Ski & Snowboard Packing List - What to Bring Skiing

So you’re going skiing or snowboarding - whether it’s just a quick day on the slopes, or a longer trip, packing for skiing or snowboarding can be overwhelming. There’s so much essential gear, it can be hard to keep it straight and make sure you’ve got everything you need, and once you’re at the ski hill, it’s too late to run home and grab anything you’ve forgotten. Forgetting an essential piece of gear like your boots is the stuff of nightmares. So, we’ve broken down our packing list to make things simpler.

Ski & Snowboard Packing Checkist

1. Skis or snowboard
2. Bindings
3. Ski poles
4. Ski or snowboard boots
5. Helmet
6. Ski goggles with spare lenses
7. Baselayers
8. Ski socks
9. Insulating layers
10. Ski pants or bibs
11. Ski jacket
12. A buff or face mask
13. A beanie
14. Gloves or mittens
15. Lip balm
16. Sun Screen
17. Snacks
18. A goggle wipe (or a spare buff)
19. A pack of hand warmers
20. A battery pack
21. Water
22. A multi-tool
23. A walkie talkie
24. An extra layer
25. Extra gloves

Ski & Snowboard Gear Checklist

The most obvious things you’re going to need are your skis or snowboard, your boots, and bindings. It’s a good idea to just store your skis, boots, bindings, and poles all together. That makes it much harder to accidentally show up at the resort and realize you forgot something important. Skis and snowboards are best carried in a roof box or roof rack, or, if you have a truck, the bed. It might be tempting to save space by storing your boots in your roof box as well, but that’s not a good idea. Even though they’ll stay dry, they’ll get cold and be much harder to put on once you arrive.

A dedicated boot bag is a good idea, too. Boot bags are designed to carry your ski or snowboard boots, along with other accessories like helmets, gloves, and goggles. Some are even heated. Having a dedicated boot bag takes a lot of the guesswork out of packing to go ski or snowboard. You can store all of your gear in your boot bag, so when it’s time to go you can just grab one bag with everything, instead of wandering around the house trying to figure out what you’re forgetting.

1. Skis or snowboard
2. Bindings
3. Poles
4. Ski or Snowboard Boots
5. Helmet
6. Ski Goggles with spare lenses

Ski & Snowboard Clothing Checklist

Whether you wear all your ski gear up to the hill, or change at the resort, you need to be dressed for success. Wicking long underwear and a performance top are the foundation to a layering system that will keep you comfortable all day long. Ski or snowboard-specific socks are worth it. Thick socks will actually hurt circulation in your feet and make them colder. Look for something that fits your foot well, and has ski-specific padding. Merino wool will help keep them from stinking, and some people prefer compression socks to help with circulation.

Plan for the worst possible conditions and pack accordingly. You’ll never regret having an extra puffy jacket in the car. It’s a good idea to have a range of insulators, from a heavy down or synthetic puffy jacket for the coldest days, to a light fleece for more mild conditions. Whether you choose to go with ski pants or bibs mostly comes down to personal preference. If you’re not sure, go bibs. They offer better protection against getting snow in your base layers if you crash. If you live somewhere particularly cold, insulated ski pants might be a good idea, too. Otherwise, shells paired with an insulating layer generally works well. Similar to your ski pants, those who get cold easily will benefit from an insulated jacket. For everyone else though, a shell jacket is a better choice since it’s more versatile. Look for a ski jacket with pockets and a fit that makes sense to you.

Even if you don’t ski with a face mask or buff usually, they come in handy. They can be used to wipe goggles, sunglasses, or phones, and can really save your face from icy snow, or sunburn. Along with your helmet, it’s a good idea to always bring a warm hat skiing. You won’t be wearing your helmet all day, and a beanie is a comfortable and stylish way to keep your head warm at lunch, or before and after skiing. And it can help hide messy helmet hair if you head out to dinner after. The choice between gloves or mittens is a personal one. Gloves allow you to be more dexterous with your hands, and adjust goggles or boots without taking them off. Mittens are generally quite a bit warmer. We recommend having a pair of each in your bag. That way you can make the decision based on conditions, and you’ll always have an extra pair in case your get too wet and cold.

1. Baselayers
2. Ski or snowboard socks
3. Insulating layers
4. Ski or snowboard pants or bibs
5. Ski or snowboard jacket
6. A buff or face mask
7. A beanie
8. Gloves or mittens

In Your Pockets

For most people, skiing inbounds at resorts, you can carry everything you need in the pockets of your ski pants and jacket. Skiing in the sun all day in the dry mountain air can wreak havoc on your lips, leaving them dry and cracked. A stick or tin of lip balm takes up no space in your pockets, and can really save your day. Sure, it might be foggy in the morning, but when the sun comes out and reflects off the snow, you’ll get sunburnt fast. Carry a small tube of sunscreen and always be prepared, the sun reflects off of the bright snow and can leave you with a bad sunburn.

If you’re trying to maximize your powder time, and minimize your time spent in lift lines, it’s a good idea to ski through lunch, and then head in a little later. You’ll miss the rush, and get some prime runs while everyone else is eating. To make this possible, pack some snacks. We’re big fans of granola bars and trail mix, but even candy or fruit snacks can keep you going.

Even if you have good gloves and your hands never get cold, hand warmers can come in really handy. Cold kills phone batteries, but if you store it in a pocket with a hand warmer it will stay charged all day long. On that note, nothing sucks more than getting your phone out to take a rad shot of your buddies, only to find that the cold has killed it. A small USB battery pack will keep it charged.

1. Lip balm
2. Sun screen
3. Snacks
4. A goggle wipe (or a spare buff)
5. A pack of hand warmers
6. A battery pack

What to Bring in Your Ski or Snowboard Backpack

For some folks, there’s just not enough storage in their pockets. And that’s fine, a small ski pack makes it easy to be prepared for anything that could happen. Check out our guide to choosing a ski backpack to figure out what sort of pack will work best for you. Here’s the basics of what we have in our packs.

Skiing is hard work and can leave you dehydrated. And the cold makes it hard to remember to drink, so having some water in your pack makes it easy to have a few sips every lift ride, whether it’s a hydration bladder, or just a water bottle. If you’re skiing with friends or family, it’s easy to get separated. Radios help with this, whether you just want some extra insurance when you let your kids ski on their own, or you’re just trying to meet your buddies at the bar, being able to communicate easily is key.

It’s really nice to be able to adjust boots and bindings on the go, without using the clunky resort tools wired to the stand. A multi-tool means you can make any adjustments or repairs you need to, anywhere on the mountain.

If you have a pack, you might as well have an extra puffy jacket in there, just in case. The same goes for gloves and goggles lenses, if you wet out your gloves or fog your goggles, it’s awesome to be able to swap them out on the hill, instead of making your way back to the parking lot.

Ski resort food is expensive. And while you might just be craving french fries and a burger at lunch time, it’s never a bad idea to have your own lunch packed in your backpack. You can snack all day, and eat lunch on the lift instead of heading inside. Just make sure whatever you pack for lunch is relatively durable. It’s easy to accidentally crush your ski pack, and you don’t want everything inside to be coated with egg salad.

1. Water
2. A multi-tool
3. A walkie talkie
4. An extra layer
5. Extra gloves
6. Lunch

Learn More With Our Other Ski Guides:

Learn More With Our Other Snowboard Guides:

This is evo. We are a ski, snowboard, wake, skate, bike, surf, camp, and clothing online retailer with physical stores in Seattle, Portland, Denver, Salt Lake City, Whistler, and Snoqualmie Pass. Our goal is to provide you with great information to make both your purchase and upkeep easy.

evo also likes to travel to remote places across the globe in search of world-class powder turns, epic waves, or legendary mountain biking locations through evoTrip Adventure Travel Trips. Or, if you prefer to travel on your own, check out our ski & snowboard resort travel guides and mountain bike trail guides.

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