Installed my Hotronics today:

darent · Dec 18, 2010

wa-loaf said:

wife hates those big battery packs hanging off her boot, she got the cord extensions from hottronics and wears her batteries on her waist,small of back, they are covered by her coat so they stay warmer and she swears the batteries last longer that way

bvibert · Dec 18, 2010

deadheadskier said:
hmmmm

I wonder if a boot glove could be modified to allow access to the bottom buckle. I typically undo that one on the lifts as well.

darent said:
i would think that would be easy, put the boot glove on,take a xacto knive and cut the material out above the buckle.

Exactly. IIRC the directions that came with my boot gloves actually recommended cutting access holes for the buckles. I never did it because I didn't want to limit them to only being able to be used on one pair of boots.

wa-loaf · Dec 28, 2010

Put the mounting brackets onto my boots this weekend:

deadheadskier · Jan 2, 2011

thanks for posting the install 'trip report'. certainly made installing mine today a lot easier than just going off of the basic directions. Not that it was difficult, but the pictures helped . Just need to wait for the brackets to arrive and I'll be good to go.

Madroch · Jan 5, 2011

bvibert said:
My biggest issue with boot gloves is that they make buckle adjustments a PITA. I usually need to loosen my boots the first few chair rides of the day, so they don't really work out for me. Plus they look kinda dumb.

I use boot gloves when the temp is below 20 or so, and yes they look dumb. My kids make fun of me. But my feet get cold easy. I have no buckling issues so they are no hassle. I buckle up at a usual setting in the lodge, and maybe have to micro tighten once if it is really cold and my feet shrink???. Hotronics appear to be too much of a PITA-and the battery pack seems like it would annoy me. Do Hotronics affect fit at all?

billski · Jan 5, 2011

I'd like to know when we are going to get a deep freeze so you can really try those things out!

billski · Jan 5, 2011

darent said:
wife hates those big battery packs hanging off her boot, she got the cord extensions from hottronics and wears her batteries on her waist,small of back, they are covered by her coat so they stay warmer and she swears the batteries last longer that way

I think she's right if my ipod and cell phone are any testament. Cold is brutal on batteries.

wa-loaf · Jan 5, 2011

Madroch said:
Do Hotronics affect fit at all?

It's very thin and I haven't noticed it. I'm picky about fit too.

wa-loaf · Jan 5, 2011

billski said:
I'd like to know when we are going to get a deep freeze so you can really try those things out!

I've had 2 outings when I needed them.

Madroch · Jan 6, 2011

wa-loaf said:
It's very thin and I haven't noticed it. I'm picky about fit too.

Quite intrigued at the prospect of not having frozen feet when it gets really cold... looks like, from the pictures, they would not pose a problem for lace up liners (which are already enough of a PITA to put on)... hmmmm

billski · Jan 6, 2011

Madroch said:
Quite intrigued at the prospect of not having frozen feet when it gets really cold... looks like, from the pictures, they would not pose a problem for lace up liners (which are already enough of a PITA to put on)... hmmmm

How well do those heat pads work for you? For cheap little me, it's pretty economical. I buy a box for $15 and it lasts me three years. At that cost, I don't feel bad about swapping them mid-day, or even putting them in my inner jacket fleece, near my torso.

I am also wondering if the wiring has improved. Early models used to have wires break and they were not readily repairable.

deadheadskier · Jan 7, 2011

1st day out on the Hotronics today. Not much of a temperature test as it was in the mid-20s, but feet were comfortable all day on setting 2. Zero fit issues after the installation.

deadheadskier · Jan 9, 2011

well, two more days with the Hotronics; Saturday at Pico, today at Okemo. Still haven't put them to the test in bitter cold, but yesterday they saw a lot of 6 inch deep snow to cruise through and today it was probably only about 15 up top of Okemo with some serious wind.

3 days use on setting 2 with the batteries lasting all day and barely any feeling of cold at all. In fact, today my toes were fine all day and the only real cold I felt was in my heal area just a touch. I'm thinking if I didn't have them, my feet would've been cold/numb for much of the day.

Mounting brackets arrived today. I'll take a look at them, but with 3 days of use just over the strap, they feel damn solid to me. They certainly don't feel like they'd fall off and they don't feel like they bounce around.

Terry · Jan 10, 2011

deadheadskier said:
well, two more days with the Hotronics; Saturday at Pico, today at Okemo. Still haven't put them to the test in bitter cold, but yesterday they saw a lot of 6 inch deep snow to cruise through and today it was probably only about 15 up top of Okemo with some serious wind.

3 days use on setting 2 with the batteries lasting all day and barely any feeling of cold at all. In fact, today my toes were fine all day and the only real cold I felt was in my heal area just a touch. I'm thinking if I didn't have them, my feet would've been cold/numb for much of the day.

Mounting brackets arrived today. I'll take a look at them, but with 3 days of use just over the strap, they feel damn solid to me. They certainly don't feel like they'd fall off and they don't feel like they bounce around.

Don't mount them on the back of your boots as they will get hit by the chairs and knocked off. You don't want to lose them as the batteries are quit expensive. I had brackets that hook over the strap on the outside and work ok but I have broken 3 of these brackets. Now I just hook them over the strap and put a small piece of duct tape across the bottom so that they can't pop off. Works much better. Other than those issues, I love them. Never have cold feet anymore even on the coldest days.

Glenn · Jan 10, 2011

Here's my one gripe with the Thermics: Battery life. Not how long they last on a charge; that depends on the outside temp. The batteries themselves seem to just stop holding a charge after awhile. My wife had another battery start to crap out this weekend. We have a total of 6 batteries.....2 are dead and the third is on it's way out. I wonder if those liions are any better? But I can't pictures dropping $350 to find out. Ouch.

mlctvt · Jan 10, 2011

Glenn said:
Here's my one gripe with the Thermics: Battery life. Not how long they last on a charge; that depends on the outside temp. The batteries themselves seem to just stop holding a charge after awhile. My wife had another battery start to crap out this weekend. We have a total of 6 batteries.....2 are dead and the third is on it's way out. I wonder if those liions are any better? But I can't pictures dropping $350 to find out. Ouch.

No battery problems with the two sets of Hotronics Power Plus M4 we have. They're 2- 3years old. Using a setting of 2 out of 4 will allow an entire 7-8 hour day plus. I've even forgotten to charge them one night and I still got another few hours before the battery went dead the second day.
These do sell for about $175.00/set though on Amazon or Ebay.

darent · Jan 10, 2011

deadheadskier said:
well, two more days with the Hotronics; Saturday at Pico, today at Okemo. Still haven't put them to the test in bitter cold, but yesterday they saw a lot of 6 inch deep snow to cruise through and today it was probably only about 15 up top of Okemo with some serious wind.

3 days use on setting 2 with the batteries lasting all day and barely any feeling of cold at all. In fact, today my toes were fine all day and the only real cold I felt was in my heal area just a touch. I'm thinking if I didn't have them, my feet would've been cold/numb for much of the day.

Mounting brackets arrived today. I'll take a look at them, but with 3 days of use just over the strap, they feel damn solid to me. They certainly don't feel like they'd fall off and they don't feel like they bounce around.

don't mount them on the back of your boots, they can get hit by the chair and dislodge. also be careful mounting them on your strap with the clip, earlier reply said he uses duct tape to make sure they don't snap off . my wife hasn't lost a battery since she started to mount them on her waist using the cable extensions. also batteries are more protected from the cold being under her coat and last longer. she has been using them this way for 3 years now and has had no problems. she wants to move up to the M4's . I'm thinking of installing her old ones in my boots.

wa-loaf · Jan 10, 2011

darent said:
don't mount them on the back of your boots, they can get hit by the chair and dislodge. also be careful mounting them on your strap with the clip, earlier reply said he uses duct tape to make sure they don't snap off . my wife hasn't lost a battery since she started to mount them on her waist using the cable extensions. also batteries are more protected from the cold being under her coat and last longer. she has been using them this way for 3 years now and has had no problems. she wants to move up to the M4's . I'm thinking of installing her old ones in my boots.

I've got the mount on the back. I guess I can see how they can get knocked off if you're not careful, but I haven't had any issues yet. They just don't fit on my power strap well. I feel they're more secure on the mount. I just need to make sure I don't knock them on the chair.

darent · Jan 10, 2011

wa-loaf said:
I've got the mount on the back. I guess I can see how they can get knocked off if you're not careful, but I haven't had any issues yet. They just don't fit on my power strap well. I feel they're more secure on the mount. I just need to make sure I don't knock them on the chair.

you just have to be careful on the low chairs or after big dumps, It happens quick, jan lost two batteries and didn't know it till later,I think more people lose batteries mounting them on the power strap, that is from hearing stories of lost batteries

Installed my Hotronics today:

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