Holly Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Okay.... lookin' for recommendations here. I got frostbite on my toes several years ago (occupational hazard, it seems) and now my toes go numb almost immediately on even warmish days. I was reading www.alpinecarving.com/boots.html and wondering if its worth trying any of these options: - BootGlove - HeatShields - Therm-ic Supermax Footwarmer - Hotronic Power Plus 3.5 Foot Warmers Does anyone have any experience using any of the aforementioned products or have any other recommendations to combat my cold toes issue? Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_t Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 I have never used or needed any foot warming things, however all of my friends that do swear by the Hotronics. One friend of mine has several pairs of insoles and uses them for cold weather biking as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350 Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 i just use the normal stick on toe warmers they work great and you can buy them everywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 I too have cold toes, but it's from the 1/2 cup of snow that gets between the liner and shell of my old Raichle 324's . I can't figure how it get's in there. Anyone else have this? The toe warmer pads work OK if used on top of the foot. otherwise they tend to roll into a ball and cut off circulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangten247 Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Holly, I've been lucky enough not to have cold feet problems. I have no experience with the heatshields. I have seen one or two folks with the boot gloves and they have said that they have helped a little. I have never heard of the thermic brand you mentioned. More useful info: I have worked at shi/snowboard shops going on 23 years now. I have seen other boot warming companeis come and go, but hotronic has outlasted them all. I'd go with this brand over any other company, they have been around awhile, are reasonably durable, and have replacement parts readily available. This plus they are a popular brand so most every shop carries them and/or have heard of them. So I would choose them over any other electric boot heater product. If your feet perspire (and they do), the dampness may contribute to cold feet. I know some folks who spray their foot with an anti-perspirant at the beginning of the day. no sweat=no clammy feet. If your feet are damp from perspiration, your body (and your heated footbed) work hard to keep your feet at a comfy temp. So buy and wear appropriate socks, not gym socks or cotton socks, but real ski/snowboard socks that are thin, smooth, tall, and made of appropriate material. Don't wear those socks to the Mtn, but change into them just before going from the lodge to the lift. Bring an extra pair to change out of after lunch if necessary. Carry a small towel to wipe your damp feet at lunch if necessary. Whether you have a custom footbed or not, I'd opt for the Hotronic with the custom footbed option. The stock footbed from hotronic is flat, wont give much support. The custom footbed model come with the heat discs and no footbed, plus some adhesive cambrelle material. This way, you cut a slit on your footbed for the heating disc. Then, with the supplied adhesive cambrelle, you lay it over the footbed to hold it in place. If you don't have a custom footbed, cosider getting one, that may help improve your circulation I have been told. To me it makes sense, if your foot is molded on a custom footbed it will have better circulation because when riding it will be in its natural state, not being allowed to spread out and mush out onto a flat unsupportive generic footbed. I do know a custom footbed will allow you to have more room in a boot. I ride a 29.0 mondo boot and I have a size 13 foot. without a custom footbed my toes would be jammed. More room=more comfort. The trick with any electric boot heater product is to read the instructions, adn have reasonable expectations. This type of product (hotronic or otherwise) is not meant to heat up a cold foot, but rather to maintain and acceptable temp. You probably wont notice them working until you shut them off. The battery technology is advanced more than they used to be, but there are still shortfalls. The higher you set them, the shorter the battery will last that day. I reccomend for most folks to turn them up while on the lift, and turn them down when going downhill. The lower the temp setting, the longer the charge for the day. Fulll blast and not tuning them down wont last until lunch. Turn them on full blast the last run and leave the heaters on until fully discharged, that way the battery will accept a full charge for the next time. They have other cool accessories too, like a pair of extra long cable so you can snake it up to your pockets to adjust rather than bending over every time you get on and off the lift. Plus, it eliminated the worry of the battery pack getting thrashed, popping off, or sheared off while riding the lift, riding down the mountain, or worse yet, falling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfell Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Hottronics work well, you need to get into a nightly routine to ensure you have good battries in the morning. The boot glove works well too. You might need to do some small customizing in order for it to work if you use bail type bindings. They don't really keep you feet warm as much as they keep them from getting cold. Sorry if this last statement dosen't make sence, but it does if you've used the boot gloves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrsb Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Every year I buy a box of toe warmers by grabber mycoal. It is cheaper by the box. They work great for about six hours. It keeps my wife and kids on the hill. They also are nice for late-fall football games. dbrsb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dold Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 FWIW, not knowing what liners you have - I noticed that Raichle Thermoflex liners are much warmer than the spongy wetsuit-like material that some standard liners are made of. My feet got cold with the stock liners in my SB-413's and warmed up a lot when I switched to Thermoflex (moldable) liners. The material insulates a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdurgin Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I have the same issue and I’ve tried several products (Hotronincs and Bootglove from the products you listed). The best results I’ve had by far are the stick on toe warmers for warmth, price and convenience. I do still use Boot gloves, but only in addition to the toe warmers when it is below zero. I think they do help a little. I also buy the toe warmers by the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hey, Your toes go numb because the nerves sustained some damage with your frostbite episode. Any temperature changes cause the nerves-blood vessels to overreact and cause some circulatory changes. An external heating source will work well, extreme cases may need medication to control the condition. The question-do your toes actually change colors with exposure to the cold? If so, this is a Raynaud's phenomena and may need low-dose medication called a calcium channel blocker.... The dry feet issue is also important-I wear very thin wicking socks under my snowboard socks for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 The question-do your toes actually change colors with exposure to the cold? I definitely have some nerve damage (lost a bit of flesh and a few nails as a result). I've gone to see a pediatrist and he confirmed that I now have circulatory issues in my toes. He said he could put me on blood thinners; however, he also said the blood thinners could cause more problems than they solved. Basically... he told me that unless I have major complaints to suck it up. My toes go white when they get cold and if I let it go long enough, there is very little capillary refill. I hadn't heard about calcium channel blockers before.. I'll have to look into that. not knowing what liners you have - I noticed that Raichle Thermoflex liners are much warmer My softies have a "Matrix 3" liner... even wearing thin polypro socks under my thicker snowboarding socks (both put on just before I hit the slopes), my toes go numb. Though my new boots (Deeluxe Suzukas) have thermo-flex liners, I haven't had a chance to actually test them out yet (waiting for my board and bindings to arrive). I hope to get out on my carving gear this coming weekend:) I have seen other boot warming companeis come and go, but hotronic has outlasted them all. I'd go with this brand over any other company, they have been around awhile, are reasonably durable, and have replacement parts readily available. This plus they are a popular brand so most every shop carries them and/or have heard of them. So I would choose them over any other electric boot heater product. hangten247, thank you for all the good info. I think I'm going to pick up some of the stick on toe warmers as a stop-gap measure, but it sounds like the Hotronics are the way to go. Perhaps I'll pick some of these up next week in Okemo. Thanks for all the great feedback. Hopefully, I'll be riding with warmer toes soon!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangten247 Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Holly, one more thing, I'm not trying to be Ralph Nader or the CPSC, but because you have nerve damage, just be a little cautios with the disposable warmers. They do heat up quite a bit, everyone's feet are different, but I did have a customer once who complaied about them being too hot/almost burned. (1 out of about 10,000 though) You WILL definitely notice the heat with the disposable warmers, I'd just keep it in the back of my head in case the nerve damage has made your toes completely insensitive to heat. Buy the warmers that are in the shape of the toe with an adhesive back, don't buy the square ones without adhesive, those are more like pocket warmers, they would be way too bulky and would move around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 If you buy the toe warmers you may need to tape in place they wanted to ball up on me when I inserted my foot into my boots. They have added a full length foot warmer to their product line, but I have not tried this one yet buy plan on doing so next time it gets into single digit temps. http://www.grabberwarmers.com/warmers.htm I also have the Hot Tronics from a few years ago - kind of high maintence as it was recommended to fully discharge and re-charge the battery packs every 30 days. I got two seasons out of the first pack before it died. Supposedly the current versions are "new & improved". The Boot Gloves help retain heat AND help stop the snow from infiltrating in my 324's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangten247 Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Pat, I am curious, how many days of riding did you get in before they gave out? Also, I am in no means trying to be antagonistic, but charging/discahrging once every month is high maintenance? That takes 1 minute of your time to put them on full blast and discharge them. Later, it takes 1 minute to plug them in and recharge, and when charged, 1 minute to unplug them. I don't have the directions in front of me, but I don't remember the once a month step. I do remmeber the reccommendation of turning them on full blast at the end of the day of each use to fully discharge them, and that is to insure the memory of the battery will retain a full charge. If you do blow this step off, the batteries will definitely not last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hey Pat, I had those boot gloves in my hand at the counter but decided against them. I was wondering if they had to be taken off every time to get out of your bindings? I tried the footbed heaters once. They got HOT for 10-15 minutes then died. Became hard as a rock. Maybe just a bad one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Scott - You do not need to remove between runs but (as always) do make certain you are locked in before launching. That is, if you are using step-ins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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