TheKitDoctor

The SkiClub'skit guru, HenryJohn, offersadviceon someof the most commondilemmaswhen it comesto stayingwarm on the slopes

Which material is better/or snowsports - natural down or synthetic insulation?

Natural goose or duck down is a fantastic way of keeping warm, as it packs a serious punch for its weight. However, down is almost too warm. By this I mean that it doesn't breathe or self-regulate in a way that modern synthetic insulation does. In snowsports, you generate a lot of your own body heat moving down the slopes, before sitting on the lift and cooling off on the way back up. Modern, thin insulating layers regulate their temperatures really well, venting excess heat when moving but keeping you warm when you stop. I have long been enamoured by the Arc'teryxAtom LT and Proton LT Hoodys (from £220; 64 skiclub.co.uk arcteryx.com), which serve as fantastic mid-layers, packing plenty of warmth while remaining lightweight and breathable.

Thin down layers can often overcome this deficit, and, of course on some days, being warm is all that matters!

Norr0na's Trollveggen down vest (£249; norrona.com) is a perfect example of a lightweight down piece to stash as an extra layer or as the last line of defence from the cold.

My toes always get particularly cold when temperatures plummet-can you offer some solutions?

Cold toes and fingers occur when blood is diverted from your extremities to protect your primary organs. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this before frostbite hits! Good socks are the first must-have. Note that modern ski socks are often thinner than old-school versions, not only because technology has improved but also because a thinner, snug fitting sock encourages blood flow all the way to the tips of your toes.

Additionally, a good quality merino wool sock, such as those from Icebreaker or Smartwool, will be warmer than standard sheep wool in addition to being naturally anti-bacterial (so you can wear it for two or three days before washing!). Merino wool is also excellent at wicking sweat away from the foot-if this doesn't happen, the sweat can freeze and you'll really feel the cold.

If it's time to shop for new boots and you feel the cold, getting the right boot can also help with those chilly toes. Performance-focused ski boots focus on a tight fit at the expense of the liner, meaning they'll be colder than recreational boots. Consider whether you're willing to drop down a flex or two in return for a liner with more padding and, therefore, more warmth.

Finally, boot heaters, such as Therm-ic Heaters (£175;snowandrock.com) are really effective at keeping your toes warm. A small heater element slides under the insole of your boot with battery packs that attach to the top of the cuff of the boot.

I suffer the same problems with my.fingers!

Start with a glove liner, which adds an extra thin layer to the inside of the glove and can be enough to take the edge of things -Icebreaker make a very effective merino liner (£27; snowandrock.com). Then, if you're in the market for new gloves, consider a thicker glove and give thought to the material its crafted from -leather helps to trap heat and repel wind and water. I have been skiing in Reusch Mastery gloves (£100; snowandrock.com) for some time now, but I would also recommend Hestra's Heli Ski range (£125;hestragloves.uk) which have long been a staple of outdoor professionals around the world. You should also consider a mitten instead of a five-finger glove. By having your fingers all in the same compartment, the shared body heat helps to keep things toastier!

Finally, similarly, to boot heaters, heated gloves are also an option, with the Therm-ic range offering men's and women's gloves and mittens (from £295; ellis-brigham.com). Top tip: bump the heaters up to the max for 10 minutes to allow the gloves to warm up, then reduce to the minimum to keep your fingers toasty and preserve battery life.

GabriellaLeBreton drops into Verbierto meet the co-founders of SunGodeyewear,AliandZoeWatkiss

Walking into SunGod Basecamp to meet the founders of the English performance eyewear company, I unexpectedly find myself rubbing shoulders with some of the freeride world's hottest young things. SunGod's Swiss HQ is a small, welcoming shop and adjoining office on Verbier's bustling Rue de Medran. My meeting with co-CEOs Zoe and Ali Watkiss has coincided with a meet-up of several of the brand's ambassadors to capitalise on a fresh dump of snow.

While the animated freeriders settle into the squishy shop sofas, I take a pew in a large leather sofa in the office with the Watkisses. Both aged 35, the couple are peas in a pod, sporting matching long caramel hair, broad smiles and soft voices. As Zoe tells me how Ali used to crochet bobble hats on the Tube to work when they worked in London (he as an architect, she in marketing), in their first joint business venture, it's hard to picture them as a disruptive force within the £139bn eyewear industry.

And yet disruptors they are. Keen skiers, kitesurfers and cyclists, they set out in 2013 to fill a gap in the 8 sunglasses market, which then offered consumers either expensive designer sunglasses with huge mark-ups or iil cheap, poor-quality versions that broke quickly. As § passionate about the planet as they are about skiing, ii= they determined not only to offer top quality sunglasses, but to manufacture and distribute them responsibly. Furthermore, their company would offer consumers unbeatable value for money, while also engaging them as a community, and be funded by them.

Thechallenger

It sounds too good to be true, yet the Watkisses have largely achieved their aims. SunGod is a certified B Corporation™ brand whose products are largely manufactured from recycled and/or recyclable materials. Thanks to rigorous carbon offsetting policies, the products have also been carbon neutral since the first pair of shades was put together by the Watkisses in their living room in London.

One of Sun God's standout features is the lifetime guarantee that all products come with. The brave policy was adopted primarily to minimise waste in what's all too often a throw-away industry (according to Statista, 768.7 million sunglasses were produced in 2021, a number expected to grow to 901.4 million by 2025).

Ali explains: "The life of a product is only as good as the weakest component. In glasses, this is often the screws found in the hinges, which rust, fall out and cause the glasses to break and be discarded. So we designed our products without screws. We also replace or repair any parts that do break, continuing to use the other parts. Our total return for repair rate is low-about 1%which shows that our products really are built to last."

CHOICES,CHOICES

The Watkisses are clearly committed to their mission, and unafraid to pull punches. As Zoe says: "We know working with recycled materials causes our manufacturers headaches but it's where our business is moving, so we need them to come on board with us on that journey. Sometimes that takes a bit of explaining and convincing to do."

The company's exclusively direct-to-consumer business model can also take some explaining to customers. Other than the Verbier shop, the brand's sunglasses and goggles are only available to buy through its website. This is partly because it enables the team to accurately meet customer demand and cut the journey between suppliers and retailers, and partly because each piece is customisable by the customer and assembled to order in Sun God's West Country warehouse.

Essentially, you build your own goggles/shades online, first selecting your preferred frame shape (there are two models of goggles and nine sunglasses models), then choosing the colour of the frame (six options in the goggles, up to 12 options in sunglasses), the design of the goggles strap (up to 22 different designs), the colour/ tint of the lenses (eight options in goggles, twelve in sunglasses) and finally which type oflens you need.

When it comes to lenses, there are two options in goggles (4KO®polycarbonate and SKO®nylon) and four in sunglasses, with the option to add polarisation to both lens materials. Developed by SunGod, the 4KO® polycarbonate lenses offer triple-layer scratch resistance, 100% UV and impact protection. SunGod's exclusive SKO®technology features lenses manufactured from 2mm nylon, which is optically superior to and lighter than industry-standard polycarbonate yet offers the same triple-layer scratch resistance and 100% UV and impact protection as the 4KO®lenses.

If you're wondering why polarised lenses aren't used for goggles, it's because polarisation works by adding a vertical micro-filter to block out the majority of intense horizontally reflected light. This significantly reduces the reflective glare from surfaces like wet roads but also makes it harder to read the surface texture of snow.

To help select your lenses online, there's a clever slider image that shows the difference between vision experienced with the bare eye and with the individual lenses in a choice of outdoor settings. Price may also play a role in your decision making -Snipers™ goggles with 4KO®lenses cost £105, while the SKO®model is £155. Similarly, SunGod Classics3 sunglasses start from £55 for non-polarised 4KO®lenses and go up to £110 for the SKO®polarised version.

Slowfashion

Another unusual element of Sun God's business model is that it doesn't offer discounts or facilitate returns. Ali justifies the "anti-fast fashion" policy on returns by explaining how it significantly reduces environmental impact as many fashion brands consign returned products to landfill rather than investing the time and money in repackaging and redistributing them.

Finally, Sun God is a genuinely community-built company, having been funded by its fans since its initial inception.

The Watkisses launched their business in 2013 with a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo with the target of selling 350 pairs of Sun God sunglasses. They sold 3,500 pairs instead, with over 2,000 backers generating more than £80,000 in pre-orders, and promptly quit their day jobs.

In order to expand SunGod's portfolio to include goggles in 2016, Ali and Zoe returned to their community with a Kickstarter campaign that raised £134,000 to sell 2,000 pairs. A subsequent Crowdcube campaign in 2020 raised £1.5 million in 24 hours (from 1,004 investors) while a second Crowdcube campaign to break into the US market in November 2022 raised £3 million in just 79 minutes. It's a clear sign, beyond the £Sm annual revenue generated by the company in 2022, that the SunGod approach is working.

While not producing more excellent goggles and shades, supporting global athletes and environmental campaigns and working to become Net Zero, the Watkisses hope their business can leverage its growing brand power to encourage its manufacturers, and others within the eyewear industry, to be more sustainable. Watch this space ...