SmartWool NTS Mid 250 Balaclava

Stay warm without losing the view. SmartWool’s midweight balaclava offers better visibility than most, thanks to a wide-cut eye opening (which all but the smallest goggles covered completely). Thin merino wool insulates without icing up over the mouth, and flat-sewn seams allowed our tester to wear the balaclava under a climbing helmet. The one downfall? “After a few washes, it started to pill–especially around the edge of my helmet,” one tester says.