Is it possible for modern skiers to go back to pre-plastic ski outerwear and how would you imagine your skiing day/season would look like if it did?

[2Old4Rails]

Definitely doable but for the sake of performance I like to stick with the modern boots and bindings. WW2 army pants are no problem. They have a great reputation amongst those in the know.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

Unless I'm reading this incorrectly, these shell jacket and pants from Icebreaker appear to be made from 100% merino.

Shell+™ Merino Hooded Jacket

An ultra-versatile, highly weather resistant shell jacket made with 100% pure merino wool, the Shell+™ Hooded Jacket features a durable, PFC-free water-repellent finish to keep you warm and dry in changing conditions.

www.icebreaker.com

Shell+™ Merino Pants

Versatile, highly weather resistant shell pants made with 100% pure merino wool, the Shell+™ Pants features a durable, PFC-free water-repellent finish to keep you warm and dry in changing conditions.

www.icebreaker.com

 

[ski otter 2]

Unless I'm reading this incorrectly, these shell jacket and pants from Icebreaker appear to be made from 100% merino.

Shell+™ Merino Hooded Jacket

An ultra-versatile, highly weather resistant shell jacket made with 100% pure merino wool, the Shell+™ Hooded Jacket features a durable, PFC-free water-repellent finish to keep you warm and dry in changing conditions.

www.icebreaker.com

Shell+™ Merino Pants

Versatile, highly weather resistant shell pants made with 100% pure merino wool, the Shell+™ Pants features a durable, PFC-free water-repellent finish to keep you warm and dry in changing conditions.

www.icebreaker.com

Look under "fabric and care" to find that these (and probably the pants) are 60% a synthetic, and 40% merino. Only a pocket is 100% marino.
The copy says made "with" merino, not made "of" merino. Deceptive but borderline truthful.

And then there's the cost.

 

[dbostedo]

Look under "fabric and care" to find that these (and probably the pants) are 60% a synthetic, and 40% merino. Only a pocket is 100% marino.
The copy says made "with" merino, not made "of" merino. Deceptive but borderline truthful.

And then there's the cost.

I think you're reading that wrong. Here's what it says:

"shell: 100% Merino Wool inner pocket: 60% TENCEL™, 40% Merino Wool"

I think they mean to have a extra space or comma or new line between "Wool" and "inner", based on the colons. So it should say:

shell: 100% Merino Wool
inner pocket: 60% TENCEL™, 40% Merino Wool

So the inner pocket is a blend, but the shell is 100% Merino, as I read it.

 

[neonorchid]

I think you're reading that wrong. Here's what it says:

"shell: 100% Merino Wool inner pocket: 60% TENCEL™, 40% Merino Wool"

I think they mean to have a extra space or comma or new line between "Wool" and "inner", based on the colons. So it should say:

shell: 100% Merino Wool
inner pocket: 60% TENCEL™, 40% Merino Wool

So the inner pocket is a blend, but the shell is 100% Merino, as I read it.

correct, but appears to only be available in Australia at this time.
I love the idea, but the pants pockets don't appear to be very good and no pant bottom reinforcements to protect from ski edges

Website has a Men's icebreaker City Label Shell+™ Merino 4-in-1 Parka $1,395.00 available in the USA

 

[ski otter 2]

I think you're reading that wrong. Here's what it says:

"shell: 100% Merino Wool inner pocket: 60% TENCEL™, 40% Merino Wool"

I think they mean to have a extra space or comma or new line between "Wool" and "inner", based on the colons. So it should say:

shell: 100% Merino Wool
inner pocket: 60% TENCEL™, 40% Merino Wool

So the inner pocket is a blend, but the shell is 100% Merino, as I read it.

Maybe. That may be a more likely interpretation, dunno - but it's not what it actually says, with actual punctuation and line spacing.
And you may know more about this website than I do, or have explored it more. So I'll also go with your interpretation.

If I were considering buying it, I'd double check with a phone call or an email.

The cost is still unreal, something from Mars.

 

[James]

The cost is still unreal, something from Mars.

The link is in Australian dollars. So it’s basically $600, not 9.

 

[ski otter 2]

The link is in Australian dollars. So it’s basically $600, not 9.

I stand corrected, twice. These may not be such a bad deal after all.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

Website has a Men's icebreaker City Label Shell+™ Merino 4-in-1 Parka $1,395.00 available in the USA

Hope more reviews will come as to the waterproofness of Shell+.

Last year was a particularly wet year in Australia. Most of my skiing days were damp and foggy with humidity penetrating every crevice and wetness quickly settling on the surface of my skiing outfit.

Goretex inner jacket and pants were remarkably dry in those conditions and I cannot imagine a merino with DWR spray doing a better or as good of a job.

 

[neonorchid]

Last year was a particularly wet year in Australia. Most of my skiing days were damp and foggy with humidity penetrating every crevice and wetness quickly settling on the surface of my skiing outfit.

Goretex inner jacket and pants were remarkably dry in those conditions and I cannot imagine a merino with DWR spray doing a better or as good of a job.

...neither can Icebreaker:

FeaturesShell+™ - A woven fabric is coated with a water-repellent finish to keep you warm and protect you against wind and light rain
PFC Free durable water repellent finish - for light rain protection

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

...neither can Icebreaker:

FeaturesShell+™ - A woven fabric is coated with a water-repellent finish to keep you warm and protect you against wind and light rain
PFC Free durable water repellent finish - for light rain protection

Good point. There was a Blister podcast episode where Cody Townsend was saying the typical resort skier doesn't need 20,000 column waterproof and lower mm was good enough for typical resort skier.

But I can say from experience that the conditions where a 5,000 column is good enough isn't typical at all. Last year may be a one-off event where most days of the year it was raining. I think for Australia, hefty waterproofness is necessary. Maybe he's talking from a US perspective.

In conclusion, this Shell+ is useless for us antipodeans.

 

[jt10000]

Good point. There was a Blister podcast episode where Cody Townsend was saying the typical resort skier doesn't need 20,000 column waterproof and lower mm was good enough for typical resort skier.

But I can say from experience that the conditions where a 5,000 column is good enough isn't typical at all. Last year may be a one-off event where most days of the year it was raining. I think for Australia, hefty waterproofness is necessary. Maybe he's talking from a US perspective.

In conclusion, this Shell+ is useless for us antipodeans.

I ski in at resorts in the Northeast US and most (most) of the time heavy waterproofing of my jacket is not important. In fact, I skied for several seasons in a casual (cheap and very non-technical) softshell jacket and was OK.

BUT waterproof pants are more important since I'm often sitting on snow or water on lifts.

 

[François Pugh]

Good point. There was a Blister podcast episode where Cody Townsend was saying the typical resort skier doesn't need 20,000 column waterproof and lower mm was good enough for typical resort skier.

But I can say from experience that the conditions where a 5,000 column is good enough isn't typical at all. Last year may be a one-off event where most days of the year it was raining. I think for Australia, hefty waterproofness is necessary. Maybe he's talking from a US perspective.

In conclusion, this Shell+ is useless for us antipodeans.

Typical resort skier doesn't ski in the rain.
But I wonder what is in that waterproof spray. May as well get the Goretex if you are going to go with the DWR coating, in the spirit of the OP.
Better stick to sealskin.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

I ski in at resorts in the Northeast US and most (most) of the time heavy waterproofing of my jacket is not important. In fact, I skied for several seasons in a casual (cheap and very non-technical) softshell jacket and was OK.

BUT waterproof pants are more important since I'm often sitting on snow or water on lifts.

Typical resort skier doesn't ski in the rain.
But I wonder what is in that waterproof spray. May as well get the Goretex if you are going to go with the DWR coating, in the spirit of the OP.
Better stick to sealskin.

I think my perception has been marred by our recent La Nina winter. It wasn't raining per se, but spouts of drizzle and snow that's enveloped by fog and mist of varying visibility throughout the day. In those conditions, skiers powered through than they typically would if it was raining. But I did see lots of wet and soaked jackets and pants in the cafeteria.

 

[Chip]

Worked back in the 70's no issues what so ever.
This is actually my wife (long before she was my wife) skiing at Stowe. She thinks she was about 14 in this picture. But this was what we wore back then. Would I wear this today- sure if the conditions were right. But I think I would have some boot gaiters because then you were cool....

 

[James]

Maybe he's talking from a US perspective.

Nope. Rain repellent capability is important in the Northeast if you have to ski in the rain. It’s pretty common. Skiing is usually good then. After, it gets cold and everything freezes.

 

[afadeev]

Typical resort skier doesn't ski in the rain.
But I wonder what is in that waterproof spray. May as well get the Goretex if you are going to go with the DWR coating, in the spirit of the OP.
Better stick to sealskin.

I say go back to bikinis.
Everyone.
No exceptions, no excuses.

If you insist on being practical, the bottoms may be Gore-Tex.