Hello, I'm de-lurking after about a month of reading the board to weigh in on the freezing ears-- I'm up in Connecticut and it is bitter up here. I have a fulled wool hat (run through the washer/dryer on hot a few times) that fits like a toque and is so warm that my ears (unlike my thumbs, toes, and face ) are comfortable. I took an old helmet and removed the fitting pads, so the Velcro sticks to the hat and the helmet fits right. The hat is maybe 1/8 of an inch thick and no wind gets through. Just have to adjust the bottom edge so I can hear well.

Good luck! And thanks to the board for being here-- I'm loving the posts.