The Ponyclava

Absolutely! We think they're an essential piece of gear. Snow, wind, sun, and cold can all wreak havoc on your skin and turn your face into an icicle. 🥶

But with a ski or snowboard balaclava, you'll be able to handle anything like a champ. It's great for keeping you warm and protected while out on the slopes. Not only does it insulate your head and shield your face, but it also provides sun and UV protection and helps keep snow off your face.

Plus, it'll keep you looking fresh for apres later! It's the perfect layer for extra warmth.

Once again, absolutely! We'd call it midweight - thick enough to keep your head warm in most wintry conditions, but not too extreme on either end. In other words, a great general winter balaclava. Try it with any number of winter outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, horse riding, bungee jumping... and tag us when you do so we can share in all your exploits!

We tested this on what we like to call a giraffe length neck, so you can be assured that it's long enough to tuck into your jacket collar and provide full neck coverage so you stay nice and warm.

So you wore a ski mask to stay warm. But without a ponytail hole, there's nowhere for your hair to go, so you either stuff it underneath or let it peek out the bottom.

Believe us: it won't stay there. We've tried everything, even making it sit flat under our mid layer (complete with the most awkward shimmy to get our jackets on after). It's going to inevitably work its way around your head and into your mouth.

Of course, that'll always happens when you're carving a perfect piste or hitting some fluffy pillows. In other words the worst possible moment for a mouthful of hair.

With the Ponyclava, just pull your hair through the hole at the back. It's low on the neck and is helmet-friendly - it won't interfere with your adjustment strap. Also good for any other helmet with a similar strap, like cycling or equestrian.

Keep your face warm and ski, cycle, hike, ride in ultimate comfort. Wintertastic! 🤩

There is a ventilation flap to cover the nose and mouth that lets air escape downwards, and not into your goggles. It's breathable and stretchy, so you can easily pull it away if you need even more air.

That's the great thing about having a ponytail option: it's there whenever you need it! You just wear the Ponyclava without using the hair hole. And if you ever grow your hair out, just pop it through the hole. It also can handle hair accessories like a scrunchie.

Awesome! You can probably tell we made this balaclava for women, but it works just fine as a unisex balaclava too. Just make sure to check our sizing options.

Balaclava, ski mask, and face mask are mostly the same thing. But sometimes a 'ski mask' can be just a half-face covering which you pull up from your neck. That's called a neck gaiter, neck tube, or neck warmer. Even though they're versatile, we find them a bit finicky because they don't stay up by themselves - see the FAQs on our blog post here for more details. A balaclava face mask will have full-face coverage and be pulled over your head, so it always stays in place.

In a nutshell: you want a lighter, moisture-wicking fabric that is also breathable, quick-dry, stretchy (ideally four-way stretch), UV-blocking, and wind- and water-resistant. All these big words are basically to say: don't get a cotton or knit balaclava.

Luckily, there is a wide range of technical fabrics on the market these days have all these features - including Repreve, which we use. Bonus: it's made from recycled plastic bottles.

Beyond that, you can go synthetic (fleece, PolarTec) or natural (merino wool). Merino can be a bit itchy and is more expensive, while synthetic runs a bit more risk of picking up odors. We've talked a bunch more about them in our section on base layers in our How To Layer article.

Need more details? Check out our extensive guide to choosing a ski mask.

Our shop is located in Vancouver, Canada! 🍁 Skiing has been part of our lives since we were kids, and we've grown up at Cypress and Whistler. Sore knees haven't stopped us - a little messy hair won't either!

Standard shipping costs

Canada
Free via lettermail (super fast, no tracking). Tracking available from $10.

USA
$5 flat rate.

Standard shipping times

Orders are usually shipped within one business day. Delivery times vary from 2-7 business days. The shipping calculator at checkout will estimate the time based on your delivery address.

Returns: Unfortunately, we cannot accept returns due to health reasons, except if you have received an item different than what you orderedd or one that is damaged. Please see our refund policy for more details.

However, if you are unhappy with your purchase for any reason, please reach out to us at your earliest convenience at hello@ponyclava.com. We are genuinely interested in your feedback and hope to ensure your experience is as positive as possible.