for REAL cold weather riding...

01-09-2005, 04:55 PM

Just the thing for you ice-bikers:

BALACLAVA: Heat-exchanger absorbs heat during outward breath,
returns it with inhaled air.

By MELISSA DeVAUGHN, Anchorage Daily News

Published: January 9, 2005

Put on a Psolar balaclava or face mask
and you'll get some strange looks. That's because this relatively
new technology comes equipped with a built-in mouthpiece
that protrudes outward like an ominous Darth Vader mask.

<snipped>

I have used the Psolar HX balaclava since the beginning of
November, in temperatures from 0 degrees to 35 degrees F and in
both sunny and snowy weather. The balaclava is targeted for
biking, climbing, skiing and snowmobiling, although I have been
using it mostly for mushing. Unlike other heat exchangers on the
market, Bagby said, the Psolar is designed for high-intensity
outdoor activities and will not restrict increased levels of
breathing.

The science of the QXtec heat exchanger works like this: As you
breath out, the heat from that spent breath is trapped in the
filters of the exchanger. When you inhale, the incoming air flows
through the heated filter before entering the body. It is not,
Bagby pointed out, old air.

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