Warmest beanie and balaclava?

Possum Fur beanies have always been the warmest for me. Not seen a possum fur balaclava though.

The warmest balaclava I have used is the Nunatak Down Balaclava

Not as warm as a down one, but Icebreaker has a double-thickness merino balaclava that's quite warm. I also like that the merino basically eliminates that funky, funky bad breath smell that tends to linger in balaclavas…

I use a thin microfleece (Polartec) beanie as my base warm hat for all seasons. I like it because not only is it warm for the weight (~1 oz), but it is not so warm that I need to remove it when I get moving.

EDIT: As for colder temps, I have also used a North Face High Point hat by itself or with a thin balaclava. It is not a beanie, but it is very effective.

http://www.rei.com/product/712316

I have a mountain hardwear beanie with gore windstopper. Can't tell you the weight "off the top of my head" (har har… sorry)but it can't be more than 3-5oz. It's warm, pulls over my ears and there is no wasted "folded over" fabric. It fits well under a hood, some times slips off in a sleeping bag, breaths decently, dries fast, and is very warm. I'm sure there's something warmer but the wind stopper has a nice weight/warmth ratio. Never used a balaclava, except for bank robberies(shhh), but a fleece scarf is nice. Cool thread.

Sounds like you're talking about a MH Transition Featherweight Dome, Rick. It's got a Gore Windstopper barrier and a microfleece lining, and weighs 1 oz. It's my go to headwear for 3+ seasons. In combination with a MH Polarguard Powerstretch balaclava, weight 1.75 oz, I'm good down into the teens.

From the UL Denali gear lists, seems like a good place to look: they use layering::

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/hage_stowe_denali_light_post_expedition.html#gearlists

Agnes:
Smartwool hat 2.4 68.04
Seirus Balaclava 2.6 73.71
Comfort Skins N Gaiter 1.2 34.02

Matt:
Wigwam Stocking Hat 2.0 56.7
MH Balaclava 1.4 39.69
Columbia Neck Gaiter 1.5 42.53

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate the help. Keep em coming if you have any more suggestions. Eric

I would go with the MH Powerstretch balaclava and the MH Micro Dome or if it is really cold, the MH Dome Perignon. I really don't like MH but they seem to make really good hats for some reason.

I use a military headover that provides both usages
http://www.overlord.fr/imgs_prod/tour_cou.jpg

Is basically a tube of Wool, Meraklon and Nylon Tactel, you can use it as neckwarmer or a balaclava or a bonnet when foldind it.

Even if is not very pretty it doesn't look that military and it's quite light 62g / 2.2 oz and very warm. I always take it with me.

Ivan

Any further thoughts on beanies and balaclavas. I've been wearing a generic acrylic stocking cap that weighs at least 2.5 oz. in the warmer months for quilt sleeping. For the winter, I have an 2.5 oz Outdoor Research Rando cap and a generic fleece neck gaiter for the winter. Thinking of finding a better stocking cap/beanie for the fall.

Warmest? Well I can only speak from experience and on winter trips I don't consider weight to be very important. So, here is my VERY warm hat.

Bomber hats are the way to go. It's warm enough down to about zero sitting idle, below that I need my down hood. It's easily 5 times as warm as my normal wool or fleece hats. Mine's about one inch thick and so comfortable to sleep in.

Personally, I hate windstopper hats if the windstopper covers my ears. The material muffles sounds and I feel very disconnected from the environment (though they're ok when its windy).

For 3 season ultralight trips my preferred hat is made of nothing but polartec 200 fleece.

ID Primalid is the warmest beanie I've used.

A down balaclava is going to be the warmest for the weight.

In my experience the warmest balaclavas are those made with a windproof membrane like Gore Windstopper.

Synthetic fleece balaclavas are great until the wind rips. Then is when you need either a hood shell over your regular fleece balaclava or a windproof balaclava. I use one when I winter camp. Also makes a decent head cover when sleeping, along W/ a full face mask to cover my nose if the temps are below 10 F.

Eric

Warmest balaclava I have used is down filled. My current balaclava was made by Downworks in Santa Cruz, CA. I expect some of the high end down companies like Nunatuk and Feather Friends make something that is as warm or warmer. I have also found shelled hunter style caps with insulation (typically thermolite) to be quit warm, though not as warm as a full balaclava.

As to beanie… I haven't used it, but I expect something like the ID PrimaLid would be the warmest… but I typically don't want the beanie to be super warm. I want a beanie which keeps my head comfortably warm when I am active without causing my head to sweat. My favorite hats use materials which permit some air movement… Polartec WindPro (not WindStopper) or softshell materials like Schoeller Dryskin Extreme. When I stop or when it gets really cold I layer my down balaclava or the hood from the insulated jacket over the beanie.

–mark

Hells yes, bomber hats are the way to go. I like a nice rabbit fur bomber. Last winter i got a Smart Wool training beanie to go under the bomber. The beanie keeps everything dry and comfortable, its anti-microbial, lightweight, and its a nice halfway-warm layer if you get too warm. Where i live its either really hot or really cold, and the beanie is good for all seasons. I find it actually keeps me a bit cooler in the summer when i wear it under my hardhat at work.