What's your winter gear?

Qadupae

Barefooters
Sep 28, 2010
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With temperatures dipping into the 20's and 30's at night in Minnesota, its time for me to start switching out my running gear to prepare for winter. It has me thinking, though, because I never really did much research into what I really ought to wear for winter since I am such a beginner runner. I thought everyone here could help out in suggestions of what they choose to wear for the colder months, if there is a particular brand you prefer or not, and so forth.

My choices so far and they will probably change soon since I know some of them aren't the best:

Head: Bandana- cotton or Balaclava- fleece and nylon, I think

Upper Body: Long sleeve cotton shirt, either Adidas nylon jacket with thin mesh layer or Danskin jacket without mesh-unknown material

Lower Body: Cotton thermal pants, Exercise pants- unknown material

Pretty much the biggest change I need to make for my gear is more fleece and nylon gear, or at least wicking, and less cotton. I'm just so new to clothing designed especially for winter running ^_^;
 
Your Adidas top and the

Your Adidas top and the exercise pants should be fine but I'd recommend easing right off the cotton and replace it with either really lightweight Merino from someone like Icebreaker, Ibex or Minus 33, or a synthetic base-layer - lots of brands to choose from there

It sounds as though you are not about to be doing very long runs yet but if you sweat much into cotton and take a walk break, or run into the wind, you'll get chilled very quickly.

Don't forget some gloves!
 
 Hat and gloves are good to

Hat and gloves are good to have. I find that anything around 20 or lower, I need to double up on the gloves. And under about 35 or so, I put on a pair of running tights.

I have a long sleeved wicking shirt that I got at Target a number of years ago (very cheap) that's pretty good as a base, then I top that with multiple layers as necessary. For windy days under 0, I have a thin nylon jacket that does a remarkable job of keeping the wind from doing me in.

My experience is that it's a lot easier to over dress in the Winter than it is to under dress.
 
Chris: Definitely no long

Chris: Definitely no long distances yet ^_^ My max so far is only 3.4 miles since I just want to focus on 5k until after winter. Maybe next winter, I might try for much longer since hopefully I will be more comfortable with my running. Is cotton suggested for long runs or was there something else you were going to mention in reference to long distance running?

Matt: Oooh, totally forgot to mention my gloves >< I agree with you about overdressing. I actually found that it helps on some days if I am near home to overdress so that my body gets warm enough for barefooting, then shed the layers when I come around to home again halfway and shed my minimals for the last mile or so. But its the cotton that stops me short every time for being able to shed my jacket >< Do you think Target would have similar good long sleeves still? Do you remember if the shirt is Champion or similar brand.

I feel silly about investing in some higher brand name shirt when I am a beginner, maybe once I become a regular to 5k's I will feel the need to, but otherwise I am such a bargain hunter. Target is about the highest in quality I usually go, I normally go for our local Savers and sometimes Goodwill. That's why I usually end up with cotton, the really good tech shirts never make it to there.
 
I use a moisture wicking base

I use a moisture wicking base layer, very comfortable. Champion brand from target, was a gift so I don't know the price.
 
A capri length running pant

A capri length running pant and short sleeve or no sleeve shirt.
 
Unless you have abrasive

Unless you have abrasive sandals they should be fine. But along with just scraping up your feet if they go numb you're at risk for frostbite, and sandals won't help your feet warm up much. (The ground won't be cooling them down anymore, but you'd still need some socks or something if you need to warm up quickly.) And most sandals are pretty minimal anyways.
 
Qadupae-- cotton is no good.

Qadupae-- cotton is no good. Once it gets wet (whether from sweat or snow/rain) it can be a real liability and keep you cold. I'm not sure what kind of situations you're running in, but since you're in Minnesota, you probably need to be serious about gear. The mountain rescue folks where I live have a poster that declares frankly "cotton kills".

A really good hat is super useful since it makes a major difference for warmth, but is small enough to stick in your pocket when you get too hot.

You want fabrics that don't hold water. Lots of polyester and fleece stuff can be good, and you don't need to get top of the line. Champion tech shirts are on sale at Target sometimes. (But if you want to, top of the line, I'd suggest Sporthill --- they make some really great winter gear just for running, and they've got occasional sales.) But polyester and fleece do tend to get stinky.

I should also mention WOOL. Merino wool is a really great warm winter material and it doesn't have the terrible stinkiness problem that polyester does. "Smartwool" and "Icebreaker" make good wool stuff. Pricey but good. An investment for sure but one that you can use for a long time.
 
Didn't they used to call the

Didn't they used to call the old cotton army uniforms "cotton kills"? Hats can definitely make a big difference, and they are easy to change out of. I guess I'm behind on all my clothing technology, I usually just go with a light jacket, a t-shirt, and shorts. Then again after a mile or two I'm putting off enough heat that I still feel hot in the middle of winter.
 
Qadupae - cotton is not the

Qadupae - cotton is not the best plan for active use in any conditions. By the time you're running longer distances you'll know that :smile:

Danjo - I think that winter conditions in Minnesota will be quite a lot cooler than you are used to in New Mexico!
 
Yes, Mike, in the winter.  I

Yes, Mike, in the winter. I get extra hot when I run, even in the winter. One time I was dressed just like that, and this guy all bundled up on his bike yelled to me, "Are you crazy?!" It didn't help that I was barefoot either, I suppose.
 
When I was running shod if it

When I was running shod if it was under 65-70 degrees out it usually took me about 5 miles to heat up. But if it was 80+ I would have fairly serious heat problems if I did not keep myself heavily hydrated. Temperature sensitive I guess. :puzzled:



My last run barefoot it was 37 degrees out, with 15-25mph wind. Wore moisture wicking base layer, moisture wicking shirt, moisture wicking heavy shirt (thick enough to have a zipper), medium to heavy "silky sweat pants" (not sure what they are really called, but its like basketball shorts only as long pants), and a winter hat. Did 3 miles and never got hot enough to want to take a layer off (which is a bit worrisome considering ill be running in much lower temps over the following months). Afraid ill end up running in a coat... So yeah, im a bit jealous of your running heat. :p
 
Oh, please don't be jealous.

Oh, please don't be jealous. It is miserable during the summer. I get a really red face. Looks like a baboon's ass, or so my prescious hubby told me. Hee.
 
As stomper mentioned,

As stomper mentioned, synthetic base layers can get pretty smelly due to... their syntheticness H) Merino wool is pretty much king for wicking natural fabrics (although I've heard that other wicking natural fibres made of things like coconut have that same odour resistant property). And if this is important to you, they're far more eco-friendly as well.

DNEchris already mentioned some brands and Minus33 is very affordable in comparison to most of the other namebrand merino wool makers. I recently picked up a their quarterzip top and bottoms since I found an online store in New York that had decent shipping to Canada (took me a few days of research to try and find affordable merino wool base layers at stores that wouldn't charge me an arm and a leg to ship up here).

Those glove/mitten hybrids can come in handy since heat gets trapped inside of it and once it gets too hot, it's a fairly simple procedure to let out all the heat by just taking off the mitten part.
 
Phil H. wrote:Those

Phil H. said:
Those glove/mitten hybrids can come in handy since heat gets trapped inside of it and once it gets too hot, it's a fairly simple procedure to let out all the heat by just taking off the mitten part.

Omg, yes! My husband has a pair of those for biking and I've used them now and then and they are fantastic! We got them at Fleet Farm a few years ago, but haven't been able to find them since at the low price they were there. I could always get them at another store, but like I said, I'm thrifty ^_^

I'm thinking Target will be my first choice to check for some long sleeve shirt since my jackets are both pretty good. I think the harder part for me is finding the tight base layer pants without feeling like they are too tight. Many things in our stores around here are not designed with "birthing" hips and thighs in mind ^_^

As for my feet, as it gets really cold, I will probably start wearing my shoes again. I've been playing around with the idea of making myself some tabi socks even since I know how to knit socks already, that way i could make some that were wool or a synthetic wool blend.
 
We have found that TJMAX has

We have found that TJMAX has great prices. I have bought brand name running gear there. For example I bought two pair of long running pants for 12.99 each that were usually 40.00.

Just got my husband some for 14.99.

Next step would have been Target. They seem to have the next best prices.



Peanut
 
I have run comfortably at 8

I have run comfortably at 8 degrees.

I wore an Underarmour long sleeved shirt, a light weight polar sweater ( the kind my mountain climbing son in law wears ) and alight weight short jacket.

Also, on my head was a watch cap and one of those breathable neoprene wind screens.

On my legs I wore Underarmour cold gear tights and a pair of regular faux velvet pants over them.

Hands - gloves with mittens over them.

I actually ended up unzipping the jacket and taking off the face shield! It was beautiful at night with the sparse street lights in our little tree lined streets, a light snow falling , no cars and the crunch, crunch of the snow . WOW



Namaste



Peanut