How to Properly Layer Clothing for Skiing
Skiing is a wonderful way of being out on the mountains and enjoying winter. Proper care needs to be taken before heading out for a day on the slopes. Knowing how to properly layer your clothing when dressing is an essential skill for a warm and fun-filled day on the slopes.
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Things You'll Need
- Non-cotton mid-weight or light weight long underwear top
- Non-cotton mid-weight or light weight long underwear bottom
- Puffy or fleece layer
- Hard or soft shell jacket
- Bib ski pants or ski waist pant
- Wool or synthetic socks
- Wool or synthetic hat
- Wool or synthetic glove liner
- Ski gloves
- Scarf or Neck Gaiter
Instructions
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The base payer is the one that is next to your skin. It is important to not have cotton as a base layer, or any other layer, while skiing. Cotton has no thermal qualities when wet, and due to sweat and precipitation, cotton clothing becomes saturated fast. The adage is "cotton kills."
Using your non-cotton set of long underwear as a base layer is the first step to an effective ski clothing system.
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Once you have your base layer on, put on one pair of wool or synthetic socks. Preferably calf high, use only one pair of socks and make sure not to tuck the long underwear bottoms into the socks. Instead, keep the underwear leggings over the socks.
After the socks, put on a fleece or puffy (down or synthetic fill) jacket or sweater. Put on your ski bibs or ski pants. If wearing bibs, tuck the puffy or fleece layer into the chest portion of the bibs. This prevents unwanted snow from getting underneath your fleece layer and close to the skin.
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The third step is to put on your hard or soft shell final layer. The jacket should go over all the other layers and have enough space under it so you have mobility and flexibility around the torso, shoulders and neck.
You can now put on your hat, neck gaiter and glove liners. After the glove liners, put on your full ski gloves.
When putting on your ski boots, make sure not to tuck your long underwear leggings into the boots, as this will affect your fit and circulation, leading to numb or cold feet, blisters and poor circulation.
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By having layers versus one big layer, you can remove or add on layers to cool off or heat up and retain heat, as needed. You have the ability to bleed heat and not get too hot while enjoying the hills.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not tuck long underwear bottoms into ski boots. This causes rubbing, chafing and affects the fit and performance of the boot.
See Resources for a good selection of all the layers you will need when out skiing the slopes.
Do not use cotton clothing for skiing.
