Today, we’re taking a sharing our honest Dope Snow review. If you have teens, I bet you’ll have been inundated with social media ads for the Dope brand. However, I’m a regular Mum who bought and paid for this gear, so I’m sharing a 100% honest review of Dope Snow clothing for ski and snowboard.
This winter, we took our second annual Christmas ski trip – something I’m really hoping will be an annual tradition for a few years to come. We were hugely lucky to have a second chance to do a home exchange with a family in Switzerland who live a few minutes from the ski resort of Villars-sur-Ollon.
Last year was our first ski trip. We weren’t sure if we’d even get to go. Everyone on both sides had to do a Covid test on December 23rd and if everyone tested negative we’d fly out early on December 24th.
I definitely didn’t want to spend a lot of money given we weren’t sure if we’d be able to travel. So I bought some cheap and cheerful kit from Mountain Warehouse. A lot of what we bought was in the sale. I think I spent £50 on this jacket and around £30 on the trousers, plus £20 for some thermals.
The MW kit was fine. But there were definite compromises. First, the gear was quite bulky, and you did feel a bit like a snowman trying to navigate the slopes. When it was sunny, it got HOT inside those big coats. By the time you’d squished yourself onto a train or cable car, you were basically melting.
Second – and more importantly – Flea did not feel cool in her gear.
Once she actually arrived in a ski resort and saw what other kids her age were wearing, she felt like she’d turned up dressed in her Dad’s clothes. Flea is a good sport, and didn’t complain. But when we realised we’d be going skiing again, I wanted to get her some clothes she’d really love.
Enter Dope Snow
Dope Snow is a Swedish brand that claims to offer good value, youthful design and great quality snow gear. As a customer, there are a few things to know about the Dope Snow website:
- First, the gear is all designed to mix and match, and work together. You can buy a complete set of clothes from the site, from base layers to trousers, jackets, gloves, goggles and beanies.
- Jackets are available in traditional insulated versions but many can also be bought in lighter ‘shell’ versions allowing you to layer clothing more easily.
- Shipping is 100% free.
The Buying Process: Our Dope Snow Review
I went to Dope Snow looking for a new Ski jacket and Ski trousers for Flea. But because Dope Snow has a cute little outfit builder, it’s super tempting to find yourself looking at matching gloves and a beanie and goggles and… it’s all to easy to spend more than intended!
We ended up buying Flea new pants and top, while relatives bought her the matching gloves and beanie.
The feature is really handy if you want to try out different colours and combos, and find something that you really love.
The site is easy to navigate. There is a good range of options allowing you to get something that feels pretty individual.
Flea opted for cargo style pants that were narrower than her existing ski trousers. She paired these with a snowboard ‘hoodie’ style top that would allow for more movement than her more traditional ‘ski coat’. She also chose matching gloves and a beanie from Dope Snow.
Customer Service at Dope
If you’re new to buying snow gear then I have to say that I would 100% recommend you buy from Dope Snow. Their customer service is seriously a-ma-zing.
When I wasn’t sure what sort of goggles to buy, the guy on live chat at Dope Snow immediately talked me through which colour lenses would work best with what sort of weather, what would be best for all weather, AND when to buy to make sure that I could get spare lenses for the best price.
Not only that, but they emailed me a copy of the chat in case I forgot any of the information. They were friendly, helpful and not at all patronising (you know how snow people can be).
A week or two later, I was looking for a jacket for myself, and struggled to understand sizing. Once again, Live Chat came to the rescue, sending me individual size charts with precise measurements for different jackets. The guy I spoke to was able to advise on which jackets were measured in different ways, and what that meant for the fit. Everyone I’ve spoken to at Dope has been friendly, not at all pushy, and knowledgeable.
When you’re spending several hundred pounds you want to feel confident that what you buy will fit, and do the job. I think with Dope Snow you will really get that. Their Live Chat is hands down the best I’ve ever experienced.
An Honest Review of What we Bought
Here’s Flea in her Dope Snow kit in Switzerland last month.
The Iconic trousers in Medium cost £87, and fit well. There are adjustable velcro tabs on the waist along with a contrast shoelace-style belt. The trousers have side pockets for supplies on the snow, and the usual snow gaiters and boot-friendly hems. There are also vent zips on the inside of the legs, to help Flea cool down if she needs to.
Flea is a size 10-12, and could possibly have gone for a Small, but these trousers were really comfortable and held up well to a LOT of falling over when she was learning to snowboard.
The Cyclone Jacket, also in Medium, was oversized and Flea loved the slouchy style. At £100, the jacket was really great value. It has the all-important ski pass pocket, a hoodie-style zipped pouch on the front and a separate pocket for your phone, with a hole for headphone cables.
Finally, Flea finished her ‘fit with the Ace gloves and the Drifter Beanie at £50 and £24 respectively. We already had an Anon helmet and Salomon goggles, which I bought separately from Snow and Rock, so didn’t get these items from Dope.
Delivery was really fast – arriving within 4 or 5 days – with full tracking. Everything was well packaged and I love, love, love that you can return things for free, if you need to.
How good is Dope Snow gear?
All of the Dope gear was comfortable. It’s had a decent amount of wear, with a month worth of snowboarding lessons in the UK and then a week of being out on the mountains every day. As a learner, Flea’s taken plenty of tumbles, but the Dope Snow gear has come out looking good as new.
The whole gear has been through the washing machine and tumble drier several times without shrinking or being affected. I think this helps if you’re on a budget. If you can wash/dry your gear during a snow trip, you need fewer outfits!
In fact, I was so impressed with Flea’s jacket that I bought one for myself – I’ve got the men’s Wylie snowboard jacket, which was SO much better than my old jacket. Fellow 40-something women will know how great it is to have a jacket with armpit vents for when you need to cool down, as well as being available in a lighter shell version with minimal insulation. I can layer up or down, as needed. I still stuck with my Dare2B trousers, because I need the short leg style, which Dope Snow doesn’t offer.
Overall Review
After a few months, I’m still really impressed with Dope Snow’s gear. It looks good, is really easy to find a combination that works, and washes well. With the top notch customer service and fast, free delivery, I’d honestly recommend them and this Dope Snow review is a solid 10/10.
