Cold weather gear

[Deleted]

I did my first sunrise skate of the season before work this morning and holy hell was it cold!  It was 40 degrees out and I only skated for about 30 minutes because my hands and feet were so cold they hurt.   I know that probably sounds warm to a lot of people, but it's freezing for us.  I had on two pairs of socks, legwarmers, three shirts, ear muffs, and a neck gaiter and still froze my tail off.  What do you do/wear to stay warm on your cold weather runs/rides, etc?  I usually wait about another month, when it's warmer) to skate before work but want to take advantage of the extra time I get from working at home and not commuting. 

[breezy8407]

MN here. I am not as hard core as some, but can be pretty comfortable running in the 20's. Key ingredients:

-Thicker fabric or fleece lined leggings. I have a really old pair from Athleta, but if its above freezing, I am fine in my regular workout leggings/pants.
-Stocking hat if its below freezing. If not, I can get away with a headband on my ears.
-Running gloves
-Long sleeve warmer base layer. Again, super old Nike Pro stuff, but they have brushed inside layers. Outer layer is usually looser long sleeve or 1/4zip of the same material.
-socks - nothing special, just my usual workout socks.

Something I have observed though.... my feet never get cold running, but they do when we go skating/play hockey outdoors at the rink. I am sure its because your feet are more stiff/not flexing like you do when running? So I wonder if you are experiencing the same thing since the movement is slightly different. Anecdote: my brother went through a phase where he didn't wear socks playing hockey. So, maybe its not that I know people like Smart Wool or Bombas for winter running socks.

[Deleted]

breezy8407 fleece-lined leggings sound divine! I'll have to snag a pair, as I think those plus the leg-warmers would really help. That makes sense about your feet running vs. skating. Plus, speed skates are designed to fit tight and be very stiff for energy transfer, so there's no room for thick socks. (Side note: a lot of skaters don't wear socks. EW!)

[sadlebred]

I'll add another lover of Athleta fleece leggings. I'd make sure they have a drawstring if you are skating, so you can secure the waist.
Other useful things:

-Warm gloves. Get something with Windstopper in it. I like these:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EOR6BSA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-Gloves liners. Any thin glove liners will work. Wear them under the gloves. I went to REI to try them on and bought the best fitting pair.
-Warm socks. I don't know if you can wear thicker socks with your skates, but look for some thicker socks. I can't wear wool and use Defeet Thermators, but they have been discontinued. Their Wooly Bullys are what a lot of my friends love.
-Windproof jacket. Gore makes some good ones. They aren't cheap, but they last for years.

[Deleted]

sadlebred thanks for the recs. Glove liners! Living in Southern AZ, I didn't even know there was such a thing! I can see how those would help tremendously.

[doctoranda]

I wear Baleaf fleece lined leggings, a Northface light winter jacket; a Champion 3/4 zip up long sleeve that fits tight; and some ticker socks, and running gloves & baseball cap. This keeps me warm up to approximately 25. Lower temps I add a fleece zip up underneath the jacket and warmer gloves and a hat or wear a down jacket and snow pants.

I think a trick is also to wear things that are tight and layer and NOT cotton but more tech fabrics.