Heated boot bag, solution for cold feet?

[nemesis256]

I'm tired of skiing with cold feet. I know there's multiple options. Things like hotronics look like a pain with the whole cable thing. I take out my liners after every ski day to dry them, and I get a feeling that will easily damage the cable. Then there's heated socks like Lenz, but I'm concerned they'll be too thick. I currently use ultra light smartwool socks.

So is a heated boot bag good enough for keeping my feet warm for at least a couple hours? I have heat moldable liners so I need to be careful with how warm they get. Would like to avoid having them pack down early due to a heated bag. I would like the bag to be small enough to fit as a airplane carry on, but I assume almost any bag will work as long as it isn't stuffed full.

 

[Philpug]

All the above. Heated bag starts you with a warm boot and jsut prolongs the boot getting cold. Dry socks help, heated socks are better, but take up more volume. Boot heaters like Hotronics and Thermic are also good in nutralizing the cold. Boot gloves help, chemical heaters help. Lets just face it skiing is a winter sport, ski boots are just not warm. With that said, I like my heated bag, it helps but I am also realistic with it's limitations.

 

[Chris Walker]

My heated boot bag has 2 settings: warm & dry. I use the Dry setting after skiing, but before skiing, that might be too hot. If the boot is so warm that your feet sweat when you put them on, it may end up making your feet cold even sooner than no heated boot. But using the Warm setting, it is great on a cold morning putting on a nice warm boot and I think it does make a difference for at least a little while.

 

[hbear]

Boot heaters aren’t bad, the cable issue is a non issue. Downside is cost of course but for those that need them it’s a game changer.

If you don’t like a thicker sock or have very little room in the liner, no better option.

As for drying liners, I find when using a boot dryer I no longer need to pull liners. Just plop then in the tubes and turn on the fan (a few hours later, dry as can be).

Heated boot bag is great to get tight fitting boots on the the morning, and have warm feet for longer (eventually the cold does get through....plastic boots transmit cold well)....but not a replacement for continuous heat through a heated sock or boot heater.

 

[bbinder]

Boot heaters changed my life 25 years ago

 

[AmyPJ]

I'll 2nd the boot heaters/boot dryer option. I've used a heated bag, but it only keeps the toes warm for a fairly short period of time (temperature dependent, of course.) I had boot heaters installed last season, and I LOVE them. Bought a fairly inexpensive boot dryer for the end of the day, that I also use in the morning before I head out to soften the shells a bit so I can get the boots on more easily.

 

[Uncle Louie]

One thing that works for me (in addition to everything said in ALL the posts above) is to take your foot out of the boots for 10-15 minutes at lunch time.

Even better if you manage to find a headed floor that's dry in the lodge. (That discovery made at Jackson in 2015)

 

[François Pugh]

I'm tired of skiing with cold feet. I know there's multiple options. Things like hotronics look like a pain with the whole cable thing. I take out my liners after every ski day to dry them, and I get a feeling that will easily damage the cable. Then there's heated socks like Lenz, but I'm concerned they'll be too thick. I currently use ultra light smartwool socks.

So is a heated boot bag good enough for keeping my feet warm for at least a couple hours? I have heat moldable liners so I need to be careful with how warm they get. Would like to avoid having them pack down early due to a heated bag. I would like the bag to be small enough to fit as a airplane carry on, but I assume almost any bag will work as long as it isn't stuffed full.

Electrically heated boots is the answer. Heated boot bags will only work if you don't ski very long, and might make it worse if you do ski for a long time. Too warm boots cause sweat, that causes trouble when the boot eventually cools down.

 

[nemesis256]

Thanks for the replies, gives me more to think about. One thing I forgot to mention is that I use my foot beds in my touring boots as well, and I definitely don’t need heat in those. Hotronics are stuck onto the footbed, correct? So could that be a problem?

 

[AmyPJ]

Thanks for the replies, gives me more to think about. One thing I forgot to mention is that I use my foot beds in my touring boots as well, and I definitely don’t need heat in those. Hotronics are stuck onto the footbed, correct? So could that be a problem?

Yes, that is a problem.

 

[Philpug]

Thanks for the replies, gives me more to think about. One thing I forgot to mention is that I use my foot beds in my touring boots as well, and I definitely don’t need heat in those. Hotronics are stuck onto the footbed, correct? So could that be a problem?

An extra set of elements are less than $40.00. You can swap the battery packs from one boot to another.

 

[nemesis256]

An extra set of elements are less than $40.00. You can swap the battery packs from one boot to another.

I'm watching an installation video for hotronics, and it looks like it basically becomes part of the foot bed. I guess if anything I would use my foot beds in my touring boots with the wire hanging loose somewhere.

 

[hbear]

Or can clip the battery over so you don’t have an exposed wire. (Even if you don’t need the heat)

 

[PTskier]

Do your feet get just cold or unbearably cold? If the latter, Hotronics. If merely cold, try the $30 neoprene foam Boot Glove covers. They are a good half-step before one goes all the way to the electric insoles. There may be other brands of similar covers. Surefoot sells the same covers with their own label on them. I even ski with one person who needs Boot Gloves over her Hotronic-equipped boots. In addition to Hotronic, there are also Therm-IC and Sidas, maybe others. The shop who installed my buddy's Hotronics placed the battery where the lowest bar on the chair lift hit it and damaged the cord. Arrrg.