It's not just whether you use it, it's also what features you value. I gave this advice to some friends taking up skiing - it turned out the most valuable featu

It's not just whether you use it, it's also what features you value. I gave this advice to some friends taking up skiing - it turned out the most valuable feature of a skiing jacket for me was a large number of pockets (so I didn't have to take a bag). I would never have known that if I hadn't first had a cheap jacket for a couple of seasons.