hipsterandjane
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Posts posted by hipsterandjane
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I have worked in a few gear shops in my day, and lived and skied in some damn cold places. Most of the comments here seem to be pretty close to the mark. I am going to do a quick summary and expand a little bit.
The key to keeping warm, is keeping dry, in order to do this you have to get all the sweat you produce while riding away from your skin. Virtually all of the products above are designed to to do this. Problems emerge when this moisture come up against cotton, which absorbs moisture, which makes you damp and cold or when the it comes against an un-breathable layer. So if you are going to spend any money on moisture managing clothing, make sure you don't wear a cotton t-shirt under it or a yellow rain slicker over it.
All of the products mentioned in the forum so far I think can fit into 5 pretty generalized categories:
CHEAP SYNTHETICS (uniqlo stuff, and other generic poly based clothes)
-the great thing about these is that they are cheap and are way better than cotton, the downside is that they often stink and do not last if you use them everyday.
Great for the recreational rider that only gets out once and a while, and doesnt want to drop a lot of cash.
EXPENSIVE SYNTHETICS (Helly Hansen lifa, Patagonia Capaline)
-these are more money - partially to pay for advertising, and partially to pay for the R/D that the companies do. The R/D aspect usually delivers a higher tech fabric that moves moisture better and doesn't stink as much. Also a big difference in quality. I have a lifa top and Capaline bottom that I have used pretty hard for a decade and they are still in great shape. Patagonia is also a pioneer in "green" manufacturing and business practices.
great for people that use there gear hard and often.
CHEAP MERINO WOOL
- merino wool is what god made to keep warm I think. It usually comes in at about the same price of the expensive synthetics but has the added benefit of insulating as well as moisture management. Same as the cheap synthetic - they don't generally hold up as well and as long as brand name stuff.
great for people who get really cold, really fast and don't want to drop as much cash of cash
HIGHEND MERINO (Smartwool, Icebreaker)
- Doesn't stink, doesn't itch, keeps you warm and dry, washes well, lasts a long time, costs a fortune.
If you can afford to spend three days worth of lift tickets on a pair of long underwear - you will not be disappointed (or cold, or damp)
COMBINATION POLY AND MERINO
-There are a few of these crossbreeds around that sometimes offer the best of both materials, and sometimes offer the worst. My partner has a pair of Helly Hansen Prowool underwear that she swears by - very warm.
The above info comes from my own successes and failures in technical clothing purchases, as well as many, many customers anecdotes that I am glad I dont have to listen to anymore. One fact that is pretty tough to get around (and I have tried) is that you get what you pay for.
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Really cold takes the fun out of it. Shred hard and get the blood flowing - then hike up so you don't get cold on the lift. Remember - cotton kills!
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Originally Posted By: skidaisukiJust an observation, but the terms "steep" and "cheap" don't really apply to most of the Hokkaido resorts, or the skiing experience as a whole (unless by steep you mean expensive...)
Deep is why we go.
Deep is the priority of the eeps. -
how is the access to asahidake - will it be an issue getting there if we dont have a car??
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I am looking for some local biases... My partner and I are escaping Hiroshima-ken for 9 days at the end of January and heading for the great white north of Hokkaido. We tend to favour the less over the top, over developed, over groomed type resorts. Any suggestions of where to look at for steep, deep and cheap? Ideally we would like to check out 2 places that are relatively close together. Apres is not a concern assuming the terrain is good enough to wear us out.
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Grangers also makes some awesome products for (re) waterproofing.
The best thing that you can do for waterproof breathable clothing is make sure that you maintain the original waterproofing. The key to this is making sure that you wash them in a "non detergent soap" - woolite is a commonly available one, even better are technical washes from nikwax or Grangers.
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Originally Posted By: Tubby Beavercouple good looking buggers the Proclaimer twins eh?
Throw a kilt on those boys, and a bottle of Glenfidich 12 in their hands. Then put them in TV commercials and on posters... Scotland would have such a tourism boom they couldn't handle it! -
Originally Posted By: Kumapixi think the site is namitatsu.net
if that is in fact the site, I would not have purchased a snowboard from a company that only has clothing and a fireman holding a surfboard on their website!! -
its coming - I am predicting that 2009 will be by far the snowiest year in Japanese history. Keep in mind that this predictions is based purely on optimism.
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wow, it seems that I have done something to mess up the post order, i didnt even notice - I guess, my opinions are not that useful seven years down the road
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I have heard rumors of overnight buses from Hiroshima to Hakuba, however my limited Nihongo skills cant seem to find confirmation of this...
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hahaha... i didn't even realize that it was a 7 year old post!!! Too funny, I have no idea how I ended up with that... but I couldn't resist. Sake Matsuri was as it was supposed to be... two days of sake fueled good times. It was pretty cool to see Saijo explode with people. Good times were had by all I think, especially all the old Japanese guys that were passed out all over the place! A had a bunch of friends come in from all over so my apartment was packed for the weekend. Definatly good times, the only downside was that the eki smelled like booze and vomit for the next week.
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Well it wasn't ideal, but turns are turns, and it is great when you can get them in November.
Last weekend a mixed van of Gaijin and Nihonjin, headed out from Hiroshima to Mizuho Highlands for opening day.
A four metre wide track of man made snaked its way down 500m of vert. I would have prefered waist deep pow but it was good to be back on the board! The sun even came out for a while!
Unfortunately my computer is slowly dieing so I can't get the pics up. Here is some imagery though - a strip of white snow, on top of green grass, winding its way through the red and yellow leaves of autumn - it was pretty surreal.
Thanks to the randoms in the parking lot for the lift tickets!!!
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can neanderthals use computers?
I think that neanderthals everywhere would be quite offended that someone choose to assume that simply because they are less evolved that they are all homophobes and bigots.
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Good luck... based on my very unscientific survey of JETs this year, unless you give a good reason for your request (my wife lives there, i am allergic to 40 degree heat, etc) they just place you where ever. case and point I am in Hiroshima ken (could be worse). So make your request, you might get it, but it seems more often then not it is pretty random. 1 person I talked to got there 2nd choice and one got their 3rd.
Also if you get an interveiw, don't tell them that one of your motivations for going to Japan was the sweet pow - i got some unimpressed looks for that!
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I take my Canon powershot (letternumber something or another) out with me most of the time. I bought a little pelican case for it. It makes it a little bulkier, but I do not have to worry about it getting wet at all when I am not using it. Also when I fall, I don't have to worry about landing on the camera (just about landing on the rock hard pelican case and cracking a rib
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Gotta love the back country - earn your turns! Definitely nice camera work!
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Definitely, get some Superfeet, well worth the money, and make a huge difference for foot fatigue, as well as stability. Beyond that, just keep trying on till something feels really good. From personal experience, I got a good fit with most of the mid to higher end Flow boots.
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I am curious as to why you would like the hellbents
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Last year was a new record at 65 (all but 7 on fresh snow) in the interior of BC. This year I am hoping that 20 isn't too optimistic.
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And when you say own backyard you are right on the mark. My apartment building does not have a backyard - but that is because there is a large wall dividing our parking lot from a sake distillery! We are 1 block off of Sake-dori so it is going to be a very convenient stumble home for me (and the half dozen other people crashing on my tatami)!
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Oh don't you worry I am ready for Sake Matsuri - at least as ready as you can be for all you can drink sake for 8hrs for 1300 yen! I am expecting drunken debauchery on an unprecedented scale!
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Yeah I am pretty happy to be making yen about now
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greetings, post one for me. I am living just outside of Hiroshima city, doing the english teaching thing. Now that the insane heat is gone, my mind is drifting to the snow. I am looking for any info/insight anyone might have to boarding in this part of the country and also any info on the quickest/cheapest ways to get to the serious terrain from here?
Cheers
Asahidake - where to stay?
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Does anyone know of a place to stay within 30min or so drive of Asahidake, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I can give up an arm, but I def need both legs to ride.