The NeoFleece Combo Scarf from Seirus is probably one of the better cold-weather clothing investments I've made. I bought it initially for my 2-mile walking commute around Lake Calhoun. The wind was terrible and I couldn't find anything that vented correctly.I purchased this scarf from REI. It connects behind the head through Velcro. Against your skin it's fleece. On the outside it is fleece along the neckline and behind your head. On the face, it's some sort of synthetic that they call Polartec.
I typically wear this below 15 or 20 degrees (f) when biking or below 10 or 15 degrees (f) when walking. I've used it to wind chills of -25 degrees (f) and it's kept my face warm.
The Polartec has faired well against snow, keeping my face fairly dry and the little holes where the mouth hides behind can act as a screen to prevent breathing in of snow, etc.
It can get a bit clammy when wearing this scarf. But compared to the neck warmers and other scarves I've used, this by far has done what I've asked of it. I typically don't have significant ice/frost build up, though some occurs.
Seirus and other brands make a full head piece version (NeoFleece Combo Headliner). As someone with glasses, it didn't work for me. It is difficult to get the head piece to correctly position the nose and mouth areas. As a result, warm air would flow upward into my glasses and fog up. I assume that if it fits right, that it'd add a layer of warmth to the head. I also had issues with the glases not fitting properly through the hole for the eyes.
[Photo from Feb. 2007 while I walked across Lake Calhoun to work. The NeoFleece Combo Scarf is visible.]
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