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sullywhacker

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"I created one for the boots on which I will be using them, K2 Recon"

Did you give any thought to buying the Recon with the Thermic liner option?
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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"I created one for the boots on which I will be using them, K2 Recon"

Did you give any thought to buying the Recon with the Thermic liner option?
I was skiing what K2 sent me. Yes, the Recon 12 MV is available with the Thermic heated liner, but I was also in the 130 LV. I was hoping at some point K2 would send me just the heated liners, that might still hapen in the future.
 

Noodler

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Reviving this thread to pass along a fairly major change in how I'm running the heater cable. We had a good discussion last season about the pros/cons of the different ways to run the cable. I was still running my cable up the back of the liner all last season, with the cable coming out at the heel, and then covering the cable with gaffer tape up the back of the liner. Well, I also use silicone spray throughout the season to make it easy to go in/out of my shells "racer style" (liners on my feet). Unfortunately, the silicone would seep into the gaffer tape, causing the tape to eventually fail around the edges. So I was replacing the tape about once/month. Also, I noticed that on my liners that got heavier use, I was actually wearing through the cable covering and exposing a little bit of the metal wires. Neither of these things were good, so I was considering what options I had to solve these problems.

Fast forward to today; I finally figured out a slick solution that I wish I had thought of long ago. Note though, that I really didn't want to bring the cable out at the arch since my footbeds are all already built with the cables coming out at the heels (with posting over the cabling too). That also eliminated bringing the cable out of the toe (a la @SBrown). I have skied with the cable running up the back while inside of the liner (when testing footbed changes) and that sucks too. The cable ends up shifting and kinking and generally doesn't feel great right against your Achilles.

And then it dawned on me... similar to how I stick the heating element between the layers of my footbeds, I could run the cable up the back of the liner between the layers of the liner material. So I checked my ZipFits and sure enough, it's pretty easy to separate the layers of neoprene and padding that run up the back of the liner. I needed something to "open up" the channel and make sure I could fish the cable through this area. I decided to use a flexible, very fine tooth hacksaw blade. The hacksaw blade was the perfect width, easy to push up through the channel (separating the layers) and the teeth on one side could be used to gently widen the channel to fit the size of the plug on the end of the cable.

It took a bit of work to fish the cables up through the channels, but it worked. I cut a small slit at the top of the inside portion of the liner cuff to pass the cable out of. So the cable goes from the heel of the footbed, directly into the channel at the Achilles area of the liner, and the finishes through a slot in the neoprene up near the top. I put a small piece of gaffer tape over the cable where it passed through the slot to reduce any possible wear-n-tear on the neoprene. If anyone is interested, I can post some pictures.

In my indoor testing, I think I've got a pretty damn good solution. The cable is no longer exposed at the heel, so going in and out of the shell is a non-issue. I won't have to replace any tape due to it getting saturated with silicone spray either. When wearing the boots, I cannot feel the cable at all through the neoprene layer and I've also eliminated a layer of gaffer tape going up the back.

I think this is definitely a DIY proposition though, as I doubt skiers would be able to talk a shop into running the heating element cable in this manner. But you never know... I also have no idea if this is possible with other liners. YMMV. :)
 

Noodler

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20191028_170841854_iOS.jpg


This shot of the final product shows the exit point in the back of the liner toward the top of the cuff. I covered the exit with gaffer tape, but it probably wasn't entirely necessary. There is nothing going up the back of the liner since the cable is between the liner layers.

I have skied this setup a few times now and I've found that it works great. The cable stays put and I don't feel it even when skiing.
 

ARL67

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I have the Sidas battery footbeds, similar in design to the Thermic but no Bluetooth .

The Sidas has 3 temperature settings. I find running them at High to be counter-productive -> my feet get colder. I think this is because the higher heat makes the foot sweat, which is a cooling process. I now just keep them on Low or Mid , but never High.

Anyone else experience similar results with too much heat ?
 

Noodler

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I have the Sidas battery footbeds, similar in design to the Thermic but no Bluetooth .

The Sidas has 3 temperature settings. I find running them at High to be counter-productive -> my feet get colder. I think this is because the higher heat makes the foot sweat, which is a cooling process. I now just keep them on Low or Mid , but never High.

Anyone else experience similar results with too much heat ?

I have the Sidas Pro Set too and the high setting is really hot. So I keep it on the first 2 settings too.
 

MikeW Philly

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So reviving this thread. I’m looking at the Thermic insoles for my wife as she is forced to wear a junior race boot (20.5 size foot) and the insulation isn’t as good. I’d like to pick up the insoles but it looks like they only go down to 22. Has anybody installed these in kids or smaller boots? have you been able to trim it enough to fit?
 

Andy Mink

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So reviving this thread. I’m looking at the Thermic insoles for my wife as she is forced to wear a junior race boot (20.5 size foot) and the insulation isn’t as good. I’d like to pick up the insoles but it looks like they only go down to 22. Has anybody installed these in kids or smaller boots? have you been able to trim it enough to fit?
The heaters are just small pads that attach to the (preferably custom) footbed of the boot. They go under the forefoot just behind the toes. The cable is then routed through a small hole cut into the footbed and routed, in most cases, under the arch and out through the side of the liner, then up the spine of the liner. Only the silvery part is the heater in the photo below. EDIT: My mistake, missed the part about the actual Thermic heated insoles. If you aren't sure about the fit in the small boot the type here would work.
1579732040575.png
 

MikeW Philly

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The heaters are just small pads that attach to the (preferably custom) footbed of the boot. They go under the forefoot just behind the toes. The cable is then routed through a small hole cut into the footbed and routed, in most cases, under the arch and out through the side of the liner, then up the spine of the liner. Only the silvery part is the heater in the photo below. EDIT: My mistake, missed the part about the actual Thermic heated insoles. If you aren't sure about the fit in the small boot the type here would work.
Thanks. It’s funny Therm-ic seems to have the better product but frankly their website is horrible - confusing and not great instructions. So it seems like I could just buy the thermic-1300 B kit - toss the insoles included and just attach the element to her existing semi custom footbeds.

I thought that might be the case but given their website wanted to ask. As much as I think the hottronic would work I feel like the app capabiltiies on thermic (plus smaller battery fro a tiny foot) will work much better for my wife. I like the motion adjustments of the app as it’s definitely on the lifts where she is most cold. Looks like I’ll put in an order this weekend for her.

Picked up carv for myself so going to play with it that new toy this weekend - my feet don’t get cold so figured I’d go a different route.


- On the install how did you grind down the footbed to make it fit seamless? Oddly enough I don’t have a Dremel tool (one of the few things I don’t have) I supposed I could pick up a cheapy tool but wondering if there is a more manual option?
 
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E221b

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Thanks. It’s funny Therm-ic seems to have the better product but frankly their website is horrible - confusing and not great instructions. So it seems like I could just buy the thermic-1300 B kit - toss the insoles included and just attach the element to her existing semi custom footbeds.

I thought that might be the case but given their website wanted to ask. As much as I think the hottronic would work I feel like the app capabiltiies on thermic (plus smaller battery fro a tiny foot) will work much better for my wife. I like the motion adjustments of the app as it’s definitely on the lifts where she is most cold. Looks like I’ll put in an order this weekend for her.

Picked up carv for myself so going to play with it that new toy this weekend - my feet don’t get cold so figured I’d go a different route.
You want to get the Therm-ic kit that does NOT come with insoles then. The kit you're looking for has just the heating elements, the batteries, charger, and some cambrelle covers to cover the element and everything else after you stick it on the footbed. The one that comes with complete insoles won't have a separate element to use on her own footbeds.
 

MikeW Philly

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You want to get the Therm-ic kit that does NOT come with insoles then. The kit you're looking for has just the heating elements, the batteries, charger, and some cambrelle covers to cover the element and everything else after you stick it on the footbed. The one that comes with complete insoles won't have a separate element to use on her own footbeds.

Looks like this is it: https://www.buckmans.com/ski/ski-bo...with-heat-kit-soz-t44-0201-600-o4i_35259.aspx

damn images look like insoles included. But I see what you mean it looks like some come pre-installed in therm-ic insoles.
 

Andy Mink

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- On the install how did you grind down the footbed to make it fit seamless? Oddly enough I don’t have a Dremel tool (one of the few things I don’t have) I supposed I could pick up a cheapy tool but wondering if there is a more manual option?
Check back through this thread towards the beginning and check the photos. There are also some install videos on YouTube.
 

Tricia

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So reviving this thread. I’m looking at the Thermic insoles for my wife as she is forced to wear a junior race boot (20.5 size foot) and the insulation isn’t as good. I’d like to pick up the insoles but it looks like they only go down to 22. Has anybody installed these in kids or smaller boots? have you been able to trim it enough to fit?
I'm sure she has custom footbeds in her boots.
She can get these. (we can help with install instructions if you don't have a fitter to go to for install)
If you want something a little more techie then get the Blue tooth model that I am currently using which lets her control it on her phone.

Seems pricey, but worth every penny!
 

MikeW Philly

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I'm sure she has custom footbeds in her boots.
She can get these. (we can help with install instructions if you don't have a fitter to go to for install)
If you want something a little more techie then get the Blue tooth model that I am currently using which lets her control it on her phone.

Seems pricey, but worth every penny!

Thanks. I think I have the understanding of installation down, it seems like a lot of the installs use a rotary tool to grind the bottom of the footbed down to keep the wire more flat, that was my biggest concern as i just don’t own one. but I may pick up one to do it.

Funny enough though I picked up the therm-ic at buckmans today (local PA ski shop). I know my wife’s feet our tiny but it’s shocking looking at it on the footbed and heating element:

7FB9168C-7246-471D-90CA-5C62FDEE63FF.jpeg
 

Tricia

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Thanks. I think I have the understanding of installation down, it seems like a lot of the installs use a rotary tool to grind the bottom of the footbed down to keep the wire more flat, that was my biggest concern as i just don’t own one. but I may pick up one to do it.

Funny enough though I picked up the therm-ic at buckmans today (local PA ski shop). I know my wife’s feet our tiny but it’s shocking looking at it on the footbed and heating element:

View attachment 91077
Please tell me you didn't run the wire on the top of the footbed? I'm hoping that you're just placing that there for visual?
53FC063F-6313-4848-AC6F-9725DB13595E.jpeg
07425F01-210D-4DFD-A370-8B60057C764A.jpeg
 

MikeW Philly

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Please tell me you didn't run the wire on the top of the footbed? I'm hoping that you're just placing that there for visual?

Visual. The element barely fits across the width of her foot. No I ran the wire under the bottom. My only major question about install wasn’t so much the process but in some of the more extreme race boots it looked like installers were taking a dremel rotary tool and grinding down the bottom of the footbed a little track for the wire. I was curious how many folks did that as that was the one piece I wasn’t 100% comfortable with.
 

Tricia

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Visual. The element barely fits across the width of her foot. No I ran the wire under the bottom. My only major question about install wasn’t so much the process but in some of the more extreme race boots it looked like installers were taking a dremel rotary tool and grinding down the bottom of the footbed a little track for the wire. I was curious how many folks did that as that was the one piece I wasn’t 100% comfortable with.
I do that on a posted footbed
 

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