Don’t pack for the snow like a punter!
Every year I travel at least 25-30,000km for various snowboard trips and that is a long distance to carry gear. When packing for a shorter trip like our Canadian Snow Safari, Japan powder tour or any of the 1 week camps on offer in France you really don’t need as much gear as you would expect. It’s pretty annoying to get home and find out that you have been carrying around gear that you didn’t even use. Here is what I typically pack for a 7-10 day snowboard trip.
The Right Bags
Shorter trips can easily be packed into 2 bags, a solid carry on and a good snowboard bag. Even if you are a skier I suggest getting a snowboard bag as they are a bit wider and you can stuff more gear inside. Keeping it to one piece of checked luggage means you avoid any extra airline fees for a second piece plus when you travel with a ski bag often airlines will allow you to include a checked boot bag for free, super handy for skiers and their heavy boots. I use a Dakine 35L backpack for the carry on which also doubles as my day to day bag on the trip. For a board bag I bought an Analog Board Locker 12 years ago, it’s done over 400,000 km and is still going strong. The model does not exist anymore but look for something like the Burton Wheelie Board Locker.
Once you have your luggage of choice it’s all about keeping it minimal, pack what you need and if you get to the resort and realise you need an extra item you can pick it up with all the money you saved on extra bags. Here’s my on snow pack list.
Equipment
Board:
Just one board will do if you have the right one. At home I run a full quiver of 4-5 boards depending on the day but on the road it’s usually just one. I always pack a quiver killer like the Capita D.O.A.
Boots:
I always stuff my boots with the socks for the trip to save on space in my bags. Usually I have a tiny boot dryer in there as well, nothing worse that soggy boots in the morning.
Outerwear:
Usually 2 jackets, a thin outer shell and a nice puffy for insulation. Wear these on the plane to cut down on your weight. The puffy jacket will double as your night out jacket in resort but make sure you coat check it, you don’t want get it taken from the bar and have to freeze on snow. One pair of snowboard pants will easily do it for you.
Thermals:
2 pairs of tops and bottoms, if you have good quality ones they wont start to smell for 4-5 days at least so you wont offend your travel mates.
Gloves:
3 pairs, A good quality leather mitt for subzero temperatures, a nice all around leather glove for most conditions and a park glove for warm weather days. If it’s a spring trip leave the mitts at home.
Helmet:
Safety first of course, it also makes a good protective case for more sensitive items like your goggles.
Goggles:
Just one pair with multiple lens for different weather. I rock the Spy doom’s with the quick change lens technology so I don’t have to fumble around.
Facemasks:
A thin neck sleeve for warm weather and a balaclava incase it’s frosty.
Socks:
One of the most important things to pack, I never wear socks more than one day to avoid stank foot. Make sure you have a fresh pair for each day you will be riding and your friends will thank you.
Carry on:
Keep it light so you can stuff more of your clothing into this bag on the flight.
Electronics:
This is the area you can save a lot of weight, do you really need to bring a laptop on a 10 day trip? Leave it at home and you can avoid doing work in the evenings when you can chill with the rest of the crew. Planning to bring a big camera? We have you covered, on most of our trips the TTR staff will be taking photos so you can leave yours at home, a phone camera will be fine for any more personal shots you need to get. I pack an Ipad and my phone, both are more compact and lightweight but still good enough to get any work done from.
Sunglasses:
Must have for any road trip, SPY discords are my go to for all activities.
Water bottle:
Bring your own so you can always stay hydrated on the road without ripping through excessive plastic bottles, just make sure it’s empty going onto flights.
Reading Material:
These days its all on my phone or tablet, you can have piles of reading material and no extra weight,
Headphones:
Essential to block out the world on long trips, I use a small pair of noise cancelling earbuds, compact but with killer sound.
Clothing
If you pack right this is where you can save a huge amount of weight and space, ideally it should all fit into your board bag and carry-on. When you factor in how much time you spend in ski gear and sleeping you will need a lot less clothing that you think. Figure out how much you can reuse clothing without being a total dirtbag but we aren’t really judging anyways.
T Shirts:
3, you can easily get 2-3 days use out of one when you are only wearing them for a few hours in the evening.
Trousers:
2 pairs, by the time you mix up 3 t shirts and 2 pairs of pants you are already at 6 outfits and no one will even notice the repetition.
Tops:
usually one flannel and one sweater for evenings out. Half of the evenings on any quality ski trip will be spent in a hot tub so you won’t need that bar attire and if you are going out every night do you think the girl doing shots with you is going to notice you wore the same thing three days ago?
Hoodies:
With a puffer jacket in the mix already I don’t even bring a hoodie with me on a ski trip.
Underwear:
Don’t skimp on this one! A fresh pair a day is mandatory no matter how much you want to slum it.
Socks:
The same as underwear, keep it fresh each day.
Swimwear:
1 pair of board shorts will get me through a short trip, especially if you are a sensible and don’t pee your pants in the pool.
Footwear:
Just one pair of classy looking hiking boots, good for in the bar and stomping around in the snow. Have you seen the Adidas Blauvelt boot or the DVS elevation series shoes? Great style with lots of winter features to keep you warm and dry.
Remember when packing clothing that more can be less and if you get really filthy you can usually find one of those magical machines that cleans your clothes for you.
Now that you have your packing down you need to sign up for a trip, check out all our shorter programs in Canada, France and Japan!