Tips for skating in the cold?

[fs1/2cab]

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A straight 8 warms you up really fast, unless you got it first try, then go for the sweet 16 (fs and bs flips)

[close]

You can warm up with flip tricks?

It takes at least 20 minutes of Ollies and 180s before I do any flips.

[close]

Kind of, you roll around and do a handful of no-complies and whatnot. But those don't really get you warm and it's not completely necessary.

How old are you?

Yeah no complies, ollies, a few 180s and all 8 pop shuvs.
I am 32 but my ankles aged twice in the last 20 years.

[A Not At All Naughty Chemist]

Expand Quote

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A straight 8 warms you up really fast, unless you got it first try, then go for the sweet 16 (fs and bs flips)

[close]

You can warm up with flip tricks?

It takes at least 20 minutes of Ollies and 180s before I do any flips.

[close]

Kind of, you roll around and do a handful of no-complies and whatnot. But those don't really get you warm and it's not completely necessary.

How old are you?

[close]

Yeah no complies, ollies, a few 180s and all 8 pop shuvs.
I am 32 but my ankles aged twice in the last 20 years.

I feel you. I'm 28. If this site still exists I'll let you know in 4 years.

[Uncle Flea]

I do like this

Bottom:

Bikini Briefs
White waffle long underwear bottoms
Patch pants because I love showing off the waffle.

Top:

T shirt
White waffle top
T-shirt again
Two zipper hoodie sweatshirts
Un studded denim vest
Leather jacket
Studded denim vest

Chinese/Russian military hat or thrasher x Venture beanie (my absolute favorite hat)

Maroon Bandana around the neck
Kefia over the bandana

One size fits all gloves
Wool fingerless gloves with fold down mittens.

That's basically the sub zero kit. Probably why I have a sixpack and a compressed spine.

[FUBAR]

Just wear a full parka. Fuck them kids.

[one-off]

the cruel, unbearable truth is that baggy pants feel cold in the winter (and long underwear too hot)

also, cotton kills

[fs1/2cab]

the cruel, unbearable truth is that baggy pants feel cold in the winter (and long underwear too hot)

also, cotton kills

Yeah. My first thought was, more textile keeps you warmer. But after excessive investigation today I realized, the cold wind gets more easily under your pants. And I will definitely not squeeze my pants into my socks. I don't wear Air Max and gold chains.

Back to straight leg pants? Slim Jeans? Steal some leggings from my girl?

[backside_frontside]

I strongly second whoever said wear a windbreaker, anorak style. Fully zip that thang up, cinch up the bottom, cinch up the hood and you're good to go. Those things really keep your body heat in. With a sweater and a tee underneath I'm plenty warm (got a beanie on too obv). Eventually, I take off the windbreaker because I get too warm and start sweating.

Also wear corduroy, it tends to be thicker fabric, or just thicker pants. I still run the loose fit. My legs don't get too cold and it's gotta be below 40 to justify wearing longjohns, which at that temp I'm probably not skating anyways.

Most importantly, keep moving!

[frontsideNECKTIE]

Never been much of a windbreaker guy until I found this all-black Girl shell jacket at a "upscale" thrift shop. Fits beautifully, and works as a great insulator between a good undershirt and a linen jacket (not big enough to use as an overcoat).


My cold weather skate fit -

Snowboarding socks - moisture wicking socks are also a good choice
Long Johns if its cold enough to inhibit warming up
Slimmer fit jeans
Thin long sleeve T, or a "waffle top" ala Flea
Maybe layered with a short sleeve for versatility
Windbreaker/shell jacket and/or hoodie
Warm lightweight linen coat, current mains are a random flannel-lined corduroy and a pleated Levi's work coat
Beanie

Pretty standard, but this is nice, light and versatile, but still warm enough to keep from completely freezing. Gloves are also handy for warming up, but I can't really get serious if they're still on during the height of the sesh

[BurgerCop]

About twice a year I'll take a few weeks to a month off skating.
It's nice to take some time to relax and let the aches and bruises heal.
Also, I occasionally develop bad habits with tricks, e.g. all of a sudden I can't pop my kickflips for shit.
I've found taking a few weeks off can help shed bad habits that have embedded themselves as reflexes.

I typically just take mid-January to mid-February (the consistently worst 4 weeks of the year here) off of skating.
Rest up and be ready for Spring.

[guyledouche]

I'm from Long Island

Wear layers or just a hoodie or sweatshirt and beanie
Wear gloves
Maybe long johns/thermal pants

If you're 35+: jog around a bit, jump rope or just skate around and gradually increase the intensity of tricks you're doing so you don't hurt yourself.

If you're young you probably don't need to worry about it.

Just listen to your body. It's not that deep.

[one-off]

Ok, I’ve figured it out

Post up at the spot in a hard fit

When you get hot, remove the outer layers and continue to stack clips in your long underwear

[camel filters]

I envy people who can warm up with regular shoves/pop shoves. Those will flip on me no matter what and deflate the rest of the session if i do them early.

[PalaceButtPlug]

basketball shorts underneath pants is my saving grace

[GoneWithTheSchwinn]

Cock sock in sub-32degree temps is a must.

[Molte]

Here’s my setup for staying warm for two hours in an indoor skatepark placed in an uninsulated concrete and steel barn at minus 4 celcius.

Legs:
Two pairs of thin woolen underwear. Both pairs are full of holes, but the holes overlap, so I’m covered everywhere. One pair of thin, loose, elastic chinos and finished up with a pair of thermal work pants.

Torso:
Two thin woolen undershirts, one thin woolen sweater, one big cotton hoodie, and finished with a down jacket.

Thin woolen socks in a pair of half cabs, a scarf, beanie and fingerless gloves.

When I layer up, it’s important to me, that inner layers are thin and made of wool, and every garment needs to be oversized, so I that nothing crawls anywhere when I move.

[Air-Bear]

Maybe this was already talked about, but has anyone figured out a reliable way to avoid/deal with sweaty, wet feet during sessions around 32F/0°?

I came back from a 1h session earlier, normal tennis socks in the Rowan Zorilla Vans, Dickies 874, thermal longsleeve under a normal longsleeve and a hoodie.
On my way out I changed into a dry bottom layer and put on a jacket. Everything felt fine, cycling to and home from the park kept most of my body warm.
But the damn toes. They went kinda numb towards the end of the session and stayed that way all the way home. I have tried just changing socks right after finishing the skate sess but that didn't help much, as the sweat from my feet and the inside of the shoes was still too much.
I have 1 pair of socks that was advertised as quick-dry/anti soak or something but they don't really do much...

[camel filters]

Maybe this was already talked about, but has anyone figured out a reliable way to avoid/deal with sweaty, wet feet during sessions around 32F/0°?

I came back from a 1h session earlier, normal tennis socks in the Rowan Zorilla Vans, Dickies 874, thermal longsleeve under a normal longsleeve and a hoodie.
On my way out I changed into a dry bottom layer and put on a jacket. Everything felt fine, cycling to and home from the park kept most of my body warm.
But the damn toes. They went kinda numb towards the end of the session and stayed that way all the way home. I have tried just changing socks right after finishing the skate sess but that didn't help much, as the sweat from my feet and the inside of the shoes was still too much.
I have 1 pair of socks that was advertised as quick-dry/anti soak or something but they don't really do much...

Have you tried baby powder? No idea if that would help but a thought I had as an outsider to this problem.

[Heshrat]

Me and my buddy went on a skate trip over the weekend. The weather was 38 degrees Fahrenheit. We’d spend about a half hour at one park and then into the warm car to the next spot.
I wore pajamas under my jeans and three long sleeves under like this kinda fleece thing jacket I have
And neither of us ended up getting colds which is sick and we got some decent skaitng in

[The real veganshawn]

I work on a loading dock so I have all the warm gear, worth the $$$

[Thebird]

I can't do the long johns, I just feel like they restrict my legs too much.  I do go for the Carhartt or Dickies duck pants when it gets cold though.  They are really good at blocking the wind.

[Sedition]

I didn't red all four pages, so this prolly repeated info. Layers is the key. Remove them as you warm up.

(1) Under Armour (or similar) Cold Gear as a base layer.
(2) Cotton or wool layer over the Under Armor.
(3) Pants / Long sleeve shirt over cotton/wool layer
(4) Hoodie
(5) Windbreaker
(6) Balaclava or Toque*
(7) Baseball hat or Knit hat
( Ski mittens (e.g. no individual fingers). Tape thumbs and tip of mitten so grip tape doesn't shred to bits
(9) Wool socks

*For years I always wore one of these when snowboarding, or on my bike in the winter, but never while skating. Two years ago I decided to try one when skating, and it was a total game changer for me...kept chin, cheeks and nose warm and cozy. Keeping your head warm really helps the rest of you stay warm, too.   

[disgruntledMTAEmployee]

it seems like the consensus here is to wear clothes.

[frontsideNECKTIE]

and don't slam

[cherry]

Ditto on the under armor type material for base layer and a nice windbreaker/anorak for outer layer. I personally like Eddie Bauer it’s a little better than ll bean but not as pricey as north face. Huf makes some decent winter gear that I can find on sale pretty regularly. Posting from upstate ny

[theextrabanana]

shout out to captains

[southphillytapwater]

My go-to pants for the cold:

50F+ Carhartt double front loose fit work pants
35F - 50F Carhartt flannel lined loose fit work pants
Below 35F - Carhartt insulated overalls with the 3 warmness rating. The sizing is kinda weird and the pockets suck but they're a dream to skate in when it's super cold. It's like a coat for your legs, you can't feel the cold air at all.

[Bumba]

The trick to staying warm is body surface area coverage. You can skip on layers if you cover more body up. Beanie, gloves and a scarf and you'll only feel cold on your nose. Once you're warmed up you can ditch the scarf and gloves and skate normally.

[the_dangery_bois]

Serious question: are you dudes (folks, sorry) who are wearing a billion layers to skate extremely skinny or something?

I spend my working day in an unheated workshop in rust belt USA.  If it’s crazy cold I’ll wear long underwear, maybe a thick wool sweater under my sweatshirt.  I’m moving like half as much as when I skate.  Sometimes I’m cold, but rarely freezing.

I also see super skinny mf’s running in those sexy Flanders tights in February.

How come everyone is dressing for the Iditarod when they’re out skating? Exercise warms the body, no?

[j....soy.....]

You are correct sir…..buck thirty five I am…..

[Sedition]

Serious question: are you dudes (folks, sorry) who are wearing a billion layers to skate extremely skinny or something?

I spend my working day in an unheated workshop in rust belt USA.  If it’s crazy cold I’ll wear long underwear, maybe a thick wool sweater under my sweatshirt.  I’m moving like half as much as when I skate.  Sometimes I’m cold, but rarely freezing.

I also see super skinny mf’s running in those sexy Flanders tights in February.

How come everyone is dressing for the Iditarod when they’re out skating? Exercise warms the body, no?

The exact point of layers is that you can adjust, as needed, to the situation. Super windy? You'll want that windbreaker. Sun comes out, no wind, and you've warmed-up on day with temps in the mod-30s? Time to ditch the windbreaker and hoodie, etc.