Skip to Content

What To Wear Snowmobiling: The Ultimate Stay Warm Guide

What To Wear Snowmobiling: The Ultimate Stay Warm Guide

The items of clothing that you put on in the course of snowmobiling will go a long way to influence your riding experience. If you’ve always wanted to know the items of clothing that can keep you warm and protected while zooming across the snowfield, then the perfect answer is waiting for you here.

The best clothing for snowmobiling are clothes that retain heat and don’t absorb moisture. A complete snowmobiling outfit should include well-insulated underlayers, waterproof outer layers, helmet, eye protection, boots, and other protective gear.

There are certain factors you must consider while purchasing the items of clothing above. A factor that might appear so insignificant to you can end up determining the kind of comfort you enjoy. Kindly read on to see these factors and some other essential things about snowmobile gear.

How to Stay Warm Snowmobiling

Although the cold winter breeze is part of what makes snowmobiling exciting, overexposure to it will rob you of your body’s warmth. You don’t have to stay away from snowmobiling to reduce your exposure to the cold winter breeze.

All you have to do is to keep yourself warm in the course of snowmobiling. If you’re wondering how you can stay warm while zooming through snow and ice, then the information below is for you.

Eat the right foods

Some foods will help you stay warm in the winter. Let’s talk about some of them and see how they keep people warm.

Drink plenty of water in the course of snowmobiling. Water helps your body to function at its peak, making a process such as temperature regulation to peak as well. If your body loses too much water, your internal temperature will drop.

Drink coffee before you start zooming across snow and ice. The caffeine in coffee will increase your metabolism. More metabolism means higher body temperature. So if you haven’t been drinking enough coffee before snowmobiling, then it’s high time you started.

Eat complex carbohydrates and whole grains. Complex carbohydrates and whole grains break down with a high amount of energy, and thereby increase the metabolism in your body. This increased metabolism will increase your body heat.

Wear the right gear

Don’t wear cotton fabrics because cotton will absorb moisture that will keep you cold. Instead of wearing cotton fabrics, you should wear materials like silk, polyester, and other materials that will keep you dry.

Also, you need to layer your clothing in order to trap as much heat as possible. Wear socks, and long underwear, then add extra layers of thick clothing.

Shield your ears, face, and neck from wind. A snug-fitting cap and a helmet with face shield will help protect your face and ears from the cold wind. Add a scarf or neck warmer to your neck so that it will stay warm also.

You should keep your hands warm. Get windproof and waterproof gloves for this hand warming purpose. Ensure that the gloves you put on are neither too loose nor too tight so that you can steer your snowmobile easily.

What to Wear

Before you start riding your snowmobile, you must wear all the items of clothing that we have mentioned below. We have mentioned how each of the items below serves excellent purposes for you as you ride through cold environments.

Dress in layers

Underlayers will keep you comfortable and warm as you ride your snowmobile. Underlayers are primarily for transferring moisture from the skin to the environment.

Synthetic fibers like polypropylene and polyester are ideal for this kind of transferring purpose. While choosing underlayers for yourself, you should choose the ones that are neither too loose nor too tight.

I like to start with a Water Wicking Underlayer (link to Amazon), then a set of Poly Pros (link to Amazon) on top of that, and finally a waterproof jacket over the top of everything.

While tight underlayers will prevent your body from breathing freely, loose ones won’t contact your body adequately for sweat removal. We recommend that you wear about 3 to 5 layers. If you need more warmth, you can decide to wear more than 5 layers.

Just ensure that you don’t wear any cotton material along the line because cotton will absorb moisture instead of releasing it to the atmosphere.

Here’s a helpful video showing 3 stages of dress for 3 different stages of cold weather:

Wear a snowmobile suit

Usually, the snowmobile suits comprise a pair of pants and a jacket to wear over the pants. The suits have special designs that focus on warmth retention. The popular materials for snowmobile suits are gore-tex and acrylic. These materials don’t absorb moisture from the outside since they are waterproof.

Many snowmobile suits are not only waterproof, but also windproof. If you wear high-quality snowmobile suits, then you can boast of complete protection against wind, wetness, and snow particles.

I’ve gotten by without a snowmobile suit for years, but I must admit, wearing one makes a huge difference. It’s basically an amped up version of a snow suit for adults.

Wear warm gripping gloves

Your hands will be actively involved in the snowmobiling, so it makes sense to keep them very warm. Get a good pair of gloves and put them on before you start to cruise around with your snowmobile. Gloves will not only keep your hands warm, but they will also allow you to have a better grip on the snowmobile’s handle.

Ensure you get the appropriate size of gloves for yourself so that you will have the privilege to steer easily. Make sure you use only the gloves designed for snowmobiling since the gloves for other purposes won’t likely be waterproof and windproof.

Wear a mask/balaclava

If you leave your face open, cold wind will blow over it until you start feeling very uncomfortable. A mask or a balaclava (link to Amazon) is the right thing you need to protect your face from coldness.

Fabrics like fleece or polyester are ideal for masks because they will allow you to breathe freely and they don’t absorb moisture.

Wear a safe helmet

A helmet will protect you from injuries that can result from impacts. You should always put on a right-sized helmet while riding your snowmobile. Most snowmobile helmets have a sun shield to protect your eyes from intense snow reflections and sun rays.

Snowmobile helmets allow free air circulation, but they retain enough heat to keep your head warm. Always wear your helmet tight and keep the straps tight also. Always watch out for the approval of DOT before you use a helmet. If a helmet has DOT approval, then it means such a helmet is reliable.

Wear warm socks in layers

Wear socks to keep your feet warm. The ideal fabrics for socks include wool, silk, fleece, and the many other synthetic fabrics.

I usually wear a water wicking sock and then a thick fleece sock over that for extra warmth and moisture removal.

Waterproof boots

Boots will keep your feet warmer and well protected from impacts. The ideal types of boots for snowmobiling are ones that combine rubber with other waterproof materials.

Most snowmobile boots have breathable liners to keeps off perspiration. Ensure you don’t settle for anything less than a pair of high-quality boots because your feet are actively involved in snowmobiling.

Trust me on this one, get good boots. This is one of those times it’s worth spending the extra money and getting warm comfortable boots. There’s nothing worse than being on a long ride and your feet are cold and hurt the whole time.

Wear protective goggles

You can’t hinder snow and other debris from flying around, but you can hinder them from reaching your eyes by wearing goggles. You should consider the weather while choosing goggles to put on.

If the day is very bright, then dark lenses will shield you from the excessive bright light. During cloudy days, you should go for colors like blue, amber, or rose.

If you have a full face helmet with a face shield, you won’t need goggles.

Windshield Benefits

The most obvious benefit of a windshield is its ability to reduce the turbulent effects of strong winds. While a layperson may assume that a windshield doesn’t have any other benefit, a learned person knows that there are several more benefits.

Windshields protects the person on snowmobile from flying debris, snow, ice, and insects. It might surprise you to realize that the windshields increase the speed of snowmobiles. They are aerodynamically designed to resist air drags, which of course tend to reduce speed.

Some windshields have UV coating that protects riders from harmful ultraviolet radiation. It is also important to note that windshields increase visibility since their shapes prevent the accumulation of snow that can obstruct the rider’s view.

Hand Warmers

Hand warmers are perfect for keeping hands warm while you ride your snowmobile on a very cold day. There are various types of hand warmers. The common types for snowmobiling purposes include battery-powered, air-activated, and supersaturated solution hand warmers.

An average battery-powered hand warmer can keep your hands warm for about six hours before it will require recharging. You can adjust the level of heat that you want to feel on your hand when you use a battery-powered hand warmer.

Air-activated hand warmers are disposable after the first usage. They generate heat through chemical reactions that get activated by air. Some air-activated hand warmers can produce heat continuously for ten hours.

Supersaturated solution hand warmers use a principle very similar to that of air-activated hand warmers. However, they have one advantage over the air-activated hand warmers. You can reuse the supersaturated solution hand warmers a couple of times before you will have to dispose them.

The factor responsible for this reusability is the reversible nature of the reaction that generates heat within this type of hand warmer.

Sharing is caring!