Reddit reviews Polar Fleece Half Cover FACE SKI MASK Black Balaclava

I live in Anchorage, having moved up here from Southern California. Fairbanks is definitely a lot colder in the winter than A-Town.

You're going to want to sacrifice fashion for warmth, especially up there. It easily gets to 20, 30, 50 below zero, especially with any wind chill factored in. Practicality will ensure your livelihood. You can look good when it's warmer, but there ain't gonna be nothin' sexy about layers and puffy jackets and warm accessories when it's that cold.

Invest in good thermals. I have some regular grey thermals I'll wear when it's a tad above zero, but they have little function in colder weather. You'll definitely want to get Under Armour and the like. I bicycle in the wintertime, so take whatever I say, and layer on more for the absolute frozen hell that is Fairbanks.

My usual routine for biking will consist of the following layers: one pair of thin white socks, one pair of thick wool socks (think SmartWool), skin-tight UnderArmour pants and turtle-necked long-sleeved shirt, another pair of thermal pants or rubber pants if it's wet (sometimes I squeeze a pair of jeans on in this mess), long-sleeved wool or synthetic top, one pair of gloves under a pair of thicker mittens, scarf, ear muffs, beanie, sub-zero jacket. I also have Reynaud's Syndrome, so my feet and hands typically get extremely cold, so I try to get the most expensive and warmest gloves that I can. This is when it's about -10, and I have to bicycle somewhere 4 miles away.

I just went through a closet cleaning, and organized all of my winter stuff. My winter stash consists of about six or eight pairs of gloves/mittens, three pairs of boots, beanies, scarves, balaclavas, a giant sub-zero faux fur-trimmed coat, tons of wool socks, spikies, Under Armour and thermals. I prefer synthetics entirely for underlayering, only topping off with wool/natural fibers.

You do not want to half-size. When I wear thick socks (or two pairs), my feet stay warmer when they're cozier. I have a few pairs of boots, but my favorite are my insulated ski-like boots with drawstrings and velcro straps. I would even recommend wearing a pair of toe socks under thicker, warmer socks.

I also prefer scarves that are not pure wool/knitted. I had this awesome scarf (that I lost, boo) that was thin, but very warm because it wasn't very breathable. I think it was a mixture of synthetic and woolen fibers. Some things, you just don't want to be breathable, because they can retain more heat.

I told this to another person who's moving to Alaska, and this is just some general moving-to-AK advice: bring only what you need. Do not saddle yourself with a bunch of crap to bring up here. It's expensive, and you'll end up throwing a bunch of stuff out anyway, especially if you don't need it. I've been up here 5.5 years, and aside from mementos, books, and a few articles of clothing, I've pretty much started anew here.

If you're able to swing through Anchorage on your way to Fairbanks, I would recommend going to REI and the military surplus stores here. Unless you get a really, really good deal on stuff back at home and can ship it up, I would buy things here. You'll be able to get a better feel for what people wear/need up here.

Fairbanks is colder, because it's smack in the middle of nowhere, with no major bodies of water to buffer it. Anchorage gets fucking cold, but it's nowhere near the insanity that is Fairbanks. Even if it's not snowing, you have to be careful. It will be very, very icy. Sometimes, you'll be in "ice fog," which is where it is so cold, the particles in the air literally just hang there in a fog. You will want to get a pair of spikies, which are rubber or silicone things studded with metal spikes you snap on the bottom of your shoes. I wear a balaclava (full-face or nose/chin that velcros on the back), and you'll definitely want that if you're walking around town in December.

Okay, and wow, that was exhaustive.
TL;DR shopping list

• Form-fitting Under Armour pants and Under Armour tops to be your first layer; Mountain Hardware also has some good base layers
  
  
• Toe socks + warm woolen socks
  
  
• Shoe Spikes
  
  
• Balaclava
  
  
• Warm beanies Don't be afraid of ear flaps; they're really nice
  
  
• Water-proof boots that have an actual ankle. None of that low-crew cut stuff.
  
  
• A really-warm overcoat that would ideally be worn over your base layers, and long-sleeved shirt/fleece jackets. You'll want to wear this while walking/getting in-out of your car.
  
  Other advice
  
  
• Do not go out in the cold with wet hair. Your hair will freeze. I have made this mistake while biking with a wet braid, and I could have snapped my hair off of my head if I wanted to. (But I did not want to, so I did not try..)
  
  
• If you wear contacts, and it's registering as something like -30 out, I would wear goggles if I were you. Even without glasses, if you do not blink enough, your tears can start freezing on your eyelashes and your eyeballs. It is very uncomfortable..
  
  
• A half-balaclava like this is nice when going from one place to another. It's less bulky and warmer than wrapping a scarf around your face to keep your nose warm.
  
  
• Earmuffs that folder behind your skull are better than the ones that sit on top of your head.
  

I bought this half balaclava it actually works well with my helmet and I'm also a small person so I was surprised when it actually fit me. I use it during my morning commute when its below 32F. This is the first winter I'm riding too so Im not sure how it fares with temperatures below 20F. (Excluding our freak-ice-blizzard in Oct, NJ has been unseasonably warm so far...I'm not complaining though!)