Who has ridden with a balaclava? I got one for Christmas and rode with it today for the first time. It worked pretty well, it was a little annoying at first around the eyes, but then you get used to it. Worked great to keep my neck wind free. The only thing that was really annoying was the piece that covers your nose, works great to divert the warm exhaled air up to any glasses you may be wearing, effectively fogging them up real good!

What do you got? Love it or hate it?

This is the one I got...

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Balaclava.aspx

 

I have 3. One is for 45-65 degrees, one for 35-45 and the last one is for riding at or below freezing. I love them.

 

You ride when its below freezing? Es loco!

 

I have two ... one is a northern face (sumpin like that) with a breath warmer thingy. And the other is just cotton camo. They work great! Will ride down to 14F and face/neck are fine. Fingers are the problem ... don't have heated gloves and after 30 to 40 miles they get cold if temp is under 30F.

 

Try surgical (latex) gloves underneath, they'll stay VERY warm. They'll sweat a bit too though.

 

I have a half face one and it has kept me fine all the way down to 10 degrees

 

if its that cold i just use my underarmor hood/neck thing i use for skiing and it works good for me... and i agree the numb fingers is usually the worst part of my cold rides, but ill give the surgical gloves a whirl... just to clarify tho regular latex gloves or specificl surgical (usually green or blue right?)

 

I have a balaclava and purchased this one:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Balaclava.aspx

When I first purchased it, I got it to just test out the upper 40's low 50's as I didn't want to ride in that temps as a releatively new rider. But, I have ridden in the upper 30's and with the balaclava, it made a world of difference because it keeps a nice amount of warmth in.

I will be purchasing another one that will be longer down into the chest area as the one above isn't low enough for me, but it works. When I ride with the one above, I can feel the air around my neck. It's not too bad, but my textile jacket helps a lot.

Definitely something I recommend for anyone who rides at temperatures under 50F.

 

I wear a balaclava pretty much all winter, and as long as the roads are dry, I`ll ride in temps down to the mid-twenties. It always feels funny in the spring the first time I put on my helmet without the balaclava.

I agreekeeping the fingers warm is the big problem. I wear polypropelene liners under my gloves, but after about 30 minutes, my hands start to suffer. I`m thinking maybe these lobster mitts over my gloves might do the trick. I`d be able to brake with two fingers and blip the throttle with the other two, which is what I do now.