A solution for GF's cold feet?

[MattFromCanada]

GF and I are both ski instructors. She's got a pair of Tecnica Cochise 95w from a couple of years ago (the barbie pink ones) and they fit her just fine. No pressure points, or crushing, intuition liners, and orthotics.


The problem is, after a few hours on the hill, her feet get really cold. It's a problem she has out and about in the city too, so I don't think the boots are to blame... anyways I'm looking for suggestions on boot heaters. The problem is that all of the heated insoles I see are all anatomically formed, but since she already has very expensive orthotics in there already, it seems like a waste to just replace those... is there another option I'm missing? Something which goes in the liner under the insole or something?

 

[Philpug]

Both Thermic and Hotronics have heaters that will work with her current footbeds.

http://hotronic.com/products/fw/index.html

https://www.thewarmingstore.com/therm-ic-set-thermicsole-trimfit-powerpack-max.html

 

[focker]

My wife has the same issue and I bought her Hottronics. She loves them and they've worked great for her. Not cheap, but they will do the trick. She doesn't even turn them up all the way. She sets them at 2 and they keep her toes nice and warm.

 

[RuleMiHa]

I have the same problem and you would have to pry my Hotronics from my cold dead feet in order for me to give them up.

I have them placed on custom footbeds as well. The heating element gets stuck to the top of the footbed and then a selfstick fabric is placed over it.

 

[François Pugh]

I got SIDAS boot heaters for my daughter. They work well.

 

[David Chaus]

Doesn’t Tecnica also have a battery heat-ready liner for the Mach1 W 95? I’m pretty sure I stumbled accross is on the Tecnica.it website, it’s apparently not available at TecnicaUSA.com.

 

[Michael Kane]

I have a couple buddies that swear by these. plus they work for football games, etc.

 

[Jilly]

See Barry Allison in WB. Www.skiconnexions.ca He did my heaters in his Sidas footbeds years ago. Still working. Works out of Whistler Village Sports. But he's independent of them.

 

[Poolskier Vinny]

My wife has cold feet (very sensitive feet) and we bought her the Hotronic system years ago (older grey generation batteries not the white ones) She pretty much will not ski without them. She skis with an orthotic in her Fischer vacuum formed boots, stock liner. The heating element sticks onto the top of the orthotic near the toes and the fabric top sheet goes on top and molds to the orthotic. She does not feel them - they are very thin. They have also held up very well over the years. Before she got extra orthotics and mounted extra pads on them...she used to take the original pair out of her ski boots for use in her other footwear. The units have great battery life especially since we regularly ski in reasonably cold weather. She is comfortable skiing in -15 C weather....no extra breaks needed due to cold feet with the heaters. They will last all day. They tend to keep the heat from leaching out of her foot and the cold from seeping in....rather than "being toasty warm". However, when temps are warmer -5 C to above 0 they will get too hot if you set them too high or forget to turn them down. I would imagine the performance has improved with the newer models.

If you do get them, one tip is to mount the external "quick click in/out" battery pack on the back of the boot on the boot strap but off slightly to the side...but not so far over/close to the side buckles as to get in the way for booting up....but still easy to get at the controls etc. This rear offset position also prevents the battery packs from getting smacked/damaged/knocked off by the chairlift....on those times the lift seat catches you in the back of the calf etc.

Highly recommended if you have cold feet issues!

 

[hbear]

Sidas are great. Small compact battery, unbreakable clip, and the battery lasts a long time. (I can go a full day bell to bell on low).

Amazing customer service as well.

I know parents that went with the heated socks, but I find the socks too thick and can’t do the wear the same sock multiple days in the toe thing. (I know you can buy more socks but then it adds up, we go 6 full days in the row here).

As posted above the sidas (like hot tonic) can easily be installed into an existing footbed. Lots of great install videos online, I like Jim’s version from Starthaus.

 

[Jilly]

Sidas distribution centre is in Vancouver. So shouldn't be hard to find. Barry has a video of about boot heaters and footbeds on his website.

 

[johnnyvw]

My feet sweat a lot, so many years ago I started spraying them with anti-perspirant and that helped my feet stay warm. Wet feet are cold feet.

 

[Turnoisier]

I used Therm-ic power socks for most of last season, and they made a big difference. They are slightly thicker than the socks I would prefer to use (mostly on the sole where the heating wire is, and around the toes), but they're not crazy thick. Still, if she has a very tight shell fit, they may not work out.

https://www.therm-ic.com/en/skiing/39-powersock-heat-men.html

They certainly don't keep your feet toasty warm, but they do take enough of the edge off the cold to prevent numbness, pain, and subsequent loss of control. There are three heat settings (i used the middle setting the most), and the batteries do seem to last as long as claimed by Therm-ic.

Not cheap, but worth it (to me, at least), and they seem to be lasting well. Sizing was accurate.

 

[MattFromCanada]

Awesome, everyone here has given me a lot to mull over.


For the people who have gone with the heated socks, how long do you find that they last before you end up fumigating your home when you take them off? That's always been my concern, is scaring away friends and family...

 

[Frankly]

I recommend a new wife or girlfriend with warmer feet.

 

[Viking9]

I have the Lenz and probably have 25 days on them , I’m a weekend guy and of course a couple of days is not a problem, if your staying multiple nights you would probably have access to a washing machine so for me I believe it’s not really an issue.
I am one who likes the heated socks more than my hotronics, i find the batteries on the socks are located better than the hotronics location and style.

 

[DanoT]

SportChek.ca had a very good price for Sidas heated footbeds when I was looking a few years ago, I wanted them right away so I bought them at a local ski shop and got them to install them. It is actually very easy to do and there are Youtube installation vids.

Lithium-Polymer batteries are the latest Lithium technology and require less of a protective case and are therefore smaller than Lithium-Ion.

 

[hbear]

Yes, sport chek was blowing them out, think $225 cad for the pro set + a 10% off email sign up coupon = hard to beat!

 

[T-Square]

I have the same issue. I use Hotronics under the toes of my custom foot beds and then use boot gloves as external insulation. The combo works for me. Be careful with the Hotronics, I gave my toes heat nip by running them too high. They took two weeks to fully recover. My bad.

 

[Turnoisier]

The Therm-ic socks don't seem to get any smellier than normal socks. But then I haven't ever worn them more than a couple of days in a row. Someone less committed to sock hygiene may have a different experience...

Importantly, though, frequent washing has not damaged them at all. I bought a couple of pairs so I could rotate (and wash) them.