While many of us dream of escaping to sunnier climates, especially when the weather is as wintry as it has been over the past month, others welcome the winter season. Those who are sport-minded view the snow as the perfect excuse to dust the skis off and head off on a skiing holiday. Now, it used to be that all you needed was a pair of ski boots, a set of skis and a snowsuit and you were good to go. In fact, you didn’t even need to purchase these items as they would generally be available for hire at your chosen ski resort. Now, I am not for one minute suggesting that you now need more elaborate equipment, but with such a variety of fancy ski gadgets now on the market, who could possible resist? Here is just a small sample of some of the ski gadgets available to purchase now.
Beautiful.
Heat and comfort are top priorities if you are going on a ski trip, after all you want to make sure that you keep yourself healthy and being cold generally results in feeling miserable (or is that just me?). Anyway, technology is certainly a wonderful thing as for quite some time you have been able to buy heated insoles for your ski boots (usually priced at around £25) but now you can purchase a Liionpack for around £250, which will allow you to control the heat provided to your feet. There are ten different settings and it comes with a remote control fob that you can wear around your neck for convenience. The battery lasts for 18 hours so you don’t need to worry about your feet going cold during a long day on the piste!
So, you now know that you can keep your feet warm, but what about the rest of you? Well, hot on the heels of the aforementioned foot-warming system is the Burton Document jacket, which is completely waterproof but also has a heating system, which is controllable by you with three different heat settings. You’ll end up warmer outside than you are indoors. This jacket is quite pricey at £325 but if you are a regular skier then you could probably class it as an investment.
This can only end badly.
Now, if you find that you are always the one losing your direction on the slopes then look no further than the iTrailMap 3D from Apple for your iPhone, which will provide you with a detailed map of your resort, including the best places to stop for that all-important mug of hot chocolate. This app will even record your whereabouts and allow you to check these locations on-line on Google earth, if you feel that way inclined.
However, while the Apple app may be useful if you have an iPhone, if you don’t you may feel left out. Well, worry not, because there is a GPS receiver that you can purchase for use on the slopes for half the price of a GPS you would purchase for your car. The Bushnell BackTrack is priced at around £55. You are required to programme your locations into the receiver and then you never need worry that you won’t find your way back to your chalet.
So, you have all the gadgets necessary to ensure that you know where you are going but if you are prone to skiing off-course or if you are worried about finding yourself in a dangerous snowy location, you could spend £300 on the Ortovox S1 Transceiver. Now, this is the kind of gadget that is really expensive and most people would, hopefully, never have a requirement to use it but if you are a worrier or a risk taker then you might think it is worth buying this. It has an inclinometer, a thermometer and an electric compass.
While skiing is great fun, we should not overlook the need for safety. The Pro-Tec Audio Force helmet can combine the two. You can stay safe while listening to your favourite tunes through audio ear pads. You should be able to connect this to most music players and it costs only £54.99.
Sometimes it just gets too much.
Another nifty gizmo to help keep you safe (or in my case upright!) are clip on grips for your ski boots. Now, I don’t know about you but with all of this snowy and icy weather we have been experiencing I could do with these for my winter boots. Anyway, these are ideal for use while you are wandering about the resort and, even if you find that you don’t use them much, they are worth purchasing since they will only cost you around £20.
Moving on to a more practical gadget from the States in the form of the REO ski carrier. This is a bargain item, retailing at around $12, around £8. This is definitely a small price to pay for this strap, which will keep your skis together, making them much easier to carry!
So, there you are enjoying your holiday safe in the knowledge that all your friends and family that you left behind are green with jealousy. Are you evil enough to torture them with your holiday snaps when you get back? Of course you are! It has, in the past, been difficult to take photos of your skiing holiday because while there are plenty of opportunities for group shots in the clubhouse, you couldn’t actually show off your skiing prowess but this all changed with the launch of Oregon Scientific’s Action Cams. The new ATC5K model retails at around £200 and attaches on to your helmet allowing you to record movies or still images on the move.
Finally, if you want to keep in touch with your party while you are all doing your own thing on the slopes, why not invest in some walkie talkies? The Motorola T5 PMR Radio Twin Pack works over a 6 km distance and will keep charge for 20 hours. At only £60 you could split the cost and save money on your mobile bill at the same time!