WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh wow Dianyla, my husband and I both have those Black Diamond Guide gloves (in black) and yes they are insanely bulletproof for the very coldest conditions! Great for snowshoeing, hiking in the dead of winter, and blizzard wear!

For me they are too bulky for biking though (prolly wouldn't be biking in sub zero anyway).
My best system for biking in the cold for over an hour is to wear some thin cashmere 'ladies' fashion gloves as a fuzzy soft wool liner, then good pair of polartec-lined windstopper women's gloves, then last on top of those a pair of men's Manzella brand ski shell gloves which are quite warm, lightweight, & windstopper. This last pair is loose and slips on well over the other two gloves and is thin and flexible so that I can still work the brifters. The leather grips well on my handlebars. They are loose enough to allow another layer of air to keep my hand warm.

[Crankin]

I have a pair of Cabella mittens that rock for very cold weather. I can't wear them above 25 degrees. If it's super cold (like below 5 degrees) I can fit a pair of silk liners underneath, or liners that hold chemical heat packs.
I used these hiking in Lake Placid when it was -14 degrees out and there was no snow for x country skiing.

[blackhillsbiker]

I'm not sure of the quality (but I'm about to find out), but Cabela's has wool base-layer bottoms and tops in the Bargain Cave for $19.95. Only one color choice.

Deb

[Cataboo]

I also have the BD guide gloves. I find their liner is overkill for skiing, so I tend to use other glove liners & just use the shell. I have a pair of insulate ibex gloves that I like.

Mostly for skiing I just tend to use a goretex outer gloves and have various liner gloves that I use inside. I do like to use a softshell glove as a liner, so that if I take off the bulky goretex glove, the glove I have underneath is still waterproof.

I have a lot of icebreaker, and none of it has ever shrunk on me.

I went to TJmaxx yesterday, and they had a ton of smartwool, icebreaker, and various other brands of merino wool socks (keen included)... the ski socks ran about $10, and the hiking socks a bit less.

They also had a lot of merino wool sweaters, etc.

They also had marmot and cloudveil jackets... There were some really nice cloudveil ski gloves for about $50, and they had some of the cloudveil run don't walk baselayers for about $50 (Okay, not merino - but I love the run don't walks)

I did manage to avoid buying the socks, because I have more merino wool socks than 10 people need - but did get a couple merino wool turtle neck casual sweaters.

[Crankin]

Wow, I have never seen any Smart Wool or Icebreaker or anything good at the TJ Maxx by me. They have some Nike stuff, but that's it. And none of it is in my size. Maybe I should go look tomorrow.

[Cataboo]

I was surprised, because while I've seen smartwool at tjmaxx and marshall's before, I've never seen icebreaker - even if it's just socks.

iI'm going to try going back in a couple of months and seeing if there's any remaining on clearance. I'm hoping not enough people really know what icebreaker is and it won't sell well.

[mariposa]

Thank you for all the replies!

I ended up getting some gore-tex mitts at a used-gear store.

I figure I can wear my thin-ish wool gloves underneath as liners. They just breathe so well. I hope they still breathe through the gore-tex outer layer.

Sad, though, that the wool-glove manufacturers don't appear to offer any truly waterproof gloves or mittens. I would sure love that.

[Dianyla]

For me they are too bulky for biking though (prolly wouldn't be biking in sub zero anyway).

Yeah, I don't bike in weather that cold anyways!

then last on top of those a pair of men's Manzella brand ski shell gloves which are quite warm, lightweight, & windstopper.

Oh yes, I love Manzellas too. My favorites are the thin silkweight ones. I trashed my last pair backpacking in Iceland (they did not hold up scrambling on rough rocks) and replaced them immediately upon returning home. When I'm generating enough heat from body activity and I just need a thin glove that blocks wind but doesn't hinder dexterity, they're my favorite choice. The men's version fits my hands (broad palm, stubby fingers) very nicely.

Geez, can you tell I'm a bit of a Glove Ho?

[mariposa]

and all other Patagonia stuff, wool or not...

[OakLeaf]

Just did a bunch of holiday shopping on TE and Ibex.com.

Yikes.

[Natasha]

Does anyone own a pair of Ibex Energy Tights? What are your impressions and how is the fit/sizing?
Thanks in advance.

[Crankin]

I went on a short hike with my cycling group today. It was about 25, but the wind was blowing hard enough to make it feel like about ten degrees F.
When I got there, one of the women (who was wearing jeans and regular sneakers) said, "Oh my God, aren't you freezing?" I was like, "why would you ask that?"
I had on my wool Jones Ware hiking pants, Ibex boy shorts, Smart Wool socks and hiking boots on the bottom. On top I had a base layer (not wool), an Icebreaker top, and my Go Lite jacket, along with mittens and a hat (not my coldest weather hat, but a good one).
It turns out that she thought that because I wasn't bulked up with thick puffy stuff, I would be cold. I told her one word: wool.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It turns out that she thought that because I wasn't bulked up with thick puffy stuff, I would be cold. I told her one word: wool.

I used to freeze to death before I discovered the magic of real wool and thin layering. Wouldn't matter how many bulky acrylic sweaters, hats, mittens, and cotton 'thermal' waffle underwear layers I had on....BBBBRRRRRRRRR...freezing!! Plus I always looked like Michelin man.

Now I can have 4 or 5 layers on and still look like I'm wearing maybe 2 layers.
Crankin, I can't tell you how many times people have said to me "Do you mean to tell me you're not COLD?!?" and I always answer: "One word....wool."

[Jolt]

When I got there, one of the women (who was wearing jeans and regular sneakers) said, "Oh my God, aren't you freezing?" I was like, "why would you ask that?"
I had on my wool Jones Ware hiking pants, Ibex boy shorts, Smart Wool socks and hiking boots on the bottom. On top I had a base layer (not wool), an Icebreaker top, and my Go Lite jacket, along with mittens and a hat (not my coldest weather hat, but a good one).
It turns out that she thought that because I wasn't bulked up with thick puffy stuff, I would be cold. I told her one word: wool.

And this was the lady wearing JEANS? You should have been the one asking her that question! I guess some people don't know that "don't wear jeans or other cotton clothing" is one of the cardinal rules of hiking .