One Balaclava, Two Balaclava

Posted by James on December 4th, 2007 filed in Gear, commuting

When the temperature gets cold, a good balaclava is a bicycle commuter’s friend. I’ve been on a search for such a friend.

I’ve been using the Pearl Izumi Microsensor Facemask for the last month and this morning, with the wind chill hitting a face numbing 16 degrees, it was starting to show it’s limitations. My nose in particular was quite angry at me for riding to work this morning. So during lunch I bought a Cannondale L.E. Balaclava and rode home wearing it.

Both work great at keeping your head and ears warm. I thought the the Cannondale would help out my nose, by keeping it covered. My nose was delighted by the warmth and wind protection the Cannondale provided. My eyes, however, despised the Cannondale because with every breath I took, my glasses would fog up as warm moist air was forced upwards towards my ocular region. Luckily the mouth and nose guard is optional.

My ears also disliked the toasty Cannondale balaclava. They initially thought the Cannondale would be spiffy with the ear holes, but said holes did nothing more than produce an overpowering white noise once I starting riding.

The Cannondale is more comfortable than the Pearl Izumi (and slightly more expensive). It has stretchy fabric in all the right places, and loose fabric everywhere else. The Pearl Izumi is all stretch, all the time. Because of that the Pearl Izumi fits in my jacket’s back pockets much better.

So which is better? I really like the way the Cannondale fits, and it is warmer than the Pearl Izumi. The real question is: is the loss of hearing worth the added warmth and better fit?