Cold Weather Running Gear
What is your favorite gear for running outside in the winter/cold weather? I’m specifically looking for suggestions for ear warmer headbands that stay put, but if you have any other favorite items I’d love to hear about those too!
*My favorite cold weather leggings are the polartec fleece lined Altitude tight from Athleta, but to be honest I’ve never tried any others and haven’t run in them yet as this will be my first season running outdoors in the winter (I’m usually a treadmill girl in the off weather). They’ve been amazing for winter hikes though!
- 4 Replies
Hey – maybe someone with long hair might be able to answer this better than me, but I do like a smart wool headband my wife gave me a while back. It keeps my ears warm, lets my head vent and absorbs sweat all at the same time. Its this one: https://www.smartwool.com/shop/merino-sport-fleece-wind-training-headband-sw017360 but I bet their other ones would be great too.
Another thing I like to do when it’s just medium cold is to take one of my old gaiters and cut them into thirds and then I just use that as a sweatband that I can also pull down over my ears. I am a sweater, so I’ll put a couple in my pockets so when it gets too wet, I’ll swap it out my ears don’t get cold from the sweat.
My favorite cold-weather running tip is the ’20º rule’. I dress as if it is 20 degrees higher than it actually is which helps me from getting too warm too fast. For example if it’s 60 outside, what would I wear if it were actually 80? Shorts and a tee shirt… ?
This is the second suggestion I’ve seen about using gaiters- I’ve never thought of it but I do have one so I’ll give it a try! For me it’s mostly the wind that bothers my ears more so than the cold, I get a lot of ear pain even in the summer if it’s really windy so a gaiter may be all I need!
My vote is for anything you can layer. I’m a big fan of headbands (like this bright one by Brooks – so good for staying visible on grayer days!), because I can always throw a hat over them when it’s really, really cold.
Thank you for the suggestion! I’ll look into the brooks one- I love their shoes and shorts so I’ll probably love their headbands too!