how cheap is Canada for gear

**freddiegemini** · 11-08-2006, 11:10 AM

hi,

will be in big white over new yr and mid Jan. live in the UK. should i wait until i get out there to buy a new jacket and boots? or should i get it here knowing it will give me an extra half day on the slopes? can anyone recommend on what sort of price difference i might find - £200 north face jacket in the UK maybe the equivelant to £150 if purchased in Canada?? is this close to the mark.

thanks guys

**kingby** · 11-08-2006, 11:23 AM

Well according to www.xe.com 200 GBP converts to 430 CAD. You should have no trouble finding a TNF jacket for less that that. You never said what model, so I can't really help more. Will you be staying in Kelowna or on the Hill? There is never many deals for "on the hill" shops. If you go into town, your golden.

Try searching some shops online in Canada you'll get better info.

Squatch · 11-08-2006, 11:27 AM

solution: buy it online, have it shipped to wherever you're staying. best of both worlds.

edit: boots should NOT be purchased online. clothing is perfectly acceptable.

**Mechmaster** · 11-08-2006, 11:31 AM

Don't forget about tax; here in BC you'll pay 6% PST and 7%GST (13% total) on all the good you'll buy. They're talking about ending the repeal to tourists, so this might be something to check.

Skis are probably cheaper in Europe, at least for high-end stuff.

**hemas** · 11-08-2006, 11:33 AM

Clothing seems to be cheaper in Canada... check www.mec.ce for some numbers...

**mntlion** · 11-08-2006, 11:56 AM

boots: buy on hill, so when you have issues with the fit, the guys are right there to help you.

the UK is not known as a great alpine nation. good boot fitters are few and far between

Squatch · 11-08-2006, 12:25 PM

getting a proper bootfit has always been a multi-week process for me. Basically I ski for a day, get boot worked on slightly, ski another day, repeat. Also, that first week with new boots is generally pretty painful while packing them out. Not something I'd recommend to do on a vacation.

**AKWL** · 11-08-2006, 03:27 PM

Generally, I think you'll find things to be quite a bit cheaper in Canada.

Some things are really good deals - if it costs GPB 5 in the UK, it is CAD$5 in Canada. It probably won't be quite as good as that for bigger ticket ski gear, but it should still be pretty good.

Online research is a good idea. www.mec.ca is a fine place to start.

You can still find good deals in the UK though. Decathlon in London has a lot of quite nice stuff for very little cash. It's good quality, but no real branding.

I'll echo the comments on new boots for a holiday. Be prepared for some pain.

But seeing how you live in the UK, you probably only ski when on holiday, so there's no avoiding it.

Big White has a lot of ski-in ski-out access, so if there is a good bootfitter on the hill, I'd go for it. You'll be able to ski a few runs, then take the boots in for minor adjustments, repeating as required.

**waxman** · 11-08-2006, 03:35 PM

mechmaster GST is 6% now, at least in the rest of the country....

**Mechmaster** · 11-08-2006, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by waxman

mechmaster GST is 6% now, at least in the rest of the country....

My bad, mixed up GST with PST. The total is still 13% however.

**NieveSurfeador** · 11-08-2006, 06:50 PM

From someone who splits time in the UK and the US my experience is that it depends completely on the company...

For the most part companies charge the same price or close... i.e. EX./ Arcteryx is not exactly the same, but it is way more expensive... the Sidewinder SV runs 399 pounds in London and in the US $499 (backcountry at least)

I believe the exchange rate is 1.9 today... SO 760 DOLLARS

I have found that most companies operate this way... Helly Hansen, Mountain Hardwear, Arcteryx, almost all ski companies etc.

The only company that I have personally noticed to be for the most part (roughly) the same with the exchange rate in TNF

Also, a big also, is that you cannot ship most expensive items from the US because the companies realize it is cheaper... I know that Backcountry will not ship Arcteryx and other brands overseas.

And coming from the UK 6% tax is nothing... the VAT (value added tax) in the UK is 17%

IMHO I would look to see if your TNF jacket is cheaper (factoring in the exchange rate) in Canada (check online or something)... from my experience I would imagine it would be so close as to not be worth it, in which case you should buy it in the UK.

IMHO I would wait til you’re in Canada to buy your boots, but not because there aren't good boot fitters here. They will be much more cheap.

The UK may not be an alpine nation because it's an island with no mountains, but it is a gateway to Europe and a large number of people travel to Andorra, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Norway to ski. If you haven't noticed already they also travel to the US too. There are good bootfitters here at places like Ellis Brigham and Rock and Ice. In central London these stores are located in Covent Garden. I would say atleast try them on while you're in the UK so you have some idea of what fits and then let the canuks do the rest, eh.

Hope that helps

**NieveSurfeador** · 11-08-2006, 06:54 PM

and yes it is also a good idea to buy your boots in canada to get everything tweeked out right there

**snoboy** · 11-08-2006, 11:23 PM

There is this place: http://www.outdoorsuperstore.ca/Store.htm in Kelowna. I haven't been, but it is supposed to be an OK place to pick up some deals...

**Gripen** · 11-08-2006, 11:30 PM

If your paying in pounds sterling the world is your oyster... buy over here.

About online shopping: Shipping can be a bitch, I have bought things when i lived in the UK, Sweden and Germany from the States. Be very careful or you can get stuck with a large import tax fee, actually better to order them from ebay or something rather then a shop. When customs sees a shop shipping as a "gift" they get suspicous

**AKWL** · 11-08-2006, 11:31 PM

By the way, I'm pretty sure that all you have to do is keep your receipts and when you leave Canada, you go to a little office at the Airport, show your receipts, show the goods you bought (i.e. do this before you check your bags), and fill in a few forms. You should then get the tax back a few weeks later.

Of course, when you get back to the UK you're supposed to declare your goods and pay the VAT. But who pays VAT on used boots?

If I recall correctly, there are two outfits at this little office. One is a private service that does the processing for you and I think will issue you a refund right away. Of course, they charge a hefty fee to do this.

The alternate is to send everything away yourself and wait for the Canadian Government to send you the money in the mail or something.

**Gripen** · 11-08-2006, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by AKWL

By the way, I'm pretty sure that all you have to do is keep your receipts and when you leave Canada, you go to a little office at the Airport, show your receipts, show the goods you bought (i.e. do this before you check your bags), and fill in a few forms. You should then get the tax back a few weeks later.

Of course, when you get back to the UK you're supposed to declare your goods and pay the VAT. But who pays VAT on used boots?

If I recall correctly, there are two outfits at this little office. One is a private service that does the processing for you and I think will issue you a refund right away. Of course, they charge a hefty fee to do this.

The alternate is to send everything away yourself and wait for the Canadian Government to send you the money in the mail or something.

Not anymore, new government did away with that program....

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/nonresi...tors/qa-e.html

edit: looks like you might have until 1 April 2007

**PulverSchwein** · 11-08-2006, 11:55 PM

If you can manage it with your travel, check out Fresh Air Experience in kelowna on your way to the hill. You can also find decent stuff at cheap prices at the Sport Chek (Sport Mart?). They're both along highway 97 (the main drag through the city)

I'd grab a jacket down there in town for sure and also try on some boots. There's only the Big White owned ski shop up at the hill. They have a fairly decent selection bit I can't say if they have talented bootfitters. If you find a sweet fit in town, I'd grab it up there too.

If you are skiing mid week in early Jan you can save some $$ buying discount lift tickets at Coopers Supermarket on highway 33 on the way out of town to Big White. Hit the trees alot and head on over to Gem Lake whenever you can while you're up there.

**nesta** · 11-08-2006, 11:57 PM

Are you flying into Vancouver or Calgary? I would go to Calgary and you just saved yourself the PST. The drive to Big White however will be a bit further.

**JAW** · 11-09-2006, 02:25 AM

much much much cheaper here (Canada), also it sounds as though you may catch the tail end of the boxing day (now usually boxing week) sales.

**freddiegemini** · 11-09-2006, 07:00 AM

wow, guys. thank you VERY much for all the useful information, very much appreciated. couple of questoins if you could help please;

TNF jacket? what is this?

big white itself? how many ski shops are there in the town and can you recommend any?

in regard to boots. this is my main concern as i always have had my boots fitted in the resort. i am very keen to get right again (i have 12 daus in Jackson Hole in Feb) so i really want to get it right. are there any good boot fitting specialists with a comprehensive range of boots in BW or should i 100% head to the town?

cheers guys.

**NieveSurfeador** · 11-09-2006, 07:04 AM

TNF jacket... its deep code for... the north face jacket

**mntlion** · 11-09-2006, 10:26 AM

buy boots on hill, few good shops

**freddiegemini** · 11-09-2006, 11:50 AM

mntlion

please could you inform me further? my research has thrown up only one ski boot shop on the mountain which is Ski Dazzle. as i am going out there at peak time i would hate for Ski Dazzle to have the perfect boot for me but the size be sold and then not have an alternative shop to go to.

perhaps you could recommend a specific shop or bootfitter?

i have researched and researched but to no avail. the only way i will be able to get any solid info will be a TGR user, so my hopes are resting on your shoulders.

thanks

**EstoBum** · 11-09-2006, 07:12 PM

I don't think its all that cheap for beer here in Canada, at least on the east coast. I mean a 2-4 case of the decent stuff: kiets (no h in it in cape breton), schooner, alpine, moosehead, blue, or molson is at least $36-$40. They rape us on the booze taxes.

Oh wait - you said "gear"

**dk_alaskan** · 11-09-2006, 07:22 PM

there is a GOOD small shop in Kelowna, Stay Tuned Sports. They were very infomative when i was there. they sent me a piece for my freerides i couldn't find in the states and they were NOT worried about charging me for it, they were going to ship it for free (i had to ask several times how much it owuld cost me) until i said i would have a friend in bc send them the $$ for it.their email is staytunedsports@shaw.ca. if you want the tele, pm me