive thermal socks rather than a single expensive pair. Socks will get wet every day.

Likewise for the garments worn indoors post-snow. No one at the lodge is scrutinizing the label on a fleece.

Luggage

Don't bring a new hardshell case just because you're going. Rent or borrow a duffel, and a quality backpack will pack winter clothes just fine. Soft bags also fit into car boots much easier.

Shopping Tactics That Actually Work

A few habits that shave serious money off a winter kit list.

Buy last season's colours. Outdoor companies rotate colourways annually, but the construction rarely changes. That brown jacket from last year? 40% off and it functions the same as the teal one.

Buy gear in springtime, not fall. Winter clothing will be at its cheapest prices in February and March when shops are trying to get rid of merchandise. It seems crazy to purchase kit eight months before you leave but that's where the savings lie.

Buy boots late in the day. Feet get bigger throughout the day. They also get bigger in cold weather. Shop for boots in the afternoon, and wear the thick socks you'll be wearing on your trip. A boot that fits with thin socks will torture your feet with thick ones.

Steer clear of the resort stores. Mountain village pricing has a captive audience markup. Leave a glove liner at home and you'll pay three times as much to buy it there. Check off a packing list and don't deviate.

Layer. Don't try to buy one "warmer" jacket. Three thin layers work better than one thick layer. And remember you already have layers in your wardrobe. Trapped air = warmth, not price tags.

The Bottom Line

Winter holidays chastise financial follies better than summer vacations. Sweat a little on a beach and move into the shade. Sweat a little in the mountains and you've ruined the day.

So the split looks like this:

• Splurge on footwear, the outer shell, and insurance
• Save on base layers, accessories, luggage, and anything worn indoors
• Rent the big equipment until the trips become regular

Spend where the snow touches you. Save everywhere else.

Do this and you lower your packing list price, increase warmth for your trip, and put your money where it really can earn you some work.

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