Originally Posted by
MoAlpha
I have exactly the same dilemma, but I don't think the $100 solution is going to help much. I think I've gone up to about 80 and I'm still miserable when it's much below freezing. What I have found helpful is just to make sure the core temp stays up. That's where a lot of the signaling for vasoconstriction in the extremities is coming from anyway. I also think lack of thermal mass may be why people like us have particular problems.
This is going to be my lightest winter since I ran XC in college and I'm not looking forward to it.
Everyone is different in terms of cold tolerance, too. For example, my feet are not nearly as much of a concern. I use regular shoes down to about freezing, no problem, while my friends are using booties. I use toe covers around freezing and only neoprene booties when in the 20's or lower. No problemo.
But my fingers seem to be more sensitive. Probably best to use mittens and give up the dream of a warm glove. My mittens plus hand warmers are toasty down to as low as 10F (which is as cold as it ever gets around here), and on "typical" winter days of mid 20's I don't even need the hand warmers, just mittens and glove liners.