[thuja]

Has anyone tried heated socks or insoles? I spend a lot of time in the winter in the snow and even with big thick socks and winter mountaineering boots my feet are cold. Of course I am standing around in snow, so that makes sense. I've tried toe warmers but they don't put out much heat, which also makes sense as they require oxygen for the exothermic reaction to take place and once in my boots there is not a lot of oxygen or airflow. Not sure why I haven't figured this out before, but just discovered that one can spend (a lot) money on heated socks or insoles. Most involve a battery of some sort. Wondering if folks have a favorite, least favorite, etc? Thanks in advance.

[KascadeFlat]

If you decide to give the toe warmers another chance, I have found that I have better luck with them if I stick them to the TOP of my toebox. If I stuck them to the insole under my foot (like what is shown on the package) they messed up my gait and didn't work well.

[Randito]

My wife has chronicly cold hands and feet. Tried lots of things. The mini-coal toe warmers work best if activated an hour or so before arriving at the trailhead and placed in the toes of the boots to fully warm up the boot as well as the toe heater. I've tried electrical heated insoles as well, but the batteries are kind of heavy and clunky clipped onto your boot and the batteries don't last all day. Also https://www.raynauds.org/2019/09/26/classical-conditioning-raynauds-therapy/

[schifferj]

I bought a pair of heated socks at Costco on impulse. The brand is Northwest Mobile Warming. The heated part of the sock is from the toes back to the arch and temp can be adjusted via a phone app at four levels. I find that high is always too hot and generally run them at medium or medium low setting. At those settings I get about four hours of use before I recharge the batteries. The batteries are not huge and/or clunky. They fit in pockets at top of the sock. I use them mainly for cold weather cycling and have virtually eliminated my weak point which was cold feet. I"ve been riding in temps down to the mid 20's and they work great. Also used them for a couple of below zero ski days and they were good for that too. Only drawback is that you have to physically turn them on. Thus for a ski day you have to underess down to your socks, turn them on, and then good to go.

[Waterman]

I put 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in the toes of my socks. Maybe start with a 1/4 teaspoon and work your way up. Dilutes the blood vessels promoting circulation in the toes. Careful, if you use too much you will find yourself barefoot in the snow.

[zimmertr]

[schifferj]

Surely by now there is some Bluetooth enabled product that integrates with your smartphone. Or at least an RFID-enabled device with a wireless remote.[/quote] There is but you do have to manually turn them on to get started. Then temperature control is via Bluetooth and phone app.

[JVesquire]

I'm sure you've tried this, but for winter camping Neos are great insulated boots. Also, using thick wool insoles insulates your feet much better from the cold than just about anything else. I've camped out in those in -30 weather and my feet were fine.

[PowderPawn]

No on the socks for me, yes on the insoles. I have had good experience with those but would probably still pass for my own gear at this point.

[hbb]

[kiliki]

I've always kept an eye on these for skiing. The socks are so expensive and generally get such poor reviews--they don't last long or have some other issue. I'm waiting for these to get cheaper and better. I have the battery heated boot insoles--Hotronics is the brand that I and everyone I know has and likes--and they definitely work, and people love them for skiing (more so in colder climates). You do have to install them in ski boots; I'm not sure how it works with regular boots.