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In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
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Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
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Have some fun in the travel section.
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My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
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The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
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Cycling when it was 14F. Frozen toes. Wind burned face.
Was going for a group ride, everyone assembled, but it suddenly rain, cancelled. Went for a cuppa instead, it still raining heavily after some time and everyone was still waiting for it to rain. Me couldn’t wait and just brave the rain, felt I’m faster in the rain when it’s not. Is it because of the cooling effect ? Haha =)
Mountainbiking in Austria! It was very very cold. About -15°C… I used the warmest mittens, but after one hour my fingers were icy… :D
Just completed a run this morning at -5°C with short pants. A couple of guys looked at me as if I wear a christmas costume. I don’t care :P If you just keep running, short pants, a craft shirt and a winter jacket is enough… I don’t need more :) Love to run at this temperatures.
Best wishes from Germany,
Lennart
Hi, the most cold day i run was -1degC, i was cold to death. many of my friends that was running with me also have give up because of the cold. all the way i was thinking ….what the hell i´m doing here..i must be crazy.
Coldest run: – 20k in -3*C and lot of snow, my feet were numb for two more days…
was -9C yesterday in Eindhoven (NL). coming from Alicante (Spain) I totally feel your pain
Coldest run, cycle & swim? Well, by no means as cold as what you are experiencing. I live in one of the hottest and remotest parts of north-west Australia where it is incredibly hot and humid. So as soon as it drops to below 25 degrees celsius..well that is freezing!! And last year the water temp dropped to below 20 degrees celsius…now that was incredibly cold by our standards ;)
Cycling surrounded by snow in 2007 in Copenhagen at -10*C was incredible!
Being from Brisbane, Australia, my coldest run isn’t particularly cold. But I’ll go for the 2012 Paris marathon. Cold north wind and long wait to get my warm weather gear back afterwards. Just couldn’t warm up until I got back to the metro.
Running in between fields in snow here in Belgium, when I mannaged to find an unfrozen streem of water between two fields and noticed to late and sank my new pair of shoes along with my feet completely under the freezing water. Not so much fun ;)
Coldest run a nice -20 degree ice skating day in Boone NC. Coldest ride… Technically not coldest, but since it was 34 degrees and rain/icing the extra moisture made for an extra week recovery from that race in Greenville SC!
Last Winter, I went for a cycle with a few mates. A good way into our ride we were discussing the fact that our legs were feeling heavy and wondered why. That all ended when one of them check the temperature… 3 deg C
was -38 here yesterday… Vive le Quebec!
This morning it’s -32 with the windchill…. counting the days until Spring.
Stay warm, stay safe folks!
my coldest run was in Slovenia, Podcetrtek, last year in January. Not too much cold actually, it was -3C, but I remember immediately after the workout the wonderful effect of the Olimia SPA… ;-)
Thanks Ray for your articles and reviews, terribly useful and interesting to me! ;-)
Alfredo from Italy
Last year it was -20 °C and running in such a temperature was suprisingly ok :-)
Not biking, though, when temperatures go below -10 °C, its better to leave bike at home.
Coldest run ever…. running laps on the deck of the ship on an Alaskan cruise through The Inside Passage. Beautiful…. but freezing!
Well, I guess my coldest run was around -2 degrees here in Oslo. I do have to walk sometimes 1km to my indoors running track, doing that under -16, -18 degrees.
But I guess that worse than the above -2 degrees run here was the Paris Marathon last year. I guess temps were around 3 degrees, but it did feel colder with only a short and a t-shirt…
I did a gravel road race in March a few years ago. It was 66 miles of dirt roads with 4000 vertical feet of climbing. It was 17 degrees and both my water bottles were frozen within 30 minutes (non insulated bottles=dumb). So, 3 hours in that weather without water. Ouch.
5k in February Run the one your with. The wind chill was -7 and it was cold. But I was with the one I love so maybe not as cold as it could have been.
Skiiing last week. Sat on a slow chairlift with a windchill of -48*C (yup -54*F). Brrr
A few years ago, I was out for a 30 minute short run. It was COLD! So cold that my fuelbelt water bottle (which had been filled with room temp water), froze to near solid in the 30 minutes I was outside! BRRR
Windsurfed for many years and living i Denmark that means cold water half of the year. Remember the times we been walking through slushice to get to the open water :-)
I did a gravel road race in March a few years ago. It was 66 miles of dirt roads with 4000 vertical feet of climbing @ 17 degrees. Ouch.
The coldest? Gosh, I wouldn’t know. I’ve been biking to work (almost) daily the last couple of weeks, and three mornings, including this morning, were pretty cold. And there’s the beach race Egmond-Pier-Egmond from 2010, that got cancelled due to expectations of heavy snow. I went to the beach nonetheless, and rode the route. It was about -10 Celcius, with a 6Bf wind. That was cold, too….
-15 C with face mask for 15km – it was cold as hell, but the air was very clean and dry. Awesome afterwards to feel (or not) the legs, since they were frozen :) Used two tights and onion technique to keep me warm :) Keep running!
20f and snow on the ground, my first sub freezing run. felt like a cartoon character slipping all over the place
Living in coastal North Carolina, we don’t have generally have the colder weather many other folks have…Buf we have rain and cool weather. Last week I started out on a 3 mile run and about 50 feet into it, a downpour began. It was about 40 degrees F and windy and it was a miserable run.
By the time I was finished, I was soaked through and had chattering teeth.
Thanks for the give-away. Ray!
I’m frontera Puerto Rico it doesn’t get too cold here middle 60 is the coldest, but while on vacation in the US I tried to run on 39 degree only ran 5k ill never be doing that again lol
I did an annual ride one year with my then girlfriend on the first weekend of April. It was called the Tour Dallas, pretty fun ride and it was only the second time my girlfriend had been on a bike. We new it was gonna be cold so we dressed properly. Well, it turned out that during the middle of our ride, it started snowing! Usually, its a pretty large turnout but that year was much smaller. But it was still fun, I liked to tell people that I’ve biked through snow!
I’m from Puerto Rico it doesn’t get too cold here middle 60 is the coldest, but while on vacation in the US I tried to run on 39 degree only ran 5k ill never be doing that again lol
Coldest run was a trail run in Belgium when it was freezing and I hadn’t brought any winter clothing.
My coldest run was in Stockholm at -15*C last year – it was a beautiful experience. Enjoy the city, it’s great for running :-)
My coldest run is pretty much an ordinary one of yours in a mild winter.
I’m a freshman in running, and tend to go swimming when it’s cold.
I’m from Puerto Rico it doesn’t get too cold here, but while on vacation I tried to run on 39F only ran 5k ill never be doing that again lol
Cycling cross some years ago in -20 C – a championship race. The winners flowers looked good until they came inside.
100 km bicycle ride in -5 C, with a strong wind. Frozen water and frozen toes. :)
Went rowing today, -6 C, but still it was worse in December. It was around -5, heavy rain, then snow, water freezing on our oars and boat. So much fun. Coffee and cookies afterwards.
I’m from Puerto Rico it doesn’t get too cold here, but while on vacation I ran on 39F ill never be doing that again lol
In december 2012 my friends and I had a little “race”. It was 6h race on 4 km circle. We started at 6 in the morning at -8°C. At sunrise, the temperature droped to -11°C and at the end of the race it was already little bit warmer. Only -5°C.
I’m from PR it doesn’t get too cold here, but while on vacation I ran on 39F ill never be doing that again lol
my coldest run was a few years back when i spent a summer as a backpack guide in roosevelt national forest. needless to say i was shocked to be playing in the snow in june and was thankful that i had packed some winter clothes since i had traveled from 100+ temp in texas. but needless to say i learned the value of a pair of gloves as i got to learn first hand the beginning stages of frost bite on my hands and toes. along with the the same day my first expierence snow shoeing as i was told to take them anyway, even though i had argued with my boss saying i shouldn’t take the extra weight because it was almost july and there shouldn’t be a need for them on my run, especially with how little snow has just been dusting the trails latly. after attempting to jog in knee high snow for a few min i strapped up and made much better time and speed. but by then my toes had already gone on strike from this flat lander. cold run indeed, almost too cold for me, but has continued to be one of my fondest memories of my time in colorado for that’s the last time i saw that much snow, and attempted to run in it, i said it was fun, and fond, not my smartest moment.
As you are off to Stockholm dress for every weather.
I ran the Stockholm marathon last June and the week before I left, they were experiencing temperatures of 24C. I hoped and prayed it would come down just a little to make the run comfortable and packed singlets and short shorts. On June 6th 2012 Stockholm experienced it’s coldest and wettest June day since 1928. Heavy rain turned into torrential rain which turned into sideways, torrential rain when the wind picked up. Oh and the temperature drop I was looking for came true, to the tune of 6C! I had to buy something, anything, with sleeves and gloves that morning which turned out to be ladies mediums but it was all the shop had left.
On the upside I did run a PB and the medal was pretty cool. The only way to describe it is like a manhole cover for the drains in ‘It’s a Small World’. And to cap it all off, my wife and to undress and redress me on the side of the road as my arms and hands were numb for an hour after I finished
In Finland it tends to get pretty cold in winter.
My coldest run has been somewhere around -23C. With a cold weather mask and proper clothing there are no problems with training in freezing temperatures.
And the coldest MTB training in -27C when I did a nice 2,5h training. And I have some evidence from that: link to lh5.googleusercontent.com
I live in Singapore and Australia, so runs that I consider cold (12* celsius) are pretty weak in comparison to all the North Americans, North Asians and Europeans but when I’m cycling my hands still freeze solid! What can I say I feel the cold!
So instead I thought I’d tell you about my hottest run! Singapore. Midday. In the sun. 8km. I had just moved there and thought this was a great idea. I was so dehydrated. I needed to recover the rest of the afternoon. I never did that again!
-8C sundag 13th of january, felt like -15C.
Running this morning in -10 , I’m still not right from it
I have to complete 1 1/2 mile run withing 13:52 for my job every 6 months. A couple of years ago the run fell at the beginning of February. It was a windy morning about 33 or 34 degrees and drizzling rain. There were about five of us that had to do it that morning. One of the guys failed and had to make it up 30 days later.
Being in Malaysia, we’ll never get cold weather! this March I’ll be hiking up Mount Kinabalu, where the temps will go as low as 5 degrees Celcius… It’ll be the coldest I’ve ever been
I tried to run on 39F on vacation once, I’m from PR ill never be doing that again
-8C sunday 13th of january, felt like -15C.
Im in New Brunswick, Canada and here its -2F and -26F with the windchill factor (-19c and -32c-wind), it’s the treadmill for me this am.
I was so cold on that bike ride (nothing with snow) that i can’t remember how I got to the bottom of the hill without fall of freezing (Arrábida, Portugal)…
Very welcome to Stockholm! The thermometer on my balcony said -20*C this morning. It’s supposed to get a lot “warmer” (0*C-ish) next week though. If you’re into nordic/cross-country skiing, there are a lot of good spots around Stockholm right now.
Coldest run: Last winter was fairly snow free so I consequently did very cold runs frequently. A lot of them sub -15*C. This winter has been very snowy, but xc ski run the other day in -18*C sure was refreshing.
My coldest run was the 2011 polar dash in Minneapolis. -15 F that day. Ran the fastest 10k since I was in my 20s and came in first in my age group. Since I moved to mn from dc, I have found the colder it is, the faster I can run.
About to head out on one of my coldest runs, -18c with a windchill of -28c.
A year ago was running one day with my friends at 6:00 am on snowy track. Temperature was -18°C but wind made it feel like -22°C. We made 16km distance run instead of 24km . In my trainnig plan it should be “long easy run” that day, but it was “hardest I ever made”. I will never do it again and will never run when its under -12°C wiht wind.
Does rowing in the cold count? Training camp in Zarnen, Ch. Cold enough for splashes to freeze on your clothing as you rowed.
Cycling to work for over one hour in minus 21,5 deg C. Slightly numb in the end.
running last year in Nuremberg at -17°C while my girlfriend was sweating in Seattle :)
link to goo.gl
This morning I ran in – 12° C circumstances but I didn’t feel cold one single moment. Last summer, I went to the alps to climb the Col du Galibier with some friends the 1st of september. We did the col du Mollard the day before in +/- 2° C temperature and pouring ice rain. The combo of being accustomed to > 25° C temperatures for the preceding two months, being cold and soaking wet, and the danger of a wet descent was incredibly terrifying, we were trembling and shaking in the car for half an hour after the ride. As we headed back to our hotel at 1800 meters it started to snow, so we decided against the 2600 meter summit of the Col du Galibier and headed to Vaison La Romaine and climbed Mont Ventoux the next day in stead.
My coldest run was last year in January. A day before I bought my very first running shoes and I just needed to test them straight away. Despite it was freezing and the roads and sidewalks were very slippery, I went outside. I didn’t dare running until the forest, because I was afraid to slip and fall. However, in the forest the pathways weren’t even slipper because of the sand paths. I started running my usual route, feeling I was walking on air. It was freezing, minus 10 degrees, but it felt great.
I am from cold climate and I hate cold, so I am usually well prepared for cold weather or stay inside. One of the runs I remember was during an otherwise warm autumn but the temp suddenly fell well below zero. I was running in very thin clothing and I absolutely felt like running without any pants at all…. Another was a sprint tri, as it was summertime no one really paid too much attention to weather but it turned out to be only about +12, so starting your bike leg soaking with water (it was windy as well) ended up with people nearly falling off from the bike in T2 because they were absolutely stiff from cold and wind. Run was the best part of that day…..
I don’t really feel cold when running or biking because here in Naples Italy the weather is not so extreme. This winter though we’re having a lot of rain, cold rain coming from guess where… Sweden. :)
I have got to go by scooter in the pre-dawn to swimming so, even though I am tough, the trip down to the swimming pool at 6AM, under that cold rain is really a challenge.
Roads are treacherous and you’ve got to drive slow… and the rain bounces off the scooter and hits me in the face from below. It’s that kind of very thin but very cold rain, almost snow… that hurts… almost like CUTTING your skin.
Hope that’s a good entry? :)
I ran across the North Yorkshire Moors through the snow. It was so cold that I lost one of my trainers in a snow covered bog and didn’t even realise because my feet were so numb.
I ended up with frostbite. My normal 10mile run should have taken me 1.25 hours but I finally made it to my rendezvous 3.5 hours late.
the 910 is perfectly matched to the wrist of a snowman ;-) Meilleures salutations.
I remember I did some altitude training at a mountain resort. I ran 15K worth of 9% hills in 11-degree C (that’s about 50F) cold! I ran the whole way without sweating, but as soon as I closed the door behind me in the house it came out by the bucket!
Well, since I live in Strayyyyya (Australia day spelling), I once went for a run when it was a whopping 5*C, it was a little drizzly, I now just wait for it to warm up a little. Though my water bottle nozzle once froze at swimming.
Running in a snow storm with my soon with almost no visability
Few weeks ago… Poland… Krakow… Sunday morning… 15km… -15C :)
Here in Croatia we have the famous northern “Bora” wind, blowing regularily with 130km/h and more – real “fun” to run in these conditions! ;-) Although the measured temperature did not drop much below 0C, the windchill is difficult to explain, but i met people from Norway, who claimed that never in their life they have been freezing as much! :D
Wednesday last week I decided that my morning commute would be a long one through the Dutch Dune landscape. Ended up to be a 28km mountainbike snow trail in -11 C. Instead of 50 minutes it took me 1 1/2 hour to arrive at work. Cold toes and a completely frozen water bottle was the result. Took the short way home that afternoon (at 16km) so I could do a nice 8km run afterwards.
Though Dutch winter days, but still loving it!
my coldest run I think was about -4 here in london Brrrrrrrrrrrr
Lived in Boston for 8 years, so there was at least a few weeks every year of running in bone chilling cold.
I only started running recently and it doesn’t get that cold in the South of France. My coldest run was about 3C. Although many mud puddles had frozen over.
One of my coldest runs (9km) was this morning at -3*C. Not as low as some of the temperatures already posted, but pretty cold by UK standards plus I did have to contend with compact ice under foot!
This is me live running on a Friday in bratislava slovakia! Will die ton have a nice watch like this especially to train for my first marathon in April! Vienna! I am training today for a 20k under – 6 degree and snow everywhere! Wish me good luck for the run! And hopefully good luck for the watch,! Keep running running running running running
Actually, I love cold weather, so I like a lot running when the outiside temperature is below zero.
One of the most hardcore runs I’ve ever done was a 4 Km ring in Pila, a place in Aosta Valley, Italy where I use to spend my winter holidays…
-15 C°, VERY icy trail… fortunately I was using my winter trail running shoes, that have spikes, so the grip was ok.
The last couple of Weeks we are running against the elements. It is freezing -10 and the wind is blowing like crazy.
Living in Newfoundland, winters often do leave me with frozen eye lashes and other parts. Coldest run, Stephenville -25C, 2011
My coldest swim was in the river at 3ºC (air) and without neoprene because I want to feel nature on my skin.Of course I never do this again (too much nature for a day) :-p
23rd December it was -27 C here. I did my regular Nordic walking exercise.
Being Australian I have never experienced running in temperatures you describe. I think the coldest I have ever run in was about 6 C and for that just needed a slightly warmer jacket.
Well I’m in Florida so it never really gets *that* cold, but coldest has to be two years ago training for my first half marathon I was out on my long run of the week in 27 degree F (That’s darn cold for Florida) and it actually started snowing on me. That was a fun run, actually ran a mile further just to keep running in the snow!
Like most people starts running adventure in spring I always wanted to start in the middle of winter. I started running last winter February, my first few minutes trainings was in about -20dg.
Maybe thats why i didnt give up and keep on running till today ;)
Only a recent outdoor runner, but just this week Wednesday, I went out for a run along the thames tow path in Reading. For most of the way it was snowing, just hovering around zero, was compacted snow/ice on the path, freezing cold snow on the verges/grass. Even wearing glove and shell top, I couldn’t get warm, couldn’t run fast enough to get warm either. When back to gym instead of a cool down I did a warm up, 10 minutes on the bike, with all my outdoor gear on getting some funny looks from the insiders. Even after a hot shower and serval hot drinks it took me 3 hours to feel warm again…
And if that is not good enough, how about a recent hike up Snowdon (just before xmas) where it was -15c on the top .. pictures at link to skydrive.live.com
rob
Coincidentally the coldest run I have ever done was just two days, it was -32 (-41 with the wind chill), just a quick 6km run to work. Needless to say it has been really cold here this week!
Couple of weeks ago had that honor to be out running at -24 C. I am talking about a place some 800 km North from Stockholm. Not much fun I must say.
Well even in Greece it gets cold sometimes. And not being used to it makes the experience even worse. I took off for the usual drive to the stadium for my 6am early morning intervals when I saw the -2 Celsius temperature and the “risk of ice” sign flashing in my car. Guess what, I realized i had forgotten my gloves and cap. Just remembering it makes my hands and ears hurt!
It’s been below zero for about a week here. Too cold to run outside. My coldest run was last winter–a 5k in January–it was 15*F and very windy.
My coldest run: link to flickr.com
The coldest run is not about absolute temperature for me but about how it feels. I did some cold running in Umeå Sweden last winter with temperatures around minus 20°C, but the weather was quiet. Nothing to compare with Iceland, where around zero temperature can still make me cry. The humidity paired with 10-15 m/s winds makes me wanna quit after few minutes and only bigger goal and vision of hot shower after keeps me going further.
It was a 10K tempo run…in minus 30 (-30*C), no idea what the wind factor was but it was a cold one. The positive part is that there were not many walkers on the sidewalks!
I really don’t like the cold weather, but you got to keep your form up, so it doesn’t really matter how low temperature is. But i think -10C is my lowest temperature measured… Snow, ice, …
My coldest ride this far has been with temps in the low 30’s cycling. Here in South Georgia that’s cold! It was a 2 hour bike ride and my feet were numb the whole time and for an hour after the ride. I’ve gotta get some neoprene covers for my shoes but I suppose a new 910xt would be ok too :)
My rule is that I find a treadmill if the air temperature is below 15 degrees F. I should probably have accounted for windchill when I made that that rule, but I didn’t, so last week I still went for a run outside when the windchill was in the low negative single digits. Days like that make me appreciate wind shells!
I thought my coldest run was 35F in NorCal. That was until I moved to Illinois. Last year 17F (no idea what wind chill was) doing fartleks with my girls.
my coldest run was @ Jerusalem marathon 2012: 42km of 8 deg, rain, wind, hail and up hills :)
Santa Claus half marathon 2010. -12 degrees (Celcius), most of it through the snowy forest with 1500 people dressed in Santa’s hats and red shirts.
At this temperature it doesn’t matter if you dress well because you get cold from inside by breathing the air.
Still, great race!
Sunning on Ljubljanski maraton october 28th with snow and wind, swimming in Adriatic sea on Christmas with north east wind, caving on december 28th with wind and snow at altitude of 3300 foot with frozen ropes. I like activities no matter what.