Smartwool Merino 250 Balaclava

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Originally bought this for my son to wear during marching band at the Santa Parade in Peoria Illinois. 12 below windchill. It was great. So I bought one for myself to wear when walking in to work from the parking lot

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This is a great balaclava- it fits comfortably under my helmet and keeps me extra warm on cold days. The seams lay fat and are comfortable.

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Love this balaclava! I bought it a couple years ago, and don't know how I lived without it. I live in USDA zone 4, where it gets down to -25F in winter. Mainly use it for trail-hiking and snowblowing on cold winter days when a single hat and scarf layer isn't warm enough. I wear it as a base-layer, underneath a wool hat and neck gaiter. This balaclava is high quality, in design and construction. Generous in size, even fits my husband's big head, and the neck length is excellent. Good quality merino fabric, a smooth durable knit. Note that it's not wind-proof. As another reviewer mentioned, the material is too thin to wear on its own in cold weather. I prefer the thin material, as it dries fast, fits underneath a hat, and is easy to breathe through without creating a thick breath-vapor-ice-block (if you hike in the cold you know what I'm talking about). It's comfortable to wear, and seams are in non-irritating locations. Has held up fine through a few washings (machine wash and line dry), with no shrinkage. The style can be described with one word: Ninja. The reason I'm writing a review is, my husband stole my balaclava. I let him wear it "just once" on his walk to work, and now he won't give it back. So I ordered another one directly from the Smartwool website. It arrived fast, in perfect condition, and is the same exact excellent balaclava as my old one. Woohoo!

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I am a rural meter reader in Minnesota.... Last year I bought the Balaclava you create.... I wished the item was a Heavier Net.... The wind chills here can be a tad nasty....

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This is a standard part of my winter fishing gear. It allows me to either wear a baseball style cap over it to help keep the sun out of my eyes, or on those very cold days a knit hat on top. It fits well and I like it enough to have bought 3 of them. 1 for work, 1 for home, and one in case I loose one.