Balaclava recommendations
 

Ok, need advice. I have misplaced my favorite balaclava. And with temps being 16F at start today, it's too cold to ride without a clava.

I don't like heavy clava's. Favorite was a silk one, but I don't know where I got it from. Biggest problems with clavas:

1- too small opening for glasses
2- glasses fog up too much
3- too hard to breathe thru the opening: either too small an opening, or mis aligned for riding
4- too thick and heavy feeling

Suggestions?

Fleece wrap around neck with cheeks covered, a neoprene nose direct the exhalation downward,

+ a skull cap , under your helmet instead.?

Headsweats skull cap under, fleece bala from Target over, wool scarf as a makeshift dickie. I wear a gazillion layers anyway, what's a few more? ;-)

This one is light and I recommend it. I've had it for four or five years and don't get too hot unless it's over ~30 F. It's stretchy and fits snug, which helps a lot, yet there are no tension spots. If it's really cold, you can put it over your mouth and nose and breathe through it, which warms the whole thing up.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...1_10000_200532

Instead of a balaclava, I wear two wool neck gaiters: one over my ears and head like an open hat, and another over my face and neck. I look like a ninja when I start a cold ride, but as the exercise and hill climbing warm me up, I pull the lower one down to expose more of my face and cool off. This set up is infinitely malleable in changing weather conditions. A 'clava feels all or nothing.

I have a fleece clava with a zipper at the bottom. It's nice to be able to vary the size of the face opening. Look for something like that. I think mine is a no name I got on Ebay.

http://images.jrgraham.com/webattach...um/KG01040.jpg


I also have a base layer like this with built in hoody-'clava. Again, nice to have the option of varying the size of the opening:

http://gearjunkie.com/images/4595.jpg

This is the one on my wish list.

http://i51.tinypic.com/308gric.jpg

I currently use a very old neoprene version that I used when I was an active downhill ski person in high school and college. Now that I'm on to a sport that is gentler on the knees, I still find the design useful.

The nose director part is crucial to keep fog off the glasses, and you can easily pair one of these with a skull cap (synthetic or merino wool) if needed.

I gave up on the full-face 'clava. Now I combine a fleece neck gaiter with a smartwool beanie for versatility.

Seirus makes some nice ones. Mine has a neoprene section for the nose and mouth. The rest is a light windproof fleece. People's needs vary so much I stay away from recommending a specific model.

Here's a few.

I have another one from Borah that I like too. It's nice have more than one. In my case at least they're exposed to a lot of sweat and exhaled moisture.

I prefer a 'clava to the neoprene face masks which I used to use that velcro at the back of your head.

I find that anything around my nose directs my breath upward towards my glasses. Instant fogging.

I like the Serius but I use the very lightest one. REI carries them as well as their own brand. I really like this one and this one is okay. I wear an earwarmer over my ears, however. Serius makes really good ones that REI also carries.

grow your hair long and a big beard. works for me :P

16F is cold tho. i dont think i could go far in it.

If you're accustomed to wearing a silk balaclava, hold out for another silk even, even if you have to go out of your way to a motorcycle shop to get one.

Like you, I've worn a silk 'clava for years, and they're the best. I actually run with a ten year old Patagonia silk (90%)/spandex one now, and it might be the best one I've ever had. I messed around a couple of times and bought synthetic material clavas, and usually found them way too warm, grippy, and uncomfy.

You should have no trouble tracking a silk one down from Cabela's, Campmor, or any local motorcycle shop.

Was feeling the same way and bought a Buff and will never go back to wearing a beanie or balaclava hey try it you never know here is the site.
http://www.buffwear.com/pages/techni...ys-to-wear.php
Watch the videos and decide for yourself.:)

This is what I do. My TNF fleece neck gaiter has an elastic drawstring around the top that adds adjustability. Thin Smartwool nordic type knit hat w/ earflaps that can tuck in or hang loose.

I'm good to 14F windless nights, lower 20's in the wind.

http://www.rei.com/product/807640 30% off until Monday.

^^Thanks for the link. I got the Chaos Chinook for $6.93 ($12.92 shipped). At that price, how can you go wrong?

I'm very much anti silk for cycling applications-- in my experience, they do not insulate when sweat or condensation soaked. I've never tried them for a 'clava.

IME, silk is best brought along backcountry camping as an extra insulating layer to wear in the tent/sleeping bag.

I understand that, and wouldn't disagree, but I will say that I don't look for a balaclava to insulate, but rather to block wind and cut the chill. To that end, I want the lightest, thinnest material that will do the job. For insulation, I wear a fleece skullcap over the 'clava.

can definitely relate on fogging. but really, it only happens on uphills and stopping for me, as soon as i get moving, the wind blows off my breath

i'm using the ninjaclava right now. its my fourth balaclava. i like it more than others. its a little hotter than fleece or other lighter materials, but i find it works for 10 degrees up to 30 degrees

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/ninjaclava.html

also, for fleece i believe there is a company called turtle fur that might be interesting.

i had never heard of the zipper type. my next one will probably be a zipper one

Every time there is a balaclava thread, I wind up buying another one :)

Obviously, I have a few. The Ninjaclava is very nice, but mine is a little tight on my big head. I'm still hoping it will stretch a little, as I got it late last winter. I also have a merino wool one, which is actually a little loose, and kind of tough to keep tight.

My favorite is a fleece one that is adjustable. It was marketed as a balaclava/mask/cap/gaiter all in one thing, I think. I like it because it fits well, and is adjustable.

I really like the looks of the one RB1 posted, with the zipper. I also would like to try one of the winter-type buffs. Maybe the cyclone buff. They make so many Buffs it's difficult to choose.

based on the requirements you listed, you should check out Target. I just got one a few weeks ago because my snowboarding clava basically had all the same problems you listed when trying to use it for cycling. The one from Target has worked like charm so far, and its dirt cheap.

I should mention that I still use a medium weight riding cap to cover my ears because the Target clava is not thick enough to do the job alone. This doesn't bother me though because I like using a cap and a clava in combination so that I can pull the clava down over my neck and just use it as a gater when I conditions don't require a clava. I can't do this with my snowboarding clava because its too tight and the materail is stiffer. In fact, I'm going to use the Target clava for snowboarding this season for this very reason.

I use a Wickers balaclava from Sierra Trading Post. They have a thin one and another that is just a bit thicker, but still comfortable. I wear the Expedition model when it gets colder. Both of them below 0f. At $8 I've bought several just to have around. Warm and cheap what more do you want.

http://i.stpost.com/erez4/erez?src=P...ium&redirect=0
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,...and-Women.html

Yes, definitely. My favorite Balaclava, by far, is the Cannondale Slice Balaclava.

I bought mine at Erik's Bike Shop locally, though it looks like there might be a slightly different model out than when I bought mine -
http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/ride/pr...ffset=2&s_id=0

I think there's the same one available at Performance Bike -
http://www.performancebike.com/webap...551_1101027_-1

Here's a picture - it's not a very pretty picture, but mine has worked the best out of the ones I've tried in real world experience -

http://www.performancebike.com/image...-BLK-FRONT.jpg

The important point is that you can move that front piece that covers your mouth up and down. :-)

Not a problem, though it's not difficult to find good models in this regard.

That's what's great about the movable piece - when it's warmer out I just keep it completely out of the way of my face. As it gets colder, I put it over my nose - it hangs in front of my mouth so the front of my face isn't directly exposed to the wind I'm riding into, but the air comes in and goes out the bottom of the opening so it doesn't fog up my glasses. (to be fair, I think I only actually wore glasses with it once or twice).

The only drawback is that the air you're breathing in isn't warmed up as much as it is with a full face balaclava - but that's the tradeoff you make for something that doesn't steam up your glasses.

Obvoiusly the opening is large enough. :D

Suggestions?[/QUOTE]

It feels like most every other baclava I've worn, but it's nice that when it's warm(ish) out I can move the front piece of of the way so it doesn't feel stuffy. Actually, I think I can use it as a neckwarmer only to, but I'm not 100% sure.

The only situation I wouldn't recommend it in is the "it's so cold, the slightest exposure will give your skin frost bite" kind of temperatures. Just because since that front piece moves around, you could end up with a gap somewhere. This has never actually happened to me, I just imagine at -20 fahrenheit it might be a concern - but wearing 100% full coverage gear at other temperatures isn't nearly as comfortable.

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Just to complain a bit, I've never found the perfect balaclava that didn't look ridiculous. This wouldn't work with glasses, but what I'd really like to find is one that's full coverage, but hold the front of the cloth away from your face.

The problem with full coverage ones is that as soon as you start breathing hard, you suck the cloth right up to your mouth and you can't breath. If you have a direct opening that doesn't work either, as you're breathing in the direct cold air and even if the opening is big enough, then you're exposing your lips directly to the oncoming air - frostbite in really, really cold conditions. Even when it's not quite that cold, I seem to have a bit of a bad reaction to breathing in really cold air while exercising (slight exercise induced asma? cold triggered? I dunno).

When I go skiiing, I have a baclava-type thing for my head, but it works better there just because I'm not breathing so hard so the cloth doesn't get sucked into my face. With the cloth away from my mouth, the air gets warmed up by my face and the other warm air in my jacket before I breath it in, which is really nice.

I've seen some solutions which would technically work, but they all seem to involve some sort of mouthpiece, which connects to a tube running into the jacket or something...if I was biking in truly sub-zero conditions it might work, but they usually look a bit like this -
http://www.vegatransports.com.au/aus...rs/TRaider.jpg

:D

It looks pretty crazy. My ideal solution would be to have a hard plastic piece or something on the inside of the mask that holds the fabric away from my mouth enough that I can breathe heavy (I am biking after all) and still get air in and out.

That is exactly what I have. Smartwool cuffed beanie, and smartwool neck gaiter.

It gives you the same coverage as a balaclava, except way more options. You can do double layer over the ears, real close on the face. one layer over ears, pull the neck gaiter down so just covering your neck and face is open, or take the neck gaiter off and just have a hat on.

Thank you for all your suggestions. I've ordered another silk one and if it doesn't work, then it's shopping time. I appreciate the comments