Skiis & Biikes - Ontario

Nancy Greene

First Post.

Design Obsession: Skiis and Biikes Clothing Team

 

Each season our ski and snowboard clothing buyers are challenged to the daunting task of editing thousands of styles down to what they feel is the crème de la crème of outerwear for our stores. It may appear to be a matter of simply choosing what is pleasing to the eye, but our obsession for good design makes or breaks the fate of many garments. Our buying team is not only interested in clothing design but is also educated in architecture, fine art and floral and interior design. A very detail oriented team!!

 

Often, our staff or customers remark, “I saw a particular jacket in another store. Why don’t you have it at Skiis and Biikes?”

 

For many reasons, garments are rejected from our assortments. Our first consideration is the first impression. If it is not pleasing to the eye, we immediately move on. The next consideration is performance. We buy under the assumption that the consumer will be skiing or snowboarding in cold, mountain conditions. Garments with inferior insulation hit the cutting room floor. They are often attractive and well priced but if we do not believe the garment will perform to our standards, it is rejected. Same goes for fit, waterproof ratings, breathability of fabric, overall comfort and construction, warranty considerations, ease of zippers and findings, and the list goes on.

 

We participate in winter sports and take pride in offering products we would only consider wearing for our own use. The last thing you want when you are on the mountain is to feel cold or uncomfortable. Our design obsession ensures we are working hard so you can maximize your on-hill enjoyment staying warm and comfortable.

Cover Your Butt: A guide to buying skipants for the 'not so average' person

Buying ski pants might just be the runner up to shopping for swimwear. Not exactly something we all look forward to as it can pose a problem for the short-legged, long-legged or anyone who does not conform to the ‘average’ body type. Skiis and Biikes believes that we all deserve great clothing to ski in, regardless of size and body type. We go out of our way to find basic black pants for men and women in a variety of sizes and lengths. All pants in our assortment are warm (minimum 40 g insulation), waterproof and breathable. We bring in a variety of brands and fits to suit many bodies. It is best to shop early for the best selection and please provide us with your feedback. We are often pushing our suppliers to expand their size ranges and sometimes they need to hear it from you too!

 

-Valerie

Product Testing: MOUNTAIN FORCE SKIWEAR

Mountain Force is a new ski clothing company from Switzerland, introduced in Canada last season. It broke out on the scene with super luxurious stretch fabrics inside and out paired with a new ceramic heat-reflective coating, making the garments incredibly lightweight but warm and comfortable.

 

As the ski clothing buyer for Skiis and Biikes, I thought the jackets felt so lightweight that I was pretty skeptical to buy it for the first season. A friend had tested a jacket and pants at Mt Tremblant (brrr) in January and assured me that she was warm as toast. I was blown away by the beauty and innovation in the product, so went ahead and put it into the stores for 2008/2009. Still, I was curious about the performance of the product so I arranged to test a suit myself on an upcoming trip to Whistler.

 

I was traveling with a friend who was also wearing a Mountain Force suit. It was a great opportunity to compare notes. While the conditions varied from fog to blizzard, the suits were comfortable in all conditions. My friend added a couple of extra layers underneath while I was pretty comfy with a base layer and single midlayer. 

 

The fit is fantastic and very slimming, as a result of the low loft insulation. The snow and water shed instantly, including bums after the dreaded wet chairlift. Because the garments are 100% stretch from the inside out, they moved with us, felt completely unrestrictive and retained their shape. Breathability was excellent in the warmer, foggy conditions.

 

Overall, we rank this new brand very high. The fit, fabrics and innovation score 10/10. Mountain Force will be arriving for men and women again this fall in all stores.

 

-Valerie

 

OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW

It has been a pretty exciting year for Skiis and Biikes, Paul recently announced that we were merging with Snowcovers, a store based out of Whistler and Vancouver. As a little marriage gift to all of skiis and bikes many of our locations recieved a nice upgrade to our Montana Ski Tuning Fleet, and we are all super pumped!  So...

Out with the old!

 

And in with the new! Stop by the store to see our new Montana Challenge!

 

Greg B

RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER CELEBRATION RIDE

A number of us from the Don Mills store supported the 2009 Ride to Conquer Cancer Celebration ride. 300+ riders of all ages and abilities gathered at Liberty Village Sunday morning to celebrate the completion of a successful ride for 2009. There were two routes to be ridden, a 25km and a 50km. Skiis and Biikes provided mechanical support for all the riders. We offered a pre ride bike check up to all riders as well as on route mechanical support. Sean and Alex rode the 25K and Greg F and myself rode the 50K and Jeff provided mechanical support at our Start/Finish Tent. What started off to be a cold harsh morning, the day turned out beautiful and gave us the perfect ride! We would also like to extend a big thanks to two of of Product Rep's Rob Anderson of Pearl Izumi and Mike Walroth of Trek Bicycles for providing us with a couple of beautiful bikes that we were able to to enjoy on our ride.

Below are the two routes that were ridden:

Download 25 km handout

Download 50 km handout

 

 

 

Greg B

Bike Sale

For all you cyclists out there, ALL bikes are now on sale at all Skiis & Biikes locations. They are all 20% off. We have lots of summer casual clothes on sale as well. Come in and take advantage of these prices while we still have the inventory.

Van

Skiis & Biikes on Facebook

Now you can keep up to date with the going on's of Skiis & Biikes on Facebook. Just type in Skiis & Biikes-SnowCovers and join our group. Feel free to post your own pictures or videos. We will be adding stuff all season and hope you will be also. We are waiting on our HD GoPro camera's to arrive so we can really make things interesting.

Van.

Check out the Skiis & Biikes channel on Youtube

Hey All,

Just a quick note to all you guys, to go and check out the Skiis & Biikes channel on Youtube. It is youtube.com/skiisandbiikes . We will be adding more content throughout the season. Check back often.

Here is smaple of what you will find. Don't worry, it will get better. 

Van

First 2010 Ski sold of the season.

Ski season is here!!! On Thursday, we sold our first new ski of the 2010 ski season. It was a 183 Atomic Bentchetler. Sweet ski. Don't worry, i re-ordered another one since that one didn't even make it out on to the wall. What a way to start the season. New skis are arriving daily and the stores are slowly making the change over from summer to winter.

Van