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The 3 Non-Skiing Things I Can’t Go Skiing Without

Henry
12 minutes ago
4 min read

If, like me, you are beginning to pack for your next ski trip, don't forget these three essentials that - whilst nothing to do with skiing - can make or break your travels.

Over the past 2 ½ years this blog has been running, I’ve banged on a lot about the ski gear that I need or have used to make my ski trips perfect.

But this post is a bit different. As I’m packing for my first ski trip of the winter (keeping up with the countdown on insta, everyone?) I’m going to share the three things I bring with me on every trip that have changed my skiing life for the better – that aren’t anything to do with skiing!

Whether it’s to help me sleep better when travelling or in the mountains, or to act as emergency moisturiser, these little things are now a vital part of my packing for every ski trip.

Here are the three non-skiing things that I can’t go skiing without!

Burt’s Bees

Right, so lip salve isn’t exactly ground breaking nor is it necessarily non-skiing related – so many of you will already use lip salve when skiing already. Furthermore, there are plenty of brands of lip salve out there to choose from.

But I keep coming back to Burt’s Bees. I managed to get through exactly a tube of the stuff last year, a feat of not losing the tube more than it is commitment to a single thing.

I’m not a scientist (I am a skier, after all … ) but there’s something about the particular combination of ingredients in Burt’s Bees that I like more than other brands. I feel the Vitamin E in the salve helps go above and beyond in protecting my lips from all forms of ailments when out in the cold dry weather of the winter.

Lip salve can also be used as an emergency moisturiser; I’ve often felt my nose and the cheeks drying out in the wind when out on the mountain, a curse of really not liking wearing a buff or balaclava. A quick rub of Burt’s Bees around the impacted area or around the nostrils can really work to keep out the cold, wind, and dry air of the mountains.

Travel Humidifier

You’ll quickly notice a pattern repeating itself here – mountain air is dry.

Do you ever feel constantly dehydrated? Like, you will be drinking gallons and gallons of water, but you still won’t be able to shake the feeling of being constantly dry?

I notice this most obviously at night. I’m really aware of how dehydration affects my sleep in everyday life (spoiler alert: a lot), so to be stuck in a dry environment where not amount of water can help can often lead to entire weeks of not sleeping – see ski test 2025 and how tired I look in some of those videos!

The solution is a small humidifier that I can throw in my luggage without eating too much space. They’re available via amazon for a few quid and plug into the wall through a micro-USB cord.

It won’t solve the problem in big rooms, but in a small hotel room it is perfect and far better than trying to balance cups of water on top of radiators. I’ve really felt it make a difference to my sleep when up in the dry mountain air of high elevations.

TURTL Neck Pillow

This is the least skiing-specific item out there, or rather the one I have used the most outside of skiing.

This relies on two things to be most effective: travelling a lot, and being tall. Let me explain.

I travel a fair bit, both for work and pleasure. This is particularly true over the last couple of years when I lived out of the UK and travelled back and forth for work and life events far more often, as well as expanding the skiing I’ve been doing.

And I am tall. 6’2”, so not BFG levels of tall but still enough to look over the top of everyone in the tube carriage. Tall enough that flying short haul s u c k s. There’s not enough leg room and the seats are too short, so there is just not enough support.

I’ve tried traditional travel pillows in the past and hated them, just getting in the way more than actually helping.

I took a punt on TRTL and do not regret it in the slightest. It works by wrapping around your neck and providing a supportive platform, meaning it tucks out the way well. It has allowed me to fall asleep in comfort and ease on any and all early morning flights or train journeys, really helping me make the most of travel days!

Final Thoughts

Do you have a favourite thing that you take skiing that has nothing to do with skiing? Whilst some of these may be tenuously non-skiing related, they have all made a difference in the quality of the ski trip I’m on.