Chemical feet warmers

[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.

[indysteel]

One thing my fitter told me (he also happens to be Catrin's) is that the charcoal warmers will not work as well (or at all) if you use them in conjunction with full shoe covers. They need air to work. I use them alone or with toe covers and they work pretty well. Any by well, I mean that I can ride semi-comfortably for a limited amount of time. I've yet to find anything (sort of winter shoes) that keep my feet warm indefinitely.

[OakLeaf]

I can't even think how to get the hand warmers in and still have the use of my hands, so I've never tried them, but the foot warmers are good for four to six hours on a motorcycle. No room for them in my cycling shoes.