Chemical feet warmers

[Catrin]

How well do chemical foot warmers work? I had a lovely 16 mile ride this afternoon - which currently seems to be the limit that my tendons will allow before they start complaining. I do have shoe covers that IndySteel loaned me to check out, but they do not fit on the shoes that I wear with my BMX pedals.

The temps were in the mid-40's when I started the ride, so I assume the wind-chill was in the 30's somewhere. My gear seemed more or less warm enough, though I don't think I want to wear those leg warmers for much lower temps than today - going to have to get some real cold-weather tights. What REALLY got cold today was my feet.

I didn't realize how cold they were until I went to stop before crossing a quite busy street on the way home and couldn't seem to move my feet quite fast enough and had a slow-motion tip-over. Right into the grass so that was ok. Soft landing, nothing bruised but my pride. I had on smart-wool socks + hiking shoes that worked great with my BMX pedals. Can't even blame my SPD pedals for the fall over

So - to my original question - will chemical foot warmers do the trick? I assume they are worn between the sock and shoe and not against my skin. I think if I were to try and wear two pairs of socks that would cause other problems...

Nice ride though - and only had 1 solitary twinge in one tendon the entire ride, the other tendons and muscles appeared quite happy

[chicagogal]

They work. But they require air to activate, so shake them, let them warm up, then put them in your shoes. Also, if you shoe covers don't fit, what about toe covers. Better to have something than nothing, because cold wind is brutal.

[DarcyInOregon]

Why not just invest in the winter cycling shoes? They look like a pair of mid-rise hiking boots and are mostly wind and water proof. I wear mine with Smartwool ski socks, normally $25 retail, but got them for under $10 by shopping a sale online at REI Outlet. The wool ski socks when worn with the winter cycling shoes keep the feet warm and dry without having to deal with shoe covers, and the length of the ski socks help to keep the lower legs warm under thermal winter cycling tights.

[Becky]

They work well, but they're not my first choice, unless it's friiiiiiiiiiiiiiigid. The environmentalist in me tries to find non-disposable methods. (That said, I freely admit to using them on bitter days when I have to wear steel-toe boots. That's an experience that brings new meaning to cold toes )

What about Gore Tex socks? They would block the wind and provide a little insulation too...

[Catrin]

There are two problems with winter cycling shoes - one is the cost - the other is that I must use BMX pedals this winter - no return to clipping in until at least spring. From what I can tell, all winter cycling shoes have hard plastic soles - that doesn't mix well with metal pedals that I can't clip to...

I think that I will take my hiking/riding shoes to my LBS and see if the toe-covers will fit them. I understand that toe covers are one-size and my LBS staff tells me they are kind of narrow. I will investigate further.

hmmmm Smartwool ski socks sounds like a good option as well, and will check into Gore-Tex socks, but the ski socks sounds warmer.

Thanks everyone - I figure that at least for now I shouldn't ride outside very often as I wait for my leg to finish healing, but it is good for me to get out when I can...My leg does seem to respond better to real riding over spinning classes - probably because I behave myself better on the real bike

[smurfalicious]

Never used um, but I did notice once on QBP that they had foot specific ones now. Since it sounds like you're just riding in sneakers or something for now, not all of this advice will work for you. Nonetheless, here's my toes is froze guide:

Tape your shoe vents closed! Electrical tape is probably best, it seems to leave the least gunk. Or, if you have an old pair of shoes you upgraded that still have miles, make them your winter shoes. Even if you're using covers this still eliminates routes for cold air to sneak in.

Once that's not enough, I add DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks. They're my absolute favorite wool socks. So thick and wonderful I tend to wear them around the house. At this point I might add toe covers, but I don't feel like they do much especially if I taped the vents.

After that I go taped vents, wool socks, maybe toes covers and then shoe covers. I had some PI ones that sadly they don't seem to make anymore. Then, if it's really nasty but for some reason I decided riding > snowshoeing, I put on my socks, slip my feet into a newspaper bag or similar, then into my shoes and on come the shoe covers. This combo doesn't breathe for beans so it gets a little humid in there, but it's waaaaarm.

Oh, you can do similar for your paws too. Goes fleecy liner glove, latex/nytrile glove, big windproof gloves like a Wombat or some such.

All these combos were tested last winter while I was unemployed, bored and faced with weeks of single digit days.

[Seajay]

I'm a fan of the chemical warmers...used as Chicagogal says.
Shoe covers, however, are a must. Toe covers are OK but I like the added ankle/achilles protection of the full cover.
I'm less of a fan of the winter shoes as its hard to keep the water from running down your leg and into the shoe. (cold lake in shoe) I'm sure they would be nice in a cold dry place.
With the covers being taller... you can run your tights OVER the top of the covers and no water drains in.
On the REALLY cold days...I usually take the toes off a pair of old rag wool socks, cut a hole for the cleat and wear that arrangement over the shoes and under the shoe covers.
Oh...and if I drive to the ride start...shoes heat up on the defroster vents (sliding into warm shoes=BLISS!!) and I do as little walking as possible in my cleats because that always seems to make my feet cold.

[indysteel]

DH just got some PI shoe covers that came in different sizes.

I, too, resort to charcoal warmers when it's really cold. Yes, they're not a perfect solution, but I otherwise try to be environmentally conscious. I just can't seem to get by without them when it gets too cold.

[OakLeaf]

May have covered this already - but make sure there's plenty of room in your shoes and that they're not laced too tightly. Nothing freezes my feet like inadequate circulation - likely that's true for you as a diabetic, as well. My feet are actually warmer in lighter shoes/socks that fit loosely, than they are in any combination of heavy boots and thick socks that are even a little snug.

[Seajay]

May have covered this already - but make sure there's plenty of room in your shoes and that they're not laced too tightly. Nothing freezes my feet like inadequate circulation - likely that's true for you as a diabetic, as well. My feet are actually warmer in lighter shoes/socks that fit loosely, than they are in any combination of heavy boots and thick socks that are even a little snug.

+1 Thick socks in tight shoes = COLD FEET.

[Catrin]

Thanks for all of the good advice, I appreciate it! I am going to investigate difference sizes of toe covers - my usual LBS doesn't carry PI products outside of shoes, but I know where I can go to check it out. Will also look at my socks, I just had on a pair of ankle-high smartwool socks - toe covers probably would have been enough today. I like these hiking shoes with my pedals - they are a little stiffer than the average running shoe and I can still use them for hiking

Toddling off to bed now, alarm goes off MUCH too early after having 4 days off in a row...

[marni]

my solution is to wear wool socks and the put a plastic bag, like you get at the grocery store to put your apples in, on each foot before I put my shoe on. I also have internal toe warmers made out of plastic bags. My winter shoes are just plain shimano mtb shoes but then it only gets down into the 40's or lower for a couple of rides a year so a bigger investment isn't really all that important. I also have shoe covers for the rain, but have yet to use them as I usually get caught out half way home. My wool socks and plastic bags are my saving vice.

[Crankin]

I use the chemical warmers for both hands and feet sometimes, when it's in the 30's. It kind of depends on the day. We buy them in large quantities from a hunting supply store, for x country skiing, where it's often hovering around zero when we go out. I have actually used them with my winter shoes, when it was in the very low 30's and windy, as well as with my regular road shoes, along with wool socks, toe covers and neoprene booties. Can you tell I don't want cold feet?
I second the advice about making sure your shoes are not too tight. I had a miserable ride last week because I was wearing my woolie-bully socks with my winter shoes for the first time. Not only were my feet cool, they were also going numb. I had to stop and untie/retie.
I use the chemical warmers more for my hands. I cannot tolerate gloves any thicker than the full fingered ones that are good for down to 40 or so, so I bought a pair in a bigger size and use them with my Smart wool liners. I put the warmers in between the liner and the glove, on the top of my hand. I have a pair of perfectly good AmFibs, but one time I sort of got them caught in the brifter while shifting and I never wore them again on my road bike. I can handle the trigger shifters, though. I also tried the lobster gloves, but it was just too awkward and weird, so I gave them to my son. I have pretty low tolerance for anything different, requiring different muscle memory, so if using the warmers helps me not kill myself, so be it.

[pll]

How about overshoes, like those from NEOS? They sell insulated versions. Wind- and waterproof, some insulated for warmth.

[nscrbug]

Well I guess I'm in the minority here, because I tried using both hand and toe warmers this past weekend...and my feelings were that they did not work very well. I was wearing Smartwool cycling socks and stuck the toe warmers to the bottom of my socks as instructed (after activating them, of course). Put my shoes on, as well as my Pearl Izumi AmFib shoe covers. I felt the warmth for maybe 30 minutes, tops. Perhaps the Smartwool socks were just too thick to transfer the warmth...I don't know.

As for the hand warmers, I didn't feel them at all. I wore a thin glove liner with a pair of Descente Wombat gloves. I placed the hand warmer between the liner and glove, on the top of my hand. I never felt any warmth whatsoever. On top of that, it was extremely difficult to get the placement of the warmer in the correct position once you have 1 glove on. You almost need to have another person shove the warmers up into your gloves for you, because it's just simply impossible to do once you have 1 gloved hand.

I personally, will not bother with using the warmers again...at least not for cycling purposes.