Cold Feet

[lph]

For the last week I've been commuting in temps of lemmesee.. 10-14 F. I wear mediumweight wool socks, winter Shimano shoes with wool inner soles and neoprene booties. If I remember to pedal "round", and not mash my toes down all the time, this is ok for rides of 1-1,5 hrs. If I forget, my toes go numb, and once numb they're impossible to heat up again. I used chemical warmers one day, but had to go to thinner socks, all in all an expensive and not that effective solution.

But closing my neoprene booties UNDERNEATH my AmFib tights instead of over them made a noticeable difference. The booties are a bit snug around the ankle, and the added pressure cuts blood circulation just a tad. The tights are stretchier and go fine on top.

Below about 25 F I wear PI lobster gloves.

[KathiCville]

I thought about the electric socks, but my BF warned me that the batteries make the socks fall down as soon as the elastic at the top gets even slightly worn out......I guess you could add something like a velcro band around your leg to keep them up but that might be more trouble than it's worth..........

I was poking around on line today and saw the Sidi "toasters," the Hotronic systems, and the Therm-ic systems---all tempting, none inexpensive. I also saw this gizmo called Cozy Feet for $20; mixed reviews; but it does use rechargeable batteries: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pr_product_top ]

It doesn't appear to heat the whole insole, but it might be enough to do the trick in shoes that are pretty airtight. Or maybe it's feasible to add a thin wool full insole that heats up end to end, with the help of the half-insole?.....I just ordered one to give it a whirl. My "long" rides are only between 12mi and 20mi at the moment, so I can't really justify the more expensive systems unless I find one at a fabulous sale price.

I've also seen thick-piled wool fleece and sheepskin insoles that look pretty darned toasty, but they might take up too much room unless your shoes are really roomy.