It was cold that day and dropping when we split I had the stock medium windshield and the stock heated seat warmed my bottom half. Lol Next day I had Ben put on the adjustable ultra high windshield love it!My son carried the muffs last year but never used them. He tried them once but didn't like how restricted he felt. Personal choice I get it. I for one lean toward what others said. Taller windshield for more protection. I have the adjustable. I use O2 helmet and can get warm on warmer days so I lower windshield to help cool things off. On colder days up it goes. I don't care what it looks like. I have tried numerous gloves over the years and the ONLY gloves I like are the full leather gloves. They seem to transfer the heat to the hands much better. So in my experience a combination of proper wind protection along with good gloves you should be OK even when it's cold out. I was out with Whitedust once the first year he bought his enduro and we split at the end of the day. It was extremely cold. My hands were colder that day when taking a break than at any other time. Once I started riding home gloves heated up again. Muffs may have helped but it was only for the first 15 -20 mins or so then hands were fine. Not a bad idea to have them along just in case. Not sure but once you have frost bite I think you will be more sensitive to getting it again. Could be wrong.