My Mum was asking me about cold weather gear today, she's still riding almost daily on her eBike which is good. But I suggested I wasn't the best person to ask since I run pretty warm and she is the complete opposite. So, to all you people who have circulation issues or are just cold - what are the warmest possible options at sensible prices (Endura sort of level) for:
Jacket (I want to say coat!)
Tights
Gloves
Face covering
I'm thinking one option would be for her to just buy another waterproof in a larger size and just whack fleece on under it. But apparently she's already on 4-5 layers!
Pogies
Ok, they are walking trousers but would be fine on a bike if you put an elastic band around the drive train side calf.... The Decathlon £17.99 skiing trousers. Waterproof and with a fleece lining. Very warm and comfortable. They do some great biking/non biking gloves too.
Ladies and centre sizes available.
They are bloody brilliant. I'll be out (walking) all day in them tomorrow.👍
Actually, you can probably get everything on your list from there in one online or in store shop.
I do love decathlon.😁
Buffalo jacket (or Alpkit Jura).
Waterproof trousers and thermal tights.
Merino socks, but make sure the shoes are not too tight.
Gore Windstopper gloves by Marmut, NorthFace - coupled to Pogies if needs be.
Buff for the face.
Windstopper cap for the helmet - or a windproof cover of someform.
Base layer top and bottom.
Shirt
Light fleece
Windproof jacket
Leggings
Windproof leggings
Thermal Windproof gloves
Snood
The North Face Ventrix jacket,mtb trousers and merino wool underpants, wool socks, The Nort Face Back to Berkeley trekking boots, wool hood...
Gloves = 100% Briskers. Only gloves I’ve tried that stopped the pain in my fingers and thumbs.
One of these over or under the helmet. Good enough for my other half when in Chamonix snowboarding in January so should just about cope with an English winter.
https://www.burton.com/gb/en/p/burton-cora-hood/W21-151981.html
Brands and models would be useful - I can buy a softshell jacket or leggings but there's no indication of how warm they actually are.
Where does one get inexpensive pogies? How easy are they to whip your hands out in a crash?
She is mostly complaining about cold fingertips currently.
I use bog standard ski gloves all winter. Max £20. Work so well.
On my feet I wear oversized Lake mx303s with two insoles and two pairs of hiking socks. I hate having cold hands and feet.
Legs castelli winter bib tights
Top, either soft shell or thin fleece next to skin and proper wind/waterproof jacket.
Cheapest hotpots work great when I’ve fitted them (not yet cold enough for these where i am)
Easy on and off the bars (both the pogies and hands once fitted)
Endura Flipjak - Primaloft is brilliant for low-paced cold weather riding.
I have to wear two pairs of gloves when it’s cold outside. Usually an Assos liner glove, along with some thicker winter gloves.
Merino base layer (Endura or dhb) also helps.
+1 pogies instead of gloves. Although I run warm to hot so rarely use them in these balmy times.
@molgrips I've a pair of hotpogs I'd happily donate, I never use them, PM me your address, or her address, and I'll pop them in the post.
Happy to help someone out.
+1 for the Endura Flipjak. I have one that I use mainly for walking and it keeps me warm with a thin fleece underneath
For me, lobster style gloves are best on the coldest days.
Galibier insulated gilet is nice and toasty.
Woolie boolie socks.
Torm neck gaiter thing.
I'm like your mum always feeling cold. Bought a Paramo Velez jacket earlier in the year (special Paramo direct deal) but only started wearing it. Now dropped from 5 layers to 4 and I don't need to carry a waterproof. Hood comes in handy too.
Gloves: Long time Raynaud sufferer so haven't found any which actually keep hands warm. Use those little sachets of handwarmers from Halfords.
Feet: wear boots for flats & thick socks.
Take a flask for that warm feeling after a freezing descent!
I have cold hands even when in house but bought these this week and used them this morning at around 1 degrees and hands were warm from start yet not too hot at end of ride
Planet X gloves are brilliant for warm fingers, and only £15.
Reflective silver, black or fluo yellow.
Crab rather than lobster, so no one-finger braking!
(Haha - as recommended by Kerley)
When I went snowmobiling in the Arctic, they had these gauntlet mittens which were nice but they had these thin gloves to wear under the mitts. I think they were silk and they had a silver metallic thread in them to reflect your body heat back to you. They made a big difference, I think. Maybe a pair of those under a not too tight glove?
Decathlon knee length ski socks
Decathlon ski base layer.
Fleecey mid layer.
Wind/waterproof jacket
Buff round neck/chin
Warm head cover under helmet.
Baggies over bibtights
Pogies would be a good shout if she has flat bars
Where does one get inexpensive pogies? How easy are they to whip your hands out in a crash?
Hotpogs for inexpensive. No harder to get your hands out than in (unless you are holding the bars with a Vulcan Death Grip)
Jacket (I want to say coat!): I've a Gore Windstopper jacket - fine for cool weather and light showers but despite being Gore I don't trust it in rain.
Tights: err, I wouldn't know about these despite the rumours!
Gloves: Lobster claw style gloves, ideally 2+2 rather than 1+3. Alternatively look at mountaineering gloves. I was out today and noticed that I'd picked up one Black Diamond ice climbing glove and one Specialized winter rated mit. The BD glove was both warmer and had less damp inside.
Face covering: buff around neck, neoprene face mask - best places to find these are either ski shops or motorbike shops.
https://galibier.cc/product/colombiere-insulated-jacket/
If be looking at that for a jacket and their barrier gloves are great too (with silk liners if it’s super cold).
Montane Extreme smock and salopettes. I've used both a Buffalo style top and salopettes when doing hill surveys [Kerry Ridgeway] in -5 and below. I had to pack up after 4 or 5 hours each day as my fingers could no longer continually work the camera and palm pilot. The rest of me was toasty. Several gates failed as they were frozen to the ground....
@nobeerinthefridge that'd be great thanks, I'll PM you.
I think the primaloft type jacket would be good - lots of insulation but flexible and soft, as she's feeling encumbered with the layers she has on.
Gloves- Perfect Curve Glaciers. Squidgy and weird, and they make your hands smell, but they're extremely warm. And also 100% waterproof which is a massive bonus in UK winter. Not just because of rain, mud splash etc but also because you can dip your hands in streams etc to clean them off if they get slippy and muddy.
Otherwise, pogies. I don't like them on the big bike, I don't find them a good option for more challenging riding but they're so so good on the fatbike.
colp
Full MemberGloves = 100% Briskers.
TBF I get cold hands and the Briskers work well for me as an autumn glove but absolutely useless in winter ime. Except inside pogies which they do very well.
Hi, been following this and a couple of other cold weather gear threads with interest. I do a short, flat 6 mile each way commute on the south coast so quite often into a head wind and I’m on an ebike which I try to push past the assist cut off to get a work out as much as possible. Really hate feeling cold so:
Merino wool T shirt + long sleeve merino wool base layer from mountain ware house. Merino wool long johns + endura single track trousers with keela waterproof exoshell if rain is heavy. Columbia Fairbanks omni heat boots (many thanks to Ton for the top tip). Gore phantom + endura single track jacket, silk balaclava. Finally given up on the xl sealskin waterproof gloves which were too tight and used my gore wind stopper gloves with silk liner gloves today for the first time, so much warmer and so comfortable... the liners were cheap again from mountain warehouse and I bought some half price extreme waterproof gloves with a fleece lining cost 12 quid which I will test in the forecasted rain tomorrow and report back. Finally think I’ve got the gear right, warm, light, comfortable and dry, no cold fingers or feet 🙂 As others have said you need the gear to be loose enough to trap a layer of air which is warmed by your body heat. Warm and happy riding everyone...
Word to your moms.
TBF I get cold hands and the Briskers work well for me as an autumn glove but absolutely useless in winter ime. Except inside pogies which they do very well.
I think mine are a waterproof version?
Definitely the best gloves I’ve had which still allow me to ride properly (ish)
For those saying a thin micro-fleece - do you not find they turn into a sodden sweaty sponge pretty quickly?
I'm still commuting in shorts lol