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A pansy? I used to make fun of my mum for having them in her boots. It's March and after 2 runs I pull off my ski boots to see that both my big toes are completely white and have this creepy putty-like consistency. Since January my toes have basically been in excruciating pain every single day skiing, even on warm days, so today I decided to pull the trigger and save my toesies. How many other people use these?
WIMP
You are getting soft living out here. Being from Alberta aren't you supposed to be able to handle the cold?
Could this be a boot fit issue?Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtrubs
I had issues with my toes being frozen and in pain until I got proper boot fitting. At the end of the day, I would suffer through about 10-15min burning, stabbing pain in the toes when the blood would rush back... On top of that, both my big toes were pretty much always bruised up...
Never used electric boot warmers, wished I had them back east on the many cold days...
The problem is that the boots DO fit how they're supposed to, therefore my toes can't wiggle around and I've just frozen them too many times since I broke my pinky toe that they have pretty much no circulation now. I think I'll be a happy little clam with these warmers though.
cold feet in whistler???? not possible
maybe it is from the rain, and moisture in the snow ;)
I have sold a bunch this winter to patrol and instructors. they work well if you need them
my toes would go numb after 10 min in all weather and temps with my old boots. New boots + Intuitions = No numbness on even cold days.
Makes you dumb. Mine broke the first day I used them, and the second pair I got never worked at all.
Maybe I just suck, but I was EXTREMELY underwhelmed with the performance.
(If they work, though, that makes you smart. I got mine for the exact same reason you got yours--my boots fit better when they [and my feet] are warm).
My feet would get cold, then I got intuitions. Problem solved.
Possibly conned out of a whole bunch of hard earned money. Of the people I know who have them, less than 10% are satisfied with their performance, how easily the battery packs are lost, or how quickly they break.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtrubs
Good luck. YMMV.
Yeah, ummm... I think you need to visit a bootfitter and take care of the real problem.
I wear boot heaters when I am coaching but that's mainly because of all the standing around... other than that they mostly stay in my bag..
my girlfriend has electric boot warmers
i make fun of her for it a lot, but i use them when she's not around/looking
Maybe some bootfitterpeople can confirm this, but I think unless you are racing, you should be able to move your toes around in your boots.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtrubs
My wife is the kind of chick that gets cold in July. We routinely ski the EC in
-15 and below temps. I had boot heaters installed in her boots 4 years ago.She has never complained about cold feet from that day forward. So impressed was I that I installed a pair in mine. This year at Whiteface it was
-25 on 2 of the 3 days I was there. My feet were not cold at all.
The secret is to keep them on the lowest setting that keeps your feet from getting cold. Do not crank them up and leave them there or you will see short battery life and sweaty feet. They really are not boot heaters. They are feet not get colders.
Oh and if you are not already doing this....thin socks.
My cousin had some of those. They had 4 heat levels. The instructions said DO NOT TURN TO LEVEL 4 SEVERE BURNS MAY RESULT!
So why the fuck did they have a level 4?
I have really expensive, properly fit boots, and my feet still get cold. I have custom foam liners, which after years of messing with thermoflex liners, insoles, punching, etc--I found was the only thing that made ski boots bearable for me. My big toe got so cold one day this winter it was numb for a week afterwards.
So, proper bootfitting may not be the answer, unless you can accomplish proper fit with intuitions. Then you are stoked. When I had thermoflexs my feet were always fine.
Anybody ever use The Boot Glove? Do those things actually work? Not super macho, but better than messing with heaters (if they work).
As far as I am concerned (as a boot fitter) if you have room in your boots for warming devices you:
a) don't have tight enough boots
b) aren't wearing socks
c) don't have good footbeds
or
d) if you feel like your boots Are tight enough and you have room for those doohickies then you probably aren't as good at skiing as most of the people on these boards.
I never feel my toes AND I ski barefoot, that is how tight I like my boots. In fact I can't feel my toes right now and it has been over a week since I skied last.... hmm....
I do NOT have that kind of electric boot warmers. Thanks for the call out, thogh, Matt. So much for Steak & BJ day for you... ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by ptavv
I simply have sticks that heat up to put in my boots at night to dry them out. Thats smart, not wimpy.
And, no, you couldn't pay me money to put electric warmers in my boots when I am skiing. Jerk.
SNAP! The overnight warmers kick ass, i have one and most people i know here have one in their house as well..Quote:
Originally Posted by 'ofeina
That makes you a GAAAAAAAPER! :)
I bought a pair years ago, but they broke probably after 5 times of using them. Frankly, I like it when my toes are frozen. It makes it so I can't feel how much pain they are in! I loved it when I was competing- I would lose feeling in my toes for the entire season. It would come back sometime in June usually....
i'm not too sure that's true. why do you think that? (maybe i'm wrong.)Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtrubs
not being able to move is a likely sign that the fit may be a hare too tight and cutting off circulation. this certainly doesn't help.
i think your ankle and the sole of your foot should be stable, but wiggling your toes is an OK thing -- there's no harm in it. you're using the ball of your foot to steer (ideally), not your toes. in fact, if your toes are gripped, there's something wrong.
ouchQuote:
Originally Posted by skimasterflex
http://ecom1.sno-ski.com/media/Therm...xElementLG.jpg
The type of boot heaters that are just a wire that runs under your foot won't be affecting the fit that much.
Remind me not to go see you for my next boot fitting.
My boots used to be tight in the toes so that I couldn't wiggle them - had all sorts of toe bang problems, numb toes for weeks, etc. I went to 2 bootfitters (didn't really trust the first guy) and they both said that toe wiggle room is fine, you just need a tight fit across the top of the foot and under the ball of the foot.Quote:
Originally Posted by upallnight
I had a ton of plastic ground out of the toe boxes, and cut down the bootboards under the toes. Now I can wiggle a bit, the toes stay warm, and I didn't notice any loss in performance. In fact, I'd say it helped my boot control since my toes don't ache anymore...
My wife had the junk ones so I made some for her. Here's my beta... these work GREAT. In fact maybe too great, I could see burning yourself or setting your boots on fire. But cold feet are a thing of the past, and this setup was CHEAP.
Keep in mind this is what I did, I'm not syaing its a good idea, in fact its probably a terrible idea. There is no on/off switch, I plug and unplug the batteries. There is also no temperature cutoff to keep us from making s'mores out of our feet. Perhaps someone who know about this electricity stuff can provide input on adding these features.
Anyway... I bought two flexible heaters from Minco.com. I got part number HR5390R3.5L12A Silicone Rubber Heater $21.00/each
If I could do it again, I would spend extra and get leads longer than the 12" standard... to have more room to work with.
Then I went to radio Shack and bought some 9.6V battery packs for remote control cars. They look like 8 AA batteries all shrink-wrapped together. I bought a dozen or so expired battery packs for $1 each, normal price is $12ish.
I also bought a charger for the battery packs, and connectors to crimp onto the heater leads to plug in the batteries, one battery pack into each foot. My wife snowboards and the battery packs tucked in somewhere on the outside of her boot in the laces, I didn't need to rig up a carrier.
Put one heater under each footbed... not next to the skin but underneath the footbed, inside the liner.
These heaters burn through a fully charged 8-cell pack in 30 minutes or so, so there is a lot of heat output. If you are dumb enough to try this be careful!
Its pretty dumb I didn't add switches... I was kind of rushing. The whole project took 10 minutes.
Edit- seriously, if anyone knows what they are doing with this stuff, would love to know what kind of on/off switch you would use, and how you could add in a temperature sensor/safety device. Seriously, the heat output on these is out of sight. You just need to turn them on for a couple of minutes.
Like Str8line.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtrubs
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...7&postcount=35
heated footbeds have made my ski day longer and way more enjoyable. They were fitted w/my boots so they are appropriately tight but wonderfully toasty... It's supposed to be FUN! Warm feet = happy girl.
Wow all, I'm amazed at how rude some of the responses have been.
I ski every single day. You can ask people like Postman22, Samwich, Atrain505, leelau, or simply look at my TRs to discover that I am, indeed, a good skier. No, a very good skier (as long as I don't have frozen or broken toes...)
You think in my 20 years skiing I have no idea about how ski boots are supposed to fit? I have really skinny ankles, and in order to get a fit tight enough around that part of my leg, it only makes sense that the fit in my toe box is very tight. I have an aggressive fit in my boots because I do rely on my edges when I'm navigating 50+ degree faces on my skis. It's been 2 days with the boot warmers now, I keep them on the lowest setting and it seems to be just right for my toesies. I've been hiking with them in as well as just ripping around in-bounds, and I'm very happy with my purchase. Some of you bootfitters need to get off your high horses and realize that some people have whack feet/toes that unfortunately get cold no matter what you do.
The Price is Right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phill
Yeah, I used to do the same thing, until this season when I suffered third degree frostbite-twice-while skiing. Now it's bootheaters for me! Better than not skiing.Quote:
Originally Posted by mtnbikerskierchick
I laughed at all the ole beaters using these things. Fricking wires coming out of the tops of their boots with candy ass battery packs falling off on the lifts:rolleyes: .
Then the side effects of diabetes reared its head (after 35 years)and my circulation to the extremities has declined. To the point of frozen and numb tootsies. This season i went over to the dark side, now I'm a confimed beater with battery packs and wires:mad: . However the toes are no longer a problem and I'm still out there so its a small price to pay.
If it keeps you or your SO out there enjoying the turns who cares.
I've got the Hottronics and so far they are still working. They do take some room under your toes/ball of your foot and it took a day to get used to it. But WTF they allow me to keep banging out turns no matter what.
Put str8line is a pansy, he's been skiing on snowlerblades and won't come host a maggot camp at Blackcomb. Alta/Bird pansy won't come ski on a real mountain. :FIREdevilQuote:
Originally Posted by StormDay
Hoping some trash talking will get str8 up to WB for a camp next seaon :)
hi bigtubs:Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtrubs
i'm genuinely curious about this: can't they blow out the toebox in your boots to give you more space/wiggle room? i would think you might want to do this as that space in the toe box would allow for some air -- and your heaters could heat up that space and retain the heat longer than an ultra-tight fit that will tend to lose the heat.
responsive fit in lower leg + ankle + sole of your foot is key. lack of wiggle-room in the toe has nothing to do with the performance of a boot, though. i'm not a bootfitter, but i've been down one or two 50 degree faces in my day, too, and my toes have plenty of room to move, and i'm pretty sure that i can control my skis.
[for many years i thought i needed an excruciatingly tight fit all around, and each year my big toe's nail would fall off. then i got smarter about it.]
glad the heaters work for you. seems like you might be able to tweak the fit without sacrificing any control, and make them even better/warmer.