5 places where you can rent stylish ski apparel for under $100

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Skiing is already an expensive sport, but factor in the cost of a ski jacket, pants, gloves, and goggles — on top of lift tickets and rentals — and the price tag for a nice day on the slopes quickly becomes overwhelming.

Most of your everyday apparel isn't going to cut it on the slopes. You could buy a full ski kit for $500 to $1,000 — or, you could just rent it.

Whether you're a first-time skier who's not ready to commit to a full ski kit, a traveler who wants to minimize luggage, or just someone who loves the idea of borrowing instead of buying, there are multiple companies offering high-quality ski kits for rent.

You can score highly-technical, waterproof ski shells, insulated ski pants, breathable base layers — sometimes even gloves, goggles, and a helmet — all at about $30-50 a day. And if your main focus is looking après-chic, many fashion rental companies offer ski apparel, too.

Kit Lender

Based out of Stowe, Vermont, Kit Lender allows you to rent everything you need to wear for skiing as one bundle, including jackets, pants, gloves, goggles, and even snow boots for the trek to and from the slopes. This all-in-one approach ensures you have everything you need for your ski trip in one order, all at a decent price that averages around $30-50 per day. You can also rent one-off jackets, which is especially ideal if you're renting for a family where some people already have a few items and others need everything.

It has a solid range of brands all rooted in practicality, from the approachable and youthful The North Face and Burton, to the more technically-focused Helly Hansen or Patagonia. You aren't going to find steezy or flashy ski kits here, but you will stay warm and waterproof and have all your essentials covered.

Kit Lender has free shipping and returns and will ship directly to your destination, so you don't need to use any precious carry-on space if you're flying in for a ski weekend.

Slope Threads

Slope Threads was one of the first ski apparel rental programs to hit the market back in 2018 and remains a small, Colorado-based operation that rents out full ski apparel bundles, including jackets, pants, gloves, and goggles. It has a wide variety color options, and you can even reserve a backup color if the main one is out of stock. There are ski kits for men, women, teens, and kids, as well as one-off rentals of helmets, ski socks, and base layers.

The drawback is that its selection is much more limited, with less than 10 jackets to choose from. Also, its gear is exclusively from Obermeyer — which has high quality, technical, and stylish ski apparel. But if you don't like how Obermeyer gear fits, you won't like anything from Slope Threads.

Slope Threads' pricing runs similar to competitors like Kit Lender at around $49 per day. They only have a two-day minimum, so you may save money if you just need it for one day.

Slope Threads ships directly to your home or ski destination with prepaid return packaging. They also have a storefront in Golden, Colorado, where you can visit and try on ski gear.

GORE-TEX Outerwear On Demand

GORE-TEX technology is used by many high-end outdoor brands like Arc'teryx, Patagonia, The North Face, Burton, and Helly Hansen in their premium ski jackets and pants to make the apparel waterproof, windproof, and breathable. Its rental program, GORE-TEX Outerwear on Demand, lets you can reserve select ski jackets and pants from local outdoor stores across the U.S. and Canada. Its located in major cities like Denver and Salt Lake City, as well as popular ski resorts like Mammoth Mountain and Killington.

They only offer one style of pants and jacket each for men and women, but it's a pretty sleek and universal look, and you're able to score seriously technical, pro-level ski kits. Contact your local retail partner for pricing.

Rent the Runway

If you're looking for more of a see-and-be-seen ski kit, Rent the Runway offers high-end designer ski apparel for 4- to 8-day rental periods. From sexy snowsuits to statement base layers, Rent the Runway lets you build your ski-trip wardrobe piece by piece.

Because its selection is more form over function, the majority of its gear from brands like Noize and Perfect Moment are water-resistant at best, and the base layers are questionable on warmth. However, Rent The Runway does carry a lot of Halfdays gear, which is one of our favorite brands for cute winter coats that are seriously insulated. So if you're heading up the gondola mainly to ski a couple laps and take cute après photos, Rent the Runway gives you all the glam at a fraction of what it'd cost to purchase.

Nuuly

One of the most popular subscription-based clothing rental services, Nuuly, has a huge catalog of winter wear and ski apparel. Its collection comes largely from popular brands like Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters (whom the service is owned by), as well as high-end ones like Cynthia Rowley and Noize. For a monthly fee of $98, subscribers can select six items to rent, wear, and return.

The style options on Nuuly run deep, with far more options than any other rental company on this list. It has trendy, brightly colored, dopamine-dripped items that stand out against the stark white of the slopes, such as metallic puffer jackets, cozy base layers, and patterned snow pants.

The price range and technicality really runs the gamut — they carry some more technically-inclined brands, such as Picture Organic and OOSC, but most fall into the water-resistant, fashion-forward category, like Year of Ours and FP Movement. If you're looking for outerwear to hold up in cold, wet, snowy conditions, you'll need to research carefully as Nuuly doesn't provide any of this info on their rental site.

That said, we do love Nuuly's detailed reviews, which are immensely helpful in picking the right size across varying brands. While you'll have to pay the $98 subscription even if you just want one jacket, your subscription comes with six items, so you can curate an entire weekend's worth of cute ski lodge outfits at a great price.

FAQs

How much does renting ski equipment cost?

This can depend on which resort you're visiting. The price of renting a snowboard or ski kit with boots and poles runs at an average of $45-65 for basic performance brands, and $70-80 for premium brands. Usually, you can rent ski or snowboard hard-good packages from local outdoor shops for slightly cheaper, around $35-50 per day.

What do I need to ski?

The basic items you need to ski are:

• Skis
• Boots
• Poles
• Helmet
• Goggles
• Gloves
• Ski pants
• Ski jacket
• Ski socks

It's nice to have technical base layers, but you can get by with wearing thin warm layers underneath. Many newbies will mistakenly forgo goggles and just wear sunglasses, but the wind and cold will seriously sting your eyes as you go downhill on a winter day.

Should I rent or buy ski equipment?

If you ski or snowboard less than 5 days per year — especially if you have to travel to ski — you're better off renting your ski equipment. Skis, boots, bindings, and poles will cost you at least $700 (probably closer to $1000), while a snowboard, binding, and boots will cost at least $600. For the price of a $45-75 per day rental, you can change out your skis or board according to the conditions outside and your ski level. You'll also be able to essentially upgrade to the newest technology every year when you rent instead of buy.