cold feet, good booties recomendations

[lattae]

I have cold feet when riding even with winter shoes :( Has anyone tried the Gore oxygen thermal booties? They are on sale at this time at TE... I borrowed my husband's PI booties and the feet seem to be staying warm with the combination of winter shoe/bootie.. of course the hubby's booties are too big for my feet. I saw the Gore products on the TE website and just wanted to know if anyone had anything positive/neg experience with their booties for winter riding. I'm open to any suggestions Thanks.

[SheFly]

I just bought a pair of the PI Gore-Tex winter boots, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. True test this weekend: yesterday, it was 17 when we started riding, and I was out for 2 hours on the MTB - no cold feet; today - 3.5 hours on the road with temps in the LOW 20s (19 when we started), and didn't have cold feet.

Prior to this, I had Lake boots for the MTB, and wore an MTB shoe with a shoe cover on the road. These new boots are SO MUCH better.

The downside is the price. Retail is $250, but I'll gladly pay for warm feet with all the miles I put on in the winter/wet spring.

SheFly

[lph]

I have cold feet when riding even with winter shoes :( Has anyone tried the Gore oxygen thermal booties? They are on sale at this time at TE... I borrowed my husband's PI booties and the feet seem to be staying warm with the combination of winter shoe/bootie.. of course the hubby's booties are too big for my feet. I saw the Gore products on the TE website and just wanted to know if anyone had anything positive/neg experience with their booties for winter riding. I'm open to any suggestions Thanks.

Are they the lined ones? I saw them in a shop, and kicked myself for buying the plain shell Goretex ones a few weeks earlier. The lined ones look so cosy. But my thin Goretex ones in fact keep my feet much warmer than the snug thick neoprene booties I've used for the past winters, the important thing seems to be to stop the wind and create a pocket of dry air around the foot. Buy large enough!

[OakLeaf]

Buy large enough!

+1

And for me, that often means buying a whole 'nother pair of shoes for winter - that can accommodate thick socks - rather than trying to adapt my summer shoes. I learned by accident that my feet actually stay MUCH warmer with thin, summerweight socks, than they do with thick toasty wool socks inside shoes that are compressing my toes and cutting off even a little bit of circulation.

On those PI boots - I don't suppose there's any such thing as an adapter that would let you use Look pedals?

[Ritamarie]

I have discovered an inexpensive combination for keeping my feet warm. I did a 2 hour ride in 17 degree weather last week and my feet were toasty.

I use my regular touring shoes (which are a bit roomy) with wool hiking socks (Walmart hunting section $6) and one pair of toasty-toes insoles ($1.50 per pair - need a new pair each ride, also from the hunting section at Walmart) with my inexpensive bike nashbar booties (about $35) over top. This is good for a long ride down to about 30 F. For a long ride under 30 F, I add one handwarmer (about $1.00 per pair) on the outside of my shoes, over the toes, and under the booties. This gets me down into the teens, and comfortable for several hours. My riding buddy has $300 Lake winter shoes and my feet stay warmer than hers.

For my hands, I use the PI Anfib glove, good to about 35 degrees on their own. Under 35F, I use one chemical handwarmer inside the glove on the back of each hand. Under 25 degrees, my hands are cold for the first 7 miles, but as long as we do some climbing, they are fine after that as long as I don't take the gloves off. I unwrap a bar in advance so I don't need to deglove, otherwise, I have another 7 miles to get my hands warm again!

[Crankin]

I have the Gore booties. I can't say how well they work, because I can't close one of them. Seriously, it's like my calf is too big. It's quite strange. I got them on sale last year. DH likes his, though.
I have some mid range insulated booties that have velcro for the closure that work well for road rides. I have been known to use foot warmers at below 42 degrees or so, also. I end up wearing my thin smart wool x country ski socks. I have a few pairs of woolie bullies, but I really have to loosen my shoes.
I also have a cheap pair of PI booties with zippers and velcro for my mtb shoes. They are all ripped up on the bottom, but they do work.

[Becky]

My DH has those Pearl Izumi boots too, and raves about them! He says that they were money well spent.

I have the same problem with winter boots and booties not fastening tightly enough around my calves. I've taken to wear low softshell gaiters over my Sidi boots in order to get a nice tight seal at the ankle.

I bought a pair of XStatic sock liners at EMS, and they have made such a huge difference in how comfortable my feet feel. It's not just the wicking capabilities (been wearing sock liners for years), but something about these particular ones actually makes me feel warmer. Add a pair of smartwool socks and my Sidi boots and I'm good for a couple of hours.

[OakLeaf]

Seriously, it's like my calf is too big. It's quite strange.

Not so strange if they're unisex, which most (all?) booties are. It's a really common issue with women in unisex motorcycling boots, as well. They're made for someone whose tibias are this long, and when an athletic woman tries to put them on, the belly of our gastroc is falling in a part of the boot that's meant to be on the narrower part of a man's ankle.

[Crankin]

OK, now I know I am not weird. I mean, my calves are bigger from cycling and years of pounding them on the aerobics floor, but they are not huge.
Becky, it's funny you mention sock liners. I have been wearing silk sock liners for a few years, when I x country ski in really cold weather. In the past 2 years, every time I wear them, I get some type of toe problem. I wore them a couple of weeks ago, snow shoeing, and yesterday, when I took my nail polish off of my toes, I had a nice black toenail. Great, those usually take months to fall off. It's like they are acting like socks that are too thick.