How to keep the ears warm while wearing a helmet?
 

It is not cold enough for a balaclava, but it's cool enough to keep the ears warm. So far I've been wearing a winter tuke and no helmet. However, now the mornings are cool enough to encounter icy patches, and so wearing a helmet is more important.
Even when I adjust the helmet to it's maximum size, it feel very tight when I wear the winter tuke = quite uncomfortable. Do you know of some head friendly way of keeping the ears warm while wearing a helmet?

I find Seirus Neofleece earwarmers to be almost perfect. I have to loosen up my helmet but not that much.

Thin hat with ear covers. Thin enough to fit under helmet

Scullcap.

Buff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yydanA59X0U
I picked up knock-offs of these last year for €2

Also a skullcap may help but you'd need a special one that covers the ears. Also, maybe a little controversial but i always have canalphones in which helps quite a bit.

I use very light ear warmers like these

http://hamamori.com/sale_10525_47072...ar-Warmers.htm


Buff and caps are too warm for me and my ears are starting to sweat.
When it gets too cold I use the ear warmers over the wool cap.

180s earmuffs, put on after buckling the helmet. Also I tend to leave my rain cover on in the winter time to block the air vents and keep the covered part of my head warmer.

Although the Bell Metro...sadly no longer made:mad:... had the very best system for blocking the helmet vents, Giro Ionos helmet liner that does an okay job without the condensation issues that a rain cover presents.

If you need a rain cover, by all means use it. But if you don't, there's no sense creating rain under the helmet:eek:

I use a combination of skullcap, headband with ear flaps and a balaclava depending on the temps. All three combined still fit under my helmet, but I do need to loosen the helmet strap a bit in the winter. Good down to the teens (F).

I actually use my rain cover exclusively for warmth on very cold days. In the rain it's no help at all, but the thing is like wearing a space heater on your head so it's awesome on cold days.

I do use ear muffs like those 180's and have been very happy with them.

After a few years of trying hats, earmuffs, and bandanas and putting packaging tape over the vent holes I finally just bought a ski helmet for the winter. Problem solved.

I wear a balaclava. A nice heavy weight material balaclava I got from REI a couple of years ago.

I found that wearing a skullcap with it was just too hot for me, even in temps below freezing. I guess that means I'm a hothead. This morning I was thinking it would have been nice to have a scarf to keep my face warm. My nose and cheeks were cold.

I haven't tried one of those balaclavas that cover the nose and cheeks. Not to stray from the OP's original question, but has anyone else tried one of those full face balaclavas? Seems like it would condensate around the mouth and nostrils. I wonder how it feels to breathe in one of those things...

I take the padding out of my helmet and use a thin WigWam hat/liner.

When the balaclava or skullcap is overkill, I've found a simple headband made of the same material is amazingly warm.

Rox makes a product called Dog Earz which velcro right to the helmet straps and cover up your ears.

(Link goes to Bikeman.com; no affiliation, just a fave online shop of mine.)

my balaclava (cheap louis garneau that I got from nashbar for like $15) is thin enough to fit under my helmet with no/minimal additional tightness (no more than when I wear a cycling cap there), and is enough to keep the wind off my ears which for me is the cooling part.

I called my daughter's bluff a few years ago about growing our hair out for Locks of Love. I now just pull hair over my ears before putting my helmet on, down to about 25F. Below that, I add my wind breaker hood down to about 5F. Below that, I need to also put on a thin wool beanie of sorts.

agree with the buff. I wear two, one over my head and ears, another around my neck.

Wool neck gaiter. I got it to keep my neck warm, but it was a little tight, so I figured I'd wear it like a head band for a few days, and stretch it out. Turns out I really liked it as a "hat" with an open back (so I don't overheat). I can pull it down over my ears, and, after I climb a few hills, I can adjust it to still keep me warm, but less so.

This...

I used 2 different balaclavas, buff, different headbands, thick and thin and nothing compares to simple ear muffs with wool cap(have two, double layer and single layer).
Balaclavas are too warm and make you glasses fog up, buff is better, but still too warm on the face and not warm enough on the ears, synthetic headbands are too warm on the head, wool ones probably will be fine though.

When my ears are cold, I wear a balaclava.

I don't wear an expensive one. Literally, I wear a $5 WalMart special. It's fleece, and the face opening is stretchy enough that I can pull it down past my chin when it's 'too warm for a balaclava, too cold to leave my ears uncovered'.

The bonus is that if it gets colder during the ride, I can just pull it up and cover my mouth. Colder still, I cover my nose. Colder? Well, at that point, I probably started the ride with additional layers on my head.

I wear a Buff with the regular t-shirt type of fabric. Not super cold here but still can get to 32 in the morning.
I sweat so easy that I'm always dealing with dressing warm enough but not too much. If I'm just barely warm I still sweat through a layer or two. I can't see wearing a thick covering on my head but a thin buff keeps the direct air off and I can put it on in so many different ways, neck only, over bottom of face, as a full balaclava, just on the head etc.

I use a thin balaclava (poly-pro), full coverage when I start out in the morning (I face a descent right out of the door) and all the way to the Metro station on cold mornings. After I've folded my bike and gotten on the train, I take off my helmet and roll the balaclava up so it's off my face/neck, but still covers my head/ears.

The Metro train is heated, but not overly warm. Then, when I exit the train, replace helmet, un-fold bike and take off . . . I usually don't need to roll the balaclava back down. But it never gets super-cold here, like it does where you live!

Rick / OCRR

Gorblimey! He don' arf know owto natter dunnhe?

I have a fleece neck gaiter from Columbia. I wear it round my neck and pull it up the back of my head to cover my ears, leaving the rest of my head bare (under the helmet) to keep from overheating. If I get too hot, I can pull the back back down without stopping to cool off, or pull the front up to cover my mouth.

I have a skull cap with ear flaps, it's lite weight so it doesn't get too warm but keeps the wind out. I also have a helmet cover which helps keep the wind out and keeps my head warmer. (bald) :)

Check out Earbags. I like them a lot for running and biking. Keep your ears warm without soaking up sweat from your forehead or interfering with your helmet fitment. http://www.rei.com/brand/Earbags

+1

I don't have that exact model but I have a simple Pearl Izumi headband that is good down to the 20's. When it gets colder (and I have 5AM wet hair from right out of the shower onto the bike) I wear a slightly heavier headband from goretex and a goretex helmet cover (good to at least 8 degrees (tested last winter) - probably colder