Ive got gear to keep core and extemeties warm but have found no good solution for my chin and face. After 30 miles with a mask or balaclava my face gets itchy and fogging is a problem. What is your solution?
Solution was to put the helmet into wind outside the protection of the windscreen. I know that seems backasswards, because as the temp falls to 25 degrees keeping the helmet out of the airstream is the way to go, but below 25 other tactics become practical. The heated gear will take you much deeper into the cold than the helmet/"traditional" balaclava will allow. Below 30 degrees the faceshield gasket gets evermore hardened and it begins to leak and vibrate-sing. If you have a balaclava with a large eye opening, then your forehead gets super cold. At first I fought it all by trying to keep it from happening, (trying to seal the gasket better in various ways) then I realized the seeping cold air was the key to keeping the visor clear below 25, especially at the sides. Then it became a question of how to keep the face warm. Had to ditch the two balaclavas I already owned and I purchased a Harley brand 100% neoprene balaclava that had two unique features: a nose piece that deflected all breath down into the low pressure air area under the chin guard (My iicon helmet has an optional chin wind blocking piece that makes it quieter as it keeps this low pressure area from "gurgling" in the wind) and the second feature was the brow hangs atypically low, down low to mid eyebrow, and it has a point in the center nose bridge that drops down even lower yet. These features are what most would shy away from, but they're exactly what's needed when it gets super cold. Number one problem is starting back up after you've stopped for gas, as this is when fogging is the worst. I took several pairs of glasses, most of which had the foam around the eye socket, thinking that would curb the fogging and they were the worst at helping. That ever so tiny amount of breath going up out of the balaclava goes right in under the glasses and foggs instantly. I bought an anti-fog face shield and tried several anti-fogs that all worked above 30 and didn't work below 20 degrees. I found that by taking a clean, never-used microfiber cloth and polishing the inside of the faceshield to the point of being obsessed was the only thing that worked. I turned the new cloth and never used any area twice. after a very thorough polishing to remove any films or debris worked. Id hit the onramp with the shield cracked and at 75 mph I popped it closed. I pursed my lips like I was whistling downward as i exhaled for about a couple of miles and as the shield got super cold, I could then breath normally. The air would seep in around the face shield gasket thereby keeping it fog free and the neoprene balaclava covered everything but my eyes. Note that when the face shield is below 20 and the air in between your eyes and the shield is "crisp" fogging does not occur because the dew point temp is now between your skin and the balaclava and not out near the visor. Once, one of my eyes did water from the cold air, but I can state that the setup in those conditions was not uncomfortable. Once you go below 20 degrees you have to establish cool in all the right places to avoid both fog and sweating. Cool to strive for is not the uncomfortable cold, it's just not warm. You do not want your hands to be toasty, or your face because once your hands sweat, it's a condition that's almost impossible to recover from, save a glove swap, which I did at about every tank fill. The 100% neoprene kept my chin just fine, the expensive Schampa Warm Gear did not work as well, as it allowed some freezing of my breath to occur. The 100% neoprene was windproof, and it had small holes near the mouth, then the extra long nose flap took the nose breath and mouth breath and moved it all quite well out the bottom of the helmet.