Ski season is finally upon us and the with the snowfall so far it looks to be a great season! Whether you are a skier or a boarder, any experienced mountain riding veteran knows that the right equipment can make or brake your experience. Beyond just have the right type of skis and boots, there are a number of fun gadgets that can seriously improve your experience on the mountain. We spend a lot of time on the mountain and from our experiences we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite ski gadgets for winter!
Bluetooth Helmet Headphones
Whether you are “working” on the mountain and need to be ready for a business call or just like to ski with your favorite tunes rocking in your ears, bluetooth helmet headphones are an amazing upgrade to your ski kit. If you like to listen to music and ride you’ve probably tried earbuds under your helmet before, but as I’m sure you noticed a well fitted helmet will make them press to hard in your ears and they will start to hurt after awhile. Bluetooth headphones are not only way more comfortable as they live within the ear flaps of your helmet, but a simple touch to the ear and you can answer a phone call from your boss or pause your music to chat on the chairlift. We have used the Outdoor Technology Chips Wireless Bluetooth Helmet Audio and they worked great.
Portable Battery Charger
These things are useful not just on the slopes and to be fair everyone who uses their cell phone often should have one. That being said, they are a fantastic ski gadget if you find yourself using your phone on the slopes. Whether it’s snapping photos, listening to music, or taking chairlift business calls, running out of battery is no phone and no one wants to take a ‘charging break’ and loose out on precious runs. There are a ton of different portable chargers on the market, but our favorite is the Anker PowerCore 20100. This thing is small enough to comfortably fit in your jacket pocket, it’s very durable in case you take a spill, and can charge an iPhone 7 times when it’s full! It’s also very reasonably priced.
Inner Glove Mittens
One of the only negatives of skiing and snowboard for many people is the cold. Sometimes no matter how good the snow conditions, if it’s way too cold it can be hard to enjoy. One of the most uncomfortable parts of your body to be cold when you’re skiing is your hands and fingers. From beginners to lifelong riders, cold hands is a problem in skiing and snowboarding. We live in the mountains and have tried a number of different gloves types and brands as well as hand warmers. After years of experimentation we’ve found the best solution are what’s called inner glove mittens. These are warm inner gloves that are surrounded by a mitten shell. Ever since we tried these, we’ve never experienced cold hands and they also work year round as they can be unzipped to cool off on hot days. We’ve like the Swany Toaster’s, but there’s a number of different brands you could try.
Boot Warmers
Cold hands are no fun, but the one thing that might be worse is when your feet go numb when your skiing. One of the most common reasons why many kids choose not to get into the sport of skiing is because their feet get too cold. For those who hate cold feet on the slopes these Hotronic FootWarmers will be your favorite ski gadget on the market. These heating pads can be easily installed in most ski boots and are charged overnight. They’ve changed the game for many skiers who were about to give in to cold feet and kids love them too. So many people replace their expensive boots or try multiple pairs of expensive socks to solve this problem. We recommend giving electronic boot warmers a shot if you’ve had this problem long term.
Around the Neck Cellphone Lanyard
Have you ever seen someone fumbling around to get their cellphone from their pocket while on the chairlift and drop it never to be found again? We have and can tell your from a first hand account that it’s no fun for anyone. Calls or texts on the mountain are inevitable and rather than having to remove your glove, unzip your pocket and take out your cell phone, why not attach a lanyard so its hanging from your neck for easy access? We’ve been using one of these Lanskin Lanyard Iphone Cases (here’s the one for Iphone 6) for quite some time now and it’s been a game changer. You never worry about dripping your phone and it’s so much easier to check what’s going on when you are on the chairlift.
