What happened to Jeans?

[nunyabiz]

With the ability to get suitable pants for $50 it seems like a no brainer. If a beginner has invested the time/money in going skiing they may as well spend the little extra to not be cold and wet.

 

[crgildart]

Many of the resorts out this way rent ski pants/bibs along with the other ski and snowboard gear rental options.

 

[jseeski]

If they are familiar with thrift shops, then they can find ski jackets and pants there. High quality used ski pants are priced $6.00 to $20 in New England thrift shops. Ski jackets are a little higher.

I have a very nice pair of Helly Hansen bibs. Full side zips, reinforced knees and cuffs, etc. Nearly new. $20 Canadian at the Salvation Army store.

FWIW, the idea of putting on a pair of jeans over a pair of long underwear (or two pairs, in a futile attempt to stay warm) seems harder than pulling on a pair of bibs. Also, jeans leave something to be desired in the ease of motion department, especially when wet. Plus, they have all the wonderful insulating capacity of sheet metal. Such a wonderful set of benefits that I can't understand why everybody doesn't wear them!

 

[Vcize]

I think it's a combination of things.

1) Affordable snow pants

2) Unaffordable day ticket prices that probably prevent a lot of people that can't afford snow pants from participating at all

3) Increase of knowledge that ski pants are expected via the internet

4) Social media with everyone knowing their ski trip is going to be seen online and wanting to look the part for Facebook and the gram.

 

[zz28zz]

Started in jeans sprayed with Scotchguard too in the 70's. It was quite miserable.
How abt jeans under ski bibs? Is that frowned upon nowadays? Got the merino/poly base layer. Don't really wanna walk around in bibs after skiing. Old ski pants don't fit any more :-(( While we're at it, do I need wool underwear too? Expecting 0-30 degs F.

 

[raytseng]

I think it's a combination of things.
1) Affordable snow pants
2) Unaffordable day ticket prices that probably prevent a lot of people that can't afford snow pants from participating at all

Agree on all your points

I would also bring up one big reason contributing to (1) was expiration of goretex patent.
Before the patent expiration, anything cheaper than $150 (in more valuable dollars) would be non-goretex options.
This ski wear would still soak through for falling beginners, and so would not be so significantly better than using warmup trackpants or jeans.

(1) may also dovetail or drive the availability to rent good ski pants as mentioned previously.

(2) Also agree, If you're at a resort that also has sightseeing/tubing activities you may be able to spot the jeans there. As well as out of the resort at the "free" or discount local snowplay or snowpark area.

 

[Dwight]

Still see thin leggings on beginners went it is cold as F.

I'm always puzzled.

 

[graham418]

cold as F.

Thats Fahrenheit, right? Would that be as cold as C(elcius)?

 

[Ken in LA]

Ten-thousand years ago when I was a child learning to ski in the Poconos, we started off in snow bibs and then graduated to jeans/gaiters to show the world we were no longer babies who needed snow bibs to protect from falls. We were too-cool for bibs and we didn’t need no friggin’ bibs because we were skillfully sliding all over Camelback without falling.

Along came snowboarding and we fell all over again... not just falling, but also sitting at the top of every lift on the cold snow to strap in. We could get away with jeans while skiing alll day without getting a wet bottom, something that was impossible while snowboarding.

As more and more lemmings opted for snowboards rather than skis, jeans no longer signified “I’m an accomplished winter athlete who has no need for water proof snow pants“ and came to signify... (fill in the blank here). Skiers even adopted and emulated garbage-pail worthy snowboarder fashions. Sadly, slick ski-fashions have never make a full recovery and, to this day, skiers in the US are more likely to resemble genderless gas-station attendants on the NJ Turnpike than the cashmere clad fashion icons of yesteryear.

Of course there are exceptions: at upscale resorts I occasionally spy a random flashy ski ensemble but these skiers are rare and oftentimes not from the North American continent.

 

[x10003q]

From the 1970s to the mid 1980s, there were a lot of people skiing in jeans. We even raced in jeans in college. Most of us could not afford racing pants. When I finally got a job after college, I stopped in the CB Outlet store in Bennington and bought some black warmup ski pants with full zips on each leg. I only used them when it was snowing or ultra cold. One of the last times I skied in jeans was 1985 in Lech/Zurs, Austria. Here are a few shots. We could ID the Americans in Lech as we were still skiing in jeans, while all of the Europeans had some type of ski pants/ski outfit.

From 1975, when my parents gave up on telling me what to wear to 1985, this was the look. I stll have the Kerma poles and used them a couple of weekends ago. They are spares that sit in my car. Somebody in our group forget their poles so I gave up my newer Lekis (17 years old).

 

[fatbob]

As I viewed this photo I wondered why stretch pants went away. Different times.

I thought maybe she knows what she's doing and isn't shy about showing it. POC goggles etc. Then I saw the pants tucked into boots and the kiddie length rentals and thought nah - just another "to be seen/ photo op"

 

[my07mcx2]

my mother ran out of money for scotch guard!

 

[LiquidFeet]

I thought maybe she knows what she's doing and isn't shy about showing it. POC goggles etc. Then I saw the pants tucked into boots and the kiddie length rentals and thought nah - just another "to be seen/ photo op"

She paid a lot for that outfit. It's Bogner. $1,450.00

mila stretch ski suit - Gorsuch

bogner

www.gorsuch.com

 

[crgildart]

What kind of gators do you get for Jyncos?

 

[Lady_Salina]

They made them for men too! I saw a few pairs on men at Whistler in the past few years. None this year. https://www.peterglenn.com/product/bogner-ben-insulated-ski-pant-mens

I have been tempted to get me a pair of the women's though. Just cause.

Bogner made insulated ski pants for women printed to look like blue jeans. They are expensive and hard to find.
View attachment 93343

 

[firebanex]

As I'm primarily at a small local ski area, I see quite a few jean wearing skiers and borders every weekend. Out of the usual crowd of about 200 people I'd say there is about 6-10 people of various ages wearing jeans. We also have a similar number of people wearing their stained and worn insulated carhart pants or bibs. I don't know how they can do it, they look so cold and miserable caked in snow. As far as I know, I have never skied in jeans, possibly wore them under my snowpants when I was younger, but I don't really remember. I absolutely hate jeans and haven't owned any for the last 10 years or so.

 

[Popeye Cahn]

Pretty sure all I had was a down "puffer" jacket and jeans most of the time 40+ years ago. I may have had some kind of snow pants but I don't recall and there are no photos. And like everyone else these days I've done my research and found suitably inexpensive, functional and fashionable stuff at all the cheap go to places, new and used.

 

[Sibhusky]

Not once have I ever skied in jeans, not even day one. But then I learned to ski in Austria and jeans were barely a thing there at that time. I had freezing cold stretch pants instead.

 

[Nobody]

Energiapura and other italian manufacturers offer Jeans-like (not real jeans) ski pants (check on their site the "Diamond" and "Jeans Optical") models or jeans-like catsuit (Crazy, for Ski-Mo racing) .
There are offers for corduroy too (Energiapura too, model Velvet Grong)...I have purchased this year a pair of corduroy pants from JAAM (with related, but not corduroy, jacket), very warm (to the point I always ski with all vents open, no matter what, except very early in the morning and very late in the afternoon) and comfy...
Ski specific Jeans (with liners and waterproofing, not everyday jeans) and corduroy pants were one of my favourites ski clothing options when I was in my teens, then moved to one piece suits then...

 

[wooglin]

Pretty sure all I had was a down "puffer" jacket and jeans most of the time 40+ years ago. I may have had some kind of snow pants but I don't recall and there are no photos. And like everyone else these days I've done my research and found suitably inexpensive, functional and fashionable stuff at all the cheap go to places, new and used.

No turtleneck?