How to Keep Warm While Playing Basketball in the Cold

As we begin to enter the winter season, festive with the air of the holiday season, the outdoor cold and chill may begin making playing a game of basketball outside more difficult.  However, thankfully for recent advances in technology and accessories, playing basketball in the cold no longer has to be a difficult task.

Below, we are going to review how to keep warm while playing basketball in the cold.  These practical and easy tips will not only keep you warm on cold days but will also help you to play longer and at peak performance. 

Playing basketball in the cold is, admittedly, much more difficult than playing in warmer weather.  But with these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to keep yourself warmer throughout the game.

Disclaimer

Please note, we here at Ball Are Life are affiliated with the Amazon Associates Program.  This means we may receive a small commission from any purchases made via our links below.  This is at no additional cost to you.  While we appreciate the additional commission, we would never recommend a product or service which does not align with our core values nor any product which we would not use ourselves.

Why Play Basketball on Colder Days

For many of us, playing outdoors and on a concrete surface is one of the only options we have to play basketball.  Although a gym membership may offer indoor play, many gyms are prohibitively expensive and many more do not even offer basketball amenities to their members.

Furthermore, due to the simple love of the game, many of us basketball players may opt to play basketball in the rain or sun.  Basketball, for many of us, is more than a game.  It is a lifestyle and a way of life.  It is a drive to continually get better through play and practice.

And lastly, for even many more of us, cold weather may simply be a fact of life.  Particularly for those of us that live in colder climates, where the cold lasts on-average, for many months out of the year, playing basketball in the cold may simply be a fact of life.

How to Lessen the Effects of the Cold While Playing Basketball?

When it comes to keeping warm while playing basketball in the cold, it is important to divide and identify the areas of your body which will require additional warmth.  To put it simply, you will likely need to keep your head and face, arms and hands, upper torso, legs, and feet warm. 

While that may, admittedly, appear to be all parts of your body, by dividing and identifying each specific portion of your body to keep warm you can better tackle each portion individually.  Below we are going to review each body part and identify the best ways to keep them warm while playing basketball outdoors and in the cold.

Head and Face

Admittedly, keeping your head and face warm while playing basketball are one of the easier tasks.  There are a plethora of head and face masks which provide protection from the cold and elements.  These head and face masks, similar to the ones worn by skiers, wrap around your entire head and provide ample protection against the cold.

Personally, we’ve used and recommend the Tough Headwear Neck Hoodie.  This hoodie like accessory wraps neatly, comfortably, and snugly around your entire face, providing warmth for your head, ears, and neck.  In addition, the hoodie can be lifted or removed to cover your nose and mouth, particularly useful on especially cold days.

However, if you are not comfortable wearing a full-face mask, we would recommend opting for a simple beanie.  Beanies provide great coverage for your head and ears and can be worn with little impact to your game.  In addition, if you are looking to rock your favorite NBA team, you can find a plethora of options to do so on Amazon.

Arms and Hands

A bit more difficult of an area to cover against the cold are your arms and hands.  You don’t want to cover your hands with ill-fitted gloves, which can hamper your ability to handle the basketball.  However, we’ve previously reviewed the best basketball gloves for outdoor and cold weather.

Similar to our original article, for your hands we recommend opting for the Adidas Unisex-Adult Gloves.  These gloves are a bit thinner and while they won’t provide the best coverage for your hands, they will provide sufficient amount of coverage while not diminishing your handling or shooting of the basketball.

As an alternative, you may consider the Pure Athlete Wool Gloves.  While these gloves are made for skiing, they can be used for basketball play.  Made from merino wool, these gloves offer superior warmth and comfort without the itch so often associated with wool.  In addition, these gloves come with touch-screen technology on the tips of the fingers, allowing you to open and type on your phone without any issues.

When it comes to protecting your arms, you really have two options.  The first is to wear a long-sleeve shirt and have the sleeves offer protection for your arms against the cold.  However, we know many basketball players do not like wearing long-sleeve shirts while they play.

That’s why we recommend investing in arm sleeves.  Arm sleeves are commonly worn by NBA and basketball players and help to keep you warm in the cold without constricting your shoulders.  We personally recommend the Feeke Arm Sleeves from Amazon.  A good price-point, these arm sleeves come in multiple colors and are stretchable so as to not restrict your arms during play.

Upper Torso

Your upper torso, chest, and stomach areas are likely to get cold while playing outdoors.  To help keep warm, we recommend layering above-all-else.  Wearing multiple layers, particularly with dry-fit or athletic shirts will keep you warmer and more comfortable during play.

If you’ve read any of our previous material, you know we love the Nike Dri-Fit collection.  These shirts not only help to provide additional warmth, especially when layered with additional long-sleeve shirts, but are great at absorbing sweat and water.  We’ve been big fans of the Dri-Fit collection since they first debuted and continue to promote them for nearly all workout activities.

Legs and Feet

Similar to protecting your upper torso, when it comes to protecting your legs and keeping them warm during the cold weather, you really have two distinct options.  The first is to simply wear joggers or athletic pants.  Many of these pants have wool lining, which can help to keep your legs warm.

However, again, we know that a lot of basketball players don’t particularly enjoy playing in pants.  If you choose to play in shorts, you can invest in compression leg sleeves.  While leg sleeves aren’t made for warmth intake, they can double as protective layers to keep your legs warm.

In addition, when it comes to keeping your feet warm, you really do have a ton of choices here.  Personally, we recommend investing in a quality pair of wool socks.  Wool socks, similar to wool gloves, offer superior protection against the cold and will help to keep your feet warm while playing. 

We’ve always been particular to Carhartt’s Wool Socks and recommend them to family, friends, and our website audience.  They’re not too thick, so they should be able to fit neatly within your basketball shoes, but they do provide really good coverage and warmth for your feet.

However, if you really want to keep your feet warm while playing basketball in the cold, you may consider investing in rechargeable socks. We know, we know, that sounds crazy. And while we’ve never tried them ourselves, these socks have tons of great reviews on Amazon so they must be doing something right.

Additional Considerations

Once you’ve taken care of the above, there are a few additional considerations and accessories you can invest in to keep you even warmer during outdoor basketball play. If you are playing outside your own house, you may consider purchasing an outdoor heater. We recently purchased Royal Garden Heater and once hooked up to a propane tank could immediately feel the warmth emanate from the device.

However, if you are playing at your local park, then you may consider purchasing simple hand warmers. These warmers are typically one-time-use but provide fast-acting and quick relief for your hands from the cold. Safe to hold and handle, you can also keep these in your pockets for additional relief from the cold.