Keeping toes toasty

[TomD]

I have insoles made by Heat Factory that hold a small chemical warmer under the ball of your foot. I have only used them once in a ski boot, but they generate a lot of heat for about 8 hours. The insoles are basically Superfeet (HF gets them under a license) with a slot under the ball of the foot that holds either a foam pad or the heat pack.

As far as plastic boots go-make sure they fit right. I used plastic mountaineering boots for a course and after a few days could hardly walk because the top of the boot banged against my shin and caused severe bruising, something I didn't really notice until too late.

Patagonia makes really warm expedition weight socks-expensive, but worth it IMHO. Also, as already said, make sure the boot isn't too tight. Take your socks when you try them on. VBL's might help, but I've never used them.

 

[Paradox]

Fitting Your Boots

My feet have always been cold and uncomfortable, until recently. I purchased a pair of mountaineering boots and took them to the local "Feet First" place in Plymouth, to have them fitted. They were stretched in the left toe area and the right heal area. He also gave me a great tip: skipping certain lace holes to put less pressure on the instep area. Made a huge difference in how comfortable and warm I feel at the end of the day.
A lot of downhill skiers do this for their boots, yet I do not hear of hikers discussing this.

 

[una_dogger]

Ok, ok, I'll pick up some new insulated boots! And my wife thought I had everthing I needed and wouldn't have to buy more gear this trip!

Ok, now that you've been convinced to buy I will chime in on my current winter hiking boots!

I, too, suffer from cold feet and had been doing my winter hiking in my leather summer backpackers.

I have been wearing this winter Merrell Cameleon Thermo 8's and they are awesome! They are keeping my feet warm, dry and comfortable and they work perfectly with my Denali Evo Ascent snowshoes, Katahoula Microspikes and Black Diamond Contact Strap strap-on crampons. They are rated "waterproof" but I coated them with three layers of a liquid hiking boot waterproofer from EMS.

I opted for these over plastics because I wanted something that would be comfortable over long distances and wasn't "overkill". Should I head above treeline on the Presis this winter I will prolly rent some plastics for the weekend. But for general winter 4ks these Merrell's are awesome!

Here's a link to the men's version:
http://www.onlineshoes.com/productp...+merrell+chameleon+thermo+8+waterproof&offer=

Justifying a winter hiking boot is easy! Consider that you'll get many more winters out of them than you will your summer boots!

Happy Hiking!

 

[carole]

He also gave me a great tip: skipping certain lace holes to put less pressure on the instep area. Made a huge difference in how comfortable and warm I feel at the end of the day.
A lot of downhill skiers do this for their boots, yet I do not hear of hikers discussing this.

I have found that lacing the boot too tight does cause the foot to numb and feel cold (cuts off circulation). I have mentioned in the past that as I lace my boot I roll my toes under to ball up my foot then lock the lace in place (many boots have a lace lock half way up) to give the front of the foot wiggle room, then lace the upper boot snug. I always have warm, happy feet. Try it, it may help.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Black Mountain High Country Thermal Socks

Does anyone have any recommendations/solutions to keeping toes warm or do I just have to deal with numb toes for the entire trip?

-sherpakid

Obviously don’t know if this will work for everyone, but personally have had great success with Black Mountain High Country Thermal Socks. These socks are made with Outlast temperature regulation fiber which was developed with NASA for use in space walk protective clothing (see link below).

http://gean-edwards.stores.yahoo.net/blackmountain.html

The Black Mountain socks are surprisingly thin. And it might sound dumb and/or counterintuitive, but I wear the Black Mountain sock over a SmartWool winter sock. Works for me, but for others, no guarantee!!

P.S. Forgot to mention that my sock combination is worn inside Columbia Ice-Dragon insulated boots . . . sure that helps too!!

 

[LavaFalls]

warm feet

Somebody on this board a month or two back mentioned VBLs and a supplier of such. Anyone reading this remember that post or better yet the one that posted could be reading this and post that information could again.

LavaFalls

 

[DougPaul]

Somebody on this board a month or two back mentioned VBLs and a supplier of such. Anyone reading this remember that post or better yet the one that posted could be reading this and post that information could again.

Info courtesy of dave.m (Dirtbag Pinnah): http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/vb.txt

You can use plastic bags for trial VBL socks. They don't last very many trips, but the cost is reasonable.

Doug

 

[spencer]

I bought some from Stephenson's several years ago and used them only once or twice. I really didn't find the need for them with well insulated plastic boots. I also hated the feel of them.

the ones I have are very well constructed and I had no complaints with them as a product, just VBLs as a concept.

 

[WinterWarlock]

Want to forget about your feet? Get plastic boots. In the spring they have big sales at EMS or IME in North Conway were you can buy both boots and crampons for a buck and a quarter.
Plastic boots are very confortable on any hike. You don't have to be mountaineering. It's interesting how they feel awkward on a floor or pavement and make a racket, but get on the the trail and they are silent and fine.

I picked up a pair of Koflach Degre's, based on some recommendations over at ADKHP. Ordered them on-line, too...when they arrived, my wife insisted they sent the wrong thing because she thought they were ski boots. Put 'em on, walked around the house, and almost sent them back!

But - once you get outside, and there's some give under your feet, or you have snowshoes on, they are fantastic!

Scott

 

[JOD]

clean feet!

Some other hints to help keep feet warm for the day are: Start off with clean and dry feet. Wash your feet with soap and water in the morning. Don’t wear the socks to the hiking trail/ ski area that you will be using. Change into clean dry socks when you arrive. Before putting on the clean dry socks sprinkle powder over the toe area, I use gold bond powder.

I find that polypropelene, or similar fabric, socks work the best for me. I also find that for ski boots thinner is better. I use the thinnest socks I can find.

 

[marty]

Start off with clean and dry feet. Wash your feet with soap and water in the morning.

JOD,
That makes sense, but if my wife saw me washing me feet at 3 am before a long hike, she would think I've taken my hobby just a wee bit too far

Regards,
Marty

 

[DougPaul]

Keeping your feet dry (or drier) by putting antiperspirant on them also helps. Start at least a few days before you go out.

Doug

 

[JOD]

Marty, tell her it's a safety issue, not necessarily for hygene. You don't want to get frostbitten tootsies!

Another tip is to start off with dry boots. I know this is common sense, but if you're hiking/ skiing multiple days drying the boots overnight is key. If the boots have an inner liner remove the liner to get the shells dry too.

Hotronic makes a battery powered boot heater. The newest model "Power Plus m4" has 4 NiMH cells. They last between 2.5 - 21 hours depending on the temp setting. There are 4 temp settings.

 

[whcobbs]

warm toes-- neoprene socks

Sherpakid--
I've had good experiences with neoprene socks (or Hytrel). They stay warm even when they are wet from perspiration or boot leaks. I use polypropylene liners with them. A much more expensive option but lightweight is to use mukluks with felt liners, good for snowshoes but not crampons or downhill skis.
Walt

I've been trying to find solutions to help keep my toes toasty and warm on my next trip. My current hiking boots are not insulated. I wear the Smartwool Expedition Weight wool socks and a liner and my toes always do the "freezing hurting pain to numb" thing every time I go out.

Does anyone have any recommendations/solutions to keeping toes warm or do I just have to deal with numb toes for the entire trip?

-sherpakid

 

[jime]

Gators

Here is a link for Gators:
http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_...folder_id=282574488340791&bmUID=1203532063851

I wear them all winter for running in slush and cold. They don't add a whole lot of volume and are along the lines of the neoprene socks except they only come about halfway up your foot and are fairly inexpensive.

 

[erugs]

Jime - do they stay in place? I've been afraid I wouldn't like the feeling of something "incomplete" in my sock. (Now if it was a folded up $100 bill, that would be okay.)

 

[sherpakid]

Stayed Warm

Lots of great ideas! I actually went to EMS and Tent & Trails in Manhattan and unfortunately the sales staff was not too helpful with insulated boots. At Tent & Trails the salesman tried to sell me a pair of Scarpa's that although were great, were not insulated, and basically the same in terms of warmth as my Asolo 520's. At EMS, the salesman's attitude was kinda of like, "You aren't climbing Everest, you're just going up to the 'Daks" and he tried to sell me a casual Solomon winter boot. Frustrated, I left and ended up purchasing a new pair of Smart Wool expedition weight socks. I wore them with liners and my feet were actually warm. The temps were -11F. For now I'll stick with my current setup and find some new insulated boots next season.

 

[jime]

Jime - do they stay in place? I've been afraid I wouldn't like the feeling of something "incomplete" in my sock. (Now if it was a folded up $100 bill, that would be okay.)

My experience has been that they stay in place very well UNLESS you wash and dry them in the drier (my bad). Washing is okay but the heat from the drier seems to do something to them. They are designed to go over your socks and I don't mind them at all. And I'm very sensitive....

I like the $100 bill idea! Let's market it and see how many "investors" we can find. Remember what PT Barnum said......

 

[Adk_dib]

I remember reading a post on this subject, because I started it!
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10165

Pete Hickey said to use bread bags anything he says is alright by me.