My Hotronic foot warmers arrived!

[dgk]

I'll admit that it seems a bit wussy to be buying foot warmers for
winter biking, but I really hate it when my toes start freezing. I've
been bike commuting for the previous two winters and I've tried just
about everything else. Bigger shoes with more socks, giant boots
guaranteed to -30F, even battery powered socks. My toes still got
annoyingly cold. I didn't try the suggestion of wearing loose sandals
with many layers of socks though.

So yesterday my Hotronic footwarmers arrived - $135. That's quite a
bit but, hey, I really hate cold toes. I guess I have to wait a few
months to see if they actually work well, but they sure look like
they'll do the trick. I really was thinking of not biking when it got
much below freezing but hopefully this will take care of that problem.

Has anyone used these things? They're clearly aimed at skiers.

[dgk]

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:14:50 -0400, dgk > wrote:

>I'll admit that it seems a bit wussy to be buying foot warmers for
>winter biking, but I really hate it when my toes start freezing. I've
>been bike commuting for the previous two winters and I've tried just
>about everything else. Bigger shoes with more socks, giant boots
>guaranteed to -30F, even battery powered socks. My toes still got
>annoyingly cold. I didn't try the suggestion of wearing loose sandals
>with many layers of socks though.
>
>So yesterday my Hotronic footwarmers arrived - $135. That's quite a
>bit but, hey, I really hate cold toes. I guess I have to wait a few
>months to see if they actually work well, but they sure look like
>they'll do the trick. I really was thinking of not biking when it got
>much below freezing but hopefully this will take care of that problem.
>
>Has anyone used these things? They're clearly aimed at skiers.

I'll revise it then. Has anyone used these things who is willing to
admit it in pseudo-public?

[Michael Warner]

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:00:26 -0400, dgk wrote:

> I'll revise it then. Has anyone used these things who is willing to
> admit it in pseudo-public?

They're up there in macho appeal with heated dunny seats and towel
rails, aren't they?

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

[Tom Keats]

In article >,
dgk > writes:
> I'll admit that it seems a bit wussy to be buying foot warmers for
> winter biking, but I really hate it when my toes start freezing. I've
> been bike commuting for the previous two winters and I've tried just
> about everything else. Bigger shoes with more socks, giant boots
> guaranteed to -30F, even battery powered socks. My toes still got
> annoyingly cold. I didn't try the suggestion of wearing loose sandals
> with many layers of socks though.

I think the trick is to keep the wind off the leading edges (the
toe ends) of your shoes. That's what works for keeping them
dry, too. Same with fingers & hands. It's the foremost parts
that bear the brunt, and needs the protection from the elements.
That's what I have against stuff like neoprene booties -- like,
what good do they do, protecting your heels from the elements,
unless you actually submerse in deep water? Warmth? Hell,
just riding provides lots of that.

One doesn't need to spend big bux on fancy stuff just to
keep the chilling wind (or driving rain) off of our daintier
digital extremities.

The strips of inner tube I have wrapped around my MTB toe clips
do just fine for not only keeping my feet dry, but also keeping
the body-heat-ablating, chilly winds off of 'em. Especially in
the toe-al area. All it cost me was a flat, and a few zip ties.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[Earl Bollinger]

"dgk" > wrote in message
...
> I'll admit that it seems a bit wussy to be buying foot warmers for
> winter biking, but I really hate it when my toes start freezing. I've
> been bike commuting for the previous two winters and I've tried just
> about everything else. Bigger shoes with more socks, giant boots
> guaranteed to -30F, even battery powered socks. My toes still got
> annoyingly cold. I didn't try the suggestion of wearing loose sandals
> with many layers of socks though.
>
> So yesterday my Hotronic footwarmers arrived - $135. That's quite a
> bit but, hey, I really hate cold toes. I guess I have to wait a few
> months to see if they actually work well, but they sure look like
> they'll do the trick. I really was thinking of not biking when it got
> much below freezing but hopefully this will take care of that problem.
>
> Has anyone used these things? They're clearly aimed at skiers.

I have two different footwarmer sock thingies.
One uses some kind of a pad that you break the seal on and it heats up. But
it appears to use air as a catalyst, so it needs a little air to work.
The other one uses batteries.
No I have not tried using either one yet.

Most of the heat loss problem stems from the clipless pedals and their
cleats. The first trick that works is to cut out a thin foot or sole liner
from a foam egg carton or something and slide that into the cycling shoe. Of
course you are using toe covers and or booties too.
When it is even colder, then you use a good pair of winter boots and forgo
the clipless pedals, you don't have any problems. That is one reason I use
caged SPD pedals on my commuter bike.

[[email protected]]

For years I looked for a system to keep my toes warm. Chemical packs
worked good to 2 hours. I tried electric soxs , big boots, booties lots
of wool sox. I have not found anything to keep my feet warm. I will try
anything, hope your new system works. I live in Minnesota and would be
interested in any system that will keep my feet warm this winter. Keep
me posted.
Walter
Earl Bollinger wrote:
> "dgk" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'll admit that it seems a bit wussy to be buying foot warmers for
> > winter biking, but I really hate it when my toes start freezing. I've
> > been bike commuting for the previous two winters and I've tried just
> > about everything else. Bigger shoes with more socks, giant boots
> > guaranteed to -30F, even battery powered socks. My toes still got
> > annoyingly cold. I didn't try the suggestion of wearing loose sandals
> > with many layers of socks though.
> >
> > So yesterday my Hotronic footwarmers arrived - $135. That's quite a
> > bit but, hey, I really hate cold toes. I guess I have to wait a few
> > months to see if they actually work well, but they sure look like
> > they'll do the trick. I really was thinking of not biking when it got
> > much below freezing but hopefully this will take care of that problem.
> >
> > Has anyone used these things? They're clearly aimed at skiers.
>
> I have two different footwarmer sock thingies.
> One uses some kind of a pad that you break the seal on and it heats up. But
> it appears to use air as a catalyst, so it needs a little air to work.
> The other one uses batteries.
> No I have not tried using either one yet.
>
> Most of the heat loss problem stems from the clipless pedals and their
> cleats. The first trick that works is to cut out a thin foot or sole liner
> from a foam egg carton or something and slide that into the cycling shoe. Of
> course you are using toe covers and or booties too.
> When it is even colder, then you use a good pair of winter boots and forgo
> the clipless pedals, you don't have any problems. That is one reason I use
> caged SPD pedals on my commuter bike.

[dgk]

On 15 Oct 2006 08:16:41 -0700, wrote:

>For years I looked for a system to keep my toes warm. Chemical packs
>worked good to 2 hours. I tried electric soxs , big boots, booties lots
>of wool sox. I have not found anything to keep my feet warm. I will try
>anything, hope your new system works. I live in Minnesota and would be
>interested in any system that will keep my feet warm this winter. Keep
>me posted.
>Walter

I think a certain amount is also genetic/personal. My toes have always
gotten cold quickly so I'm not surprised that I have trouble with that
while biking in winter. I'm almost looking forward to it getting cold
so I can try out the Hotronic product.