Industry News
You may have noticed either on your local mountain or even on your social media feed an influx of ads from skiwear brands Montec and Dope Snow, and wondered about these brands. I will admit, I liked some of the Montec designs, but never clicked on any of the ads, thinking it was probably some sub-standard gear made in China.
If you ask Redditors for their opinion on Montec, or Dope Snow, you will find a plethora of scathing comments, calling it the “Insta-brand” or even worse, the “Jerry-brand.” Of course, there are also fans of the brands, but we all know, nothing is worse on the mountain than being referred to as a Jerry. More importantly though than the image, is the quality really sub-standard, and who is actually behind Montec and Dope Snow?
To my big surprise, it turns out Montec and Dope Snow are not Chinese but are branded by the Swedish company RideStore. Swedish brothers Linus and Emil Hellberg founded RideStore in 2006. Initially, Emil had started the company as an e-commerce retailer for onselling US brands. From there the company moved into producing their own outerwear, with first the Dope Snow line and later the Montec line of snowsports apparel.
Dope Snow is more of the park-rat clothing while Montec is targeted at the backcountry skier. Their ski clothes are functional, on-trend, and cheap. The million-dollar question of course is: Is their gear any good? There are some online reviews of their gear, oftentimes by people sponsored by the brand, which naturally have to be taken with a grain of salt. YouTuber ‘steepsteep’ flew to Sweden for a review and visited the factory in Sweden and came away impressed. However, seeing the company expertly uses social media and provided ‘steepsteep’ with free gear, I would be reluctant to take everything he says at face value.
The company claims to be using its own fabrics for the outer shell because established brands like GoreTex are too expensive, so they produce its own fabrics instead. This is supposedly the reason behind the affordability of the brand. However, materials are typically just a small fraction of the costs of an item of clothing. In reality, a big part behind the affordability of their clothes is the fact that they only have an online presence and rely entirely on e-commerce. The markup from manufacturer to retailer in the fashion industry is typically 100%. By cutting out any retailers, they can sell at wholesale prices to the end consumer, which frankly is a brilliant model.
Montec seems to be the Aldi or Trader Joe‘s of the ski wear industry, having optimized the supply chain to enable them to undercut competitors. Like Aldi, Dope Snow and Montec divide the population into loyal shoppers, who appreciate decent quality at unbeatable prices, and those who turn up their noses at what they consider sub-par quality, and would not be seen dead in Montec or Snow Dope.
If you trawl through online reviews on Reddit or TrustPilot — and not those potentially fake ones companies like to pop on their own website that you cannot verify — customers seem overall happy with their gear. However, most will be quick to admit, that the quality does not quite compare to other more expensive brands. Many fans of the brands point out that for skiing only five days a year, the appealing design and affordability justify their purchase decision.
In an industry, where barriers to entry are as high as they are in the ski industry, and a dropout rate of 80% for first-timers, it is understandable, that many new to skiing would be drawn to a brand that will not set you back $1,000 for a jacket and pants, if you are not sure that this is a hobby you will continue to pursue.
There is nothing wrong with making skiing more affordable, so every little bit helps. But affordability should never come at the price of sustainability, and what the world does not need, is a fast fashion ski brand that pumps out poor quality clothing that ends up in the landfill after one season. Textile production is a major contributor to CO2 emissions and also consumes vast amounts of drinking water. Each year, about 11.3 million tons of textile waste, or 85% of all textiles sold end up in a landfill. That’s a staggering 81.5 pounds (37 kilograms) per person per year. Unfortunately, 80% of clothing donations end up in a landfill, as there simply are too many items of clothing.
To address this problem, RideStore partnered with Swiss company Texaid to offer the RidesStore Renewed program, where people can buy recycled/upcycled ski gear. In the YouTube video, RideStore states that they sold 11,000 items from renewed products, but since this is a private company, these claims cannot be verified.
What is concerning is that the company appears to be omitting some legally required information on its website about its products. According to the Textile and Wool Act, a company is required to share the import status and the fiber types of the fabric. The consumer cannot be sure what they are buying exactly as they provide no information on their website and while it may be on the label, which I cannot confirm, that is of little use when their products are only available online.
Another often cited criticism is that neither brand “gives back to the sport” — aka they don’t sponsor athletes or events. However, it appears from recent announcements and initiatives that the brands are actively changing this. Dope Snow is sponsoring various skiers and boarders, such as Jesper Tjäder, and is sponsoring ‘ride-days’ such as the Dope Snow Ride Day at Perisher, Australia, on July 22, 2023. Dope Snow has been advertising these events on social media.
Personally, all of the negative points above will stop me from buying any gear from Montec or Dope Snow. I ski 150 days a year and I need high-quality gear that keeps me warm and that lasts for years. I have taken some of my gear back to get fixed and have never been charged for repairs, even those from wear and tear. I like gear that is timeless and stands the test of time — and most of all, weather. I cannot assess Montec or Dope Snow’s quality having never bought these brands, but I understand how, for those who ski or ride just a few days a year, the purchase makes sense.
Have you bought an item from Dope Snow or Montec, and do you have any feedback? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Important to do your research before buying DopeSnow/Montec
Why DopeSnow/Montec is crap- both brands are owned by a Swedish company called Ridestore. Ridestore used to sell other brands like Peak Performance, Burton, Picture. They took ideas from these brands and started to manufacture their version in China at a lower price to sell on their retail channel. The other brands spend millions of dollar in developing their own technologies and supply chains while investing in snow community. DopeSnow/Montec does nothing for environment, people or culture. Sounds like another Swedish fast fashion unethical company not interested in anything other than selling more product and making more money.
This article is so wrong. Before purchasing a Montec jacket and pants, I’ve only owned snowboard apparel by Burton and other big names with high-end 2L and 3L jackets in the $400+ range and 2L and 3L pants in the $250+ range. I’m talking about high-end Gor-Tex, tapes seems, and every feature designed for backcountry deep pow.
My daughter recently purchased a jacket and pants from Montect and I was absolutely blown away by the build quality, materials, and features in a jacket that only cost around $240. If you removed the name Montect and added the Burton name, anyone would think they were looking at Burton high-end 2L or 3L jacket and pants that cost upwards of $400+ and $250+ respectively. The only thing missing is name brand Gor-Tex, but whatever water proofed material Montect is using feels and looks just like 2L or 3L Gor-Tex used in the hig-end Burton apparel.
I got their top of the line shell jacket to try out after needing an upgrade, it’s lasted 150 days over 3 seasons. Im an expert skier but I can’t say it would last what SnowBrains does for years. Worth a try tho for most!
I brought a dope jacket and was very excited to wear it! Disappointed! The jacket material was almost like rubber and wasn’t warm enough. And despite the beautiful color patern and design, it wasn’t pratical at all, so you know, for us women to go to the bathroom I had to take the jacket off completely if I was wearing a bib, which
I always do, so was taking gloves, helmet, jacket off so I can use the bathroom! So for all that bad experiences I sold it on poshmark. I got spyder, obermeyer, Helly Hansen, Columbia and Volcom jackets! And my first black spyder jacket had a golden stripe to see at night that after 5 years of use started peeling off. I contacted spyder n sent pictures, etc! They told me to send it to them, they will try to fix it if possible. And less than 30 days they sent me an email telling me that it wasn’t fixable n for that reason they gave me a voucher to by a new one! Mind you, I brought that jacket on sale in a store at my resort! I payed $120! The voucher they gave me was $500! I couldn’t be happier! TOBE wear its another company that I love! They fixed my gear without charging me! I got a bib from them price tag was $500. I got on sale for $250! After busted my a…so many times on the slopes (wear n tear) they fixed that part putting a very nice patch on it ppl never noticed it! Yes, I greater spend a bit more money like the author said, but has a quality product that last!
I bought a great looking insulated Dope Snow Anorak for snowboarding. I loved the pockets (that many women’s jackets lack). I loved the design, colors, and style. I hated the material though, it was very stiff and even though well sized, I felt like I couldn’t move freely. It was also not very warm at all, even with layers underneath. I was very disappointed.
You probably bought a shell jacket, not an insulated jacket. And the rubbery material is high-quality water proofed material. By design shell jackets and pants don’t have any insulation. Many snowboardings and skiers like me prefer to wear shells just to stay dry and serve as a wind breaker. I hate jackets and pants with any insulation. I get all the warmth I need from my base layer thermals and mid-layer thermals.
Having a shell jacket is a huge advantage when the weather warms up on sunny days. I just get rid of my mid-layer and I’m good to go. On warm days if you have an insulated jacket, you either need to switch to a thinner jacket or ride around with your jacket unzipped which opens you up to getting wet from the snow.
On really warm days 35+F, I just wear a thin base thermal layers, a shell jacket and pants. On really cold days, on top I wear a base layer and mid layer thermals, a thin sweatshirt or flannel and my shell. On bottom, all I ever need is good base layer thermals and good shell pants.
I purchased a Montec ski parka and I am quite happy with it. I don’t know how the author can conclude that the product is only good for a part time skier without ever buying and trying the product?