Whether you're heading to an indoor slope for your first lesson, up to Scotland for a weekend, or out to the Alps for half-term, what you wear skiing and snowboarding is the difference between a great day and a miserable one. Here's what you actually need and how to layer it.
The base layer
Your base layer sits against your skin and manages moisture. Merino wool or a synthetic technical fabric works best: merino for warmth and natural odour resistance, synthetic for faster drying. Avoid cotton entirely. It soaks up sweat and stays wet, which makes you cold fast.
Fit should be close but not restrictive, so nothing bunches under your mid layer. In plus sizes, we like the Stoic Merino150 base layer from Alpinetrek, the thermal tops at Yours Clothing, and Uniqlo Heattech if you want something affordable and easy to find.
The mid layer
On colder days, or if you feel the cold, a fleece or light insulated layer between your base layer and jacket makes a big difference. A technical zip-up fleece works well because it moves with you and packs down if you warm up. On milder days, or if you run warm, skip it. Spring skiing in the Alps is often warm enough to go without; a windy day in Scotland usually isn't.
The ski jacket
Finding straight-size or plus-size ski wear that fits shouldn't be the hard part of the trip. Your jacket deals with wind, snow and wet from the outside. The numbers that matter are the waterproof rating (mm) and breathability (g/m²/24h).
20,000mm waterproof and 20,000g breathability is full-conditions technical spec. Below 15,000mm you'll start to feel it in heavy snow or after a wipeout, and in wet Scottish conditions.
If you've spent years making do with jackets that pull across the bust, gap at the back when you sit, or make you choose between fitting your shoulders and your hips, our Anna Snow Jacket was built around how women's bodies actually work. It has bust gussets, a dropped back hem, hip gussets that widen the hem by up to 14cm, and two internal waist cinch tabs. UK 6 to 24.
If you run warm, an uninsulated shell jacket or anorak works too. Our Sesi Snow Anorak adjusts to your body shape and has an adjustable length. An anorak lets you layer up or down for the weather, with the same 20K/20K spec.
Ski trousers and salopettes
Your ski trousers face the same conditions from the waist down. Waterproofing matters most at the knee and seat, which spend the most time in the snow. Salopettes (we call them bibs) add coverage up your back and stop snow getting in when you fall or sit down.
The right cut depends on your body:
- Zali Snow Pant: wider hips and thighs with shaping for a smaller waist, for hourglass and pear shapes
- Beatrice Snow Pant: more room through the waist and middle with a tapered leg, for apple shapes
- Mila Snow Pant: mild shaping through the hip and thigh with an adjusted rise, for subtle curves or a "baby hourglass"
All come in Short, Regular and Tall leg lengths, and petite skiers can start with our petite ski wear. Our ski trouser fit guide will help if you're between cuts, and the ski trouser size guide has the full measurements.
Gloves or mittens
Your hands are the first thing to get cold, and you use them constantly: every fall, every time you push yourself up off the snow. Get this wrong and it's a cold, miserable day.
The trade-off is that mittens are warmer, because your fingers share heat, while gloves give you more dexterity. Snowboarders tend to go for mittens because, unlike skiers, they don't hold poles, so they give up nothing by keeping their fingers together.
One detail worth looking for is a nose and goggle wipe panel on the thumb. It sounds minor, and you'll use it on every run.
Goggles
UV is much stronger at altitude than at sea level, and snow reflects it back at you from below. Goggles aren't optional, and that applies on a bright day in the Alps as much as in flat light in Scotland.
Lens shape matters more than most people expect. Cylindrical lenses curve only left to right across your face. They're affordable and do the job, but being flat vertically creates more glare. Spherical lenses curve both ways, which cuts distortion and glare and gives you better peripheral vision. For your first pair, cylindrical is fine. For your second, go spherical.
Look for double-layer lenses (standard on anything mid-price and up) and vents around the frame. Don't wipe the inside of the lens, because the anti-fog coating is on the inside and you'll damage it.
Helmet
Fit is everything. A helmet should sit level with the front edge about two finger-widths above your eyebrows, and it shouldn't rock when you try to move it. Check it works with your goggles before you buy: there should be no gap between the top of the goggle frame and the helmet brim.
If you're hiring kit in resort, hire the helmet too. If you want the look of a beanie with the safety of a proper helmet, have a look at Anti-Ordinary.
A note on layering
You'll warm up once you're moving. Don't turn up in every layer you own and wonder why you're sweating by your second run. Start with base layer, jacket and trousers, then adjust. Most ski jackets have underarm vents for a reason.
Want to see it all together? Our outfit creator pairs jackets and trousers by body shape and colour, so you can see your full kit before you buy.
For more on fit, read our guides to the best plus-size ski trousers in the UK and the best ski jackets for curvy women, or browse all women's ski and snowboard outerwear.