Smalls for our smalls

Our Ski Product Manager Kirsty shares the secret of Smalls, which offer cosy base-layers made from soft and practical merino wool and loved by parents and kids alike…

Smalls – thermo genius for your little ones

My two boys love tracksuit bottoms. In fact, if they had their way, they would live in sports kit: rugby shirts, cricket shirts, tennis shirts etc. And when they’re encouraged to be ‘smart’ they’ll scurry upstairs and put on their most favourite rugby shirt – usually a toss-up between an All Blacks shirt and a Scotland shirt interestingly, but that’s another story – and of course their trusty tracksuit bottoms…

However, the world of tracksuit bottoms has a new contender amidst its ranks now – a set of Smalls. These merino marvels entered our world prior to our ski holiday over Christmas and at first glance they almost looked too good, almost ‘smart’ for my two scallywags. Each set of tops and bottoms had an initial for each boy monogrammed on the bottoms – a lovely touch – and there was even a cute little sheep keyring included in the package – genius – which immediately went on the school bags.

Smalls are perfect for school, sleep, play and ski

When it comes to skiing, we all know it’s all about the layers: base, mid, outer etc. – but how many of us bother to carry this through with our kids? It’s all very well getting them in a set of thermals, but as soon as you stick a cotton t-shirt on top then the whole breathability or’ wicking’ goes out the window. Not layering properly is often why kids get cold on the slopes and skiing can often turn into a miserable experience. When my boys were younger, they used to wear ‘girls tights; under their snowsuits – god forbid if they ever found that out! Reason being was I couldn’t find the right kit that would keep them warm – i.e. a decent base layer for their legs that was small enough.  What the clever people at Smalls have done is bucked the trend, by designing thermals that actually do the perfect job by regulating temperature, making them breathable AND look cool. So much so that once on, the boys refused to take them off. Each day after skiing, they would strip off their salopettes and mooch about the chalet playing UNO and Lego in their Smalls.

Three generations on the slopes – ‘Pops’, Ewan, Jamie & Kirsty

At bedtime, they reluctantly peeled off their Smalls, jumped in the bath and put on their pyjamas. The days rolled by and it was pretty much the same story each day – Smalls on first thing, ski all day, Smalls off at bath time etc. In fact, had it not been for my insistence that they had to put on their PJs, they would have had the Smalls back on and slept in them.

Made from merino wool, Smalls are cosy for mooching about in

Now admittedly by day 3 I was beginning to worry that the trousers in particular, might starting to get a bit ‘whiffy and wondered whether I should do a quick wash overnight to have them ready for the morning. A quick sniff revealed no nasty smells, in fact barely an odour at all! Even round ‘that’ area – and we all know what little boys are like…so I ditched the washing. I remember reading somewhere that Merino wool was a champion when it came to combatting odours and I have to admit I was a little sceptical. As it turned out, these worries were totally futile – we did a 7 day stint in the Smalls and they looked (& smelled) pretty much the same as they did when they came out of the box – truly remarkable.  A superbly brilliant ensemble which does exactly as it should when skiing: keep your kids cosy and snug, with a good fit (absolutely love the turn down on the legs meaning extra wear out of them as the kids grow) and more than up to the job of hard-wearing – as demonstrated by my 8 & 7 year old ‘sports nuts’. As they say, the best things come in small packages – well a big thumbs up to Smalls from us!

Big thumbs up for Smalls!

To find out more about Smalls, visit their website lovemysmalls.com. They are offering friends of Scott Dunn 20% off when you use the code ScottDunnSki. Happy shopping!