wind burn

[Crankin]

Am I the only one who feels strangled and claustrophobic when wearing a balaclava? Even one that has serious openings for the mouth. I end up pulling it down from my mouth most of the time. It is so weird, it's like it is affecting my other senses. I start to feel like I can't see or hear, either. It all goes away instantly when I push it down.
I usually end up wearing just a good fleece beanie that covers my neck and if I have to, a neck gaitor.

[badger]

cataboo: ha ha, I'd probably end up with the skull and feel really stupid.

crankin: yes, I feel clustrophobic wearing my neck gaiter while cycling, or doing active snowboarding (as in huffing and puffing up an incline I didn't have enough speed to get over).

I bought the fleece mask thingy yesterday. I couldn't try them on because they were packaged up so when I got home and tried it on, it was big, even though it was a size small. I'm thinking "I didn't realize I had such a small face, I'll need an XXS at this rate". Well, upon closer inspection, the label on the inside tag said "L". I'm not sure I'll want to wear it, though. I'm not one to care too much about how I look,but I'll for sure feel very self conscious wearing this one. I'll look into the wool buff. I'm sure I can even wear it as a top in summer

[Cataboo]

My helmet makes me feel claustrophobic where it is around my neck. If I have a zipper pulled up or a neck gaiter or a bandana or whatever else around it, It gets really annoying.

Badger, you can pick which one you get. If you buy 3, you can't pick what 2 of them are.

[badger]

ok, so I just went to REI.com and saw that the wool buff is pretty much an elongated version of my smartwool neck gaiter. I was expecting more of a bandana style.

I might just get this. One of the reviewers wore it cycling.

[rubywagon]

I think they make them extra long so you can do this with it:



And a million other things. I actually started with the smart wool balaclava and it was too loose around my face, but I have a narrowish face. It did breathe well!

[soprano]

Am I the only one who feels strangled and claustrophobic when wearing a balaclava?

I'm claustrophobic enough that I can just barely manage a neck gaiter. It drives me crazy, but I've had frostbite on my nose and chin and the pain caused by cold wind is worse than feeling trapped When I need more coverage (extremely rare here in Austin) I use a fleece scarf: I drape it over my head with one end lots longer than the other, put on my helmet, and experiment with wrapping until it's secure. Haven't had to do that in a while, however; I'm good with the neck gaiter down to about 25.