Montec: Direct-to-Consumer Ski Clothing Done Properly
Montec sells ski clothing direct, cuts the distribution chain, and passes the saving on. What the brand delivers and where it fits.
Montec is a Swedish direct-to-consumer ski apparel brand, and the second of the two in-house labels built by the e-commerce retailer Ridestore. Launched in 2016, it was created to give Ridestore a distinct ski-focused identity alongside its older snowboard-leaning brand Dope Snow. The two brands share infrastructure but target different riders.
Origins
Ridestore, the parent company, was founded in 2006 in Trollhättan, Sweden, by brothers Linus and Emil Hellberg. The business began as an importer of snow gear from the United States for a Swedish customer base that could not find what it wanted at home. Dope Snow launched as the first in-house brand in 2008. Montec followed in 2016, created with a greater emphasis on technical performance, a stated focus on the freeski and freeride community, and a growing market in North America as well as Europe. Ridestore is now headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
What the range covers
Montec sits across ski and snowboard outerwear and accessories. The core is technical outerwear: shell and insulated ski jackets, shell and insulated pants and bibs. Around that sit fleeces, base layers, gloves, beanies, waterproof gloves, and goggles.
Construction uses waterproof-breathable membrane fabrics with taped seams and ski-specific cuts: articulated shoulders, vented underarms, powder skirts. The bib options are a legitimate part of the range rather than a token inclusion, which matters for anyone who spends long days in deep snow or gate training rather than moving between lifts.
Positioning
Montec sits at a slightly more technical and less lifestyle-oriented position than Dope Snow, though both share the same commercial model: price below the legacy Alpine brands for comparable specs, and use customer feedback from the Ridestore channel to refine the product across seasons. The stated design ethos, “the customer is the brand,” is shared between the two labels.
Montec’s perennial styles are tweaked and improved each season based on community, rider, and tester feedback, with the brand stating a focus on durability and performance across multiple seasons rather than a seasonal fashion churn.
Independent coverage has grouped Montec and Dope Snow with a broader wave of direct-to-consumer ski apparel sold primarily through social media. The fair reading is that the two brands have grown aggressively on Instagram and TikTok partly because the price-to-spec ratio is genuinely competitive and partly because the aesthetic photographs well.
Who it is for
Montec is aimed at skiers who want functional ski outerwear without paying the heritage premium. For a British club racer building out a training kit, or a serious recreational skier upgrading from rental-level outerwear, the price-to-spec ratio is legitimate. The bib options in particular are worth looking at for anyone spending significant time in deep snow or on long days where loose-fit pants are not enough.
Where it is less suited: skiers who specifically want the heritage positioning of a Bogner or Helly Hansen, or who value the in-person fitting of a physical retail channel. Montec is a direct-to-consumer brand in the literal sense — buy from the website, size from the size guide, return if wrong.
BARSC has no commercial relationship with Montec. This feature reflects an independent assessment of the brand and its products.