Heated gloves/boots for cold hands and feet.

[skiboarder]

My wife was recently diagnosed with Renaud's Disease, which causes her hands and feet to become very cold in cold weather. We are interested in getting her heated gloves and heated boot liners. Has anyone had good experiences with a particular product? Thanks.

 

[skidbump]

hotronics work pretty well for toes and chemical pads work good for hands.I have not met anyone who uses heated gloves.

 

[Euler]

I got my wife Hottronicsfor her birthday this year and she has enjoyed them. I've only read good things about them. Thermix or Thermics is another brand that also has a good reputation

 

[mlctvt]

My wife also has Raynaud's syndrome. I purchased the Hotronic M4 for my wife last year for Christmas, she couldn't be happier with these. The packs have 4 heat settings but most of the time she only needs to use the number 2 setting. Most shops charge about $200-$210 for the M4 and about $30 less for the M3. We boought our first set last year from Joe Jones ski shop in West Dover VT and they installed them for free, we paid $199. I recently bought another set of M4s for myself from ProctorJones.com and they're currently on sale for $179 with free ground shipping. I installed these myself and it only took about 1/2 hour. The install instructions are very good.
For hands she uses mittens with the heat pocket on the back. We buy the disposable hand heaters in bulk for less than $1.00/pair. They also last all day.

 

[Geoff]

I use Hotronics. They work really well.

I don't know anybody who uses heated mittens or gloves. Zanier makes them.
http://www.zanier.com/en/produkte_specials.html

 

[Terry]

Hotronics. Best equipment investment that I have ever made. Never have cold feet anymore.

 

[tcharron]

My wife was recently diagnosed with Renaud's Disease, which causes her hands and feet to become very cold in cold weather. We are interested in getting her heated gloves and heated boot liners. Has anyone had good experiences with a particular product? Thanks.

As everyones said, boot heaters work well. And don't expect it to be like warmers, either. You don't really FEEL the heat directly, it just doesn't get cold. I've been drooling over the newer heated gloves, but at 150+ bucks a pop, I've always just used chemical based warners.

 

[ski9]

Ditto on the Hotronics. The new M4 version goes for $180 on eBay and have a better battery (although my wife had her older version for nine years and skis 35+ days/yr). The M4's are easily removeable (take 'em out and put them in sledding boots, or whatever), as opposed to cutting a footbed they would supply.

 

[Mildcat]

Ditto on the Hotronics. The new M4 version goes for $180 on eBay and have a better battery (although my wife had her older version for nine years and skis 35+ days/yr). The M4's are easily removeable (take 'em out and put them in sledding boots, or whatever), as opposed to cutting a footbed they would supply.

If they're easily removable does that mean you don't have to cut a slit in the back of the liner? Where do you route the wire?

 

[mishka]

http://www.safetycentral.com/noname142.html
Very cheap. I have no info. on them... but price is good:roll:

one with beter pic. http://www.shop.com/Cozy_Feet_Cozy_...armer-12045961-53889310-p!.shtml?sourceid=298

 

[Glenn]

My wife has Thermics and they work great! I'm actually discharging the batteries so I can charge them up tonight.

There's a company that just came out with a new heated glove. The name escapes me right now. IIRC, it had the battery built right into the glove. It looks like a neat design.

Found it! Mountain Hardware. I saw a quicky review in RSN TV when we stayed at Mt. Snow a few weeks back: http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=1431&cat=1487&prod=3142

 

[Geoff]

If they're easily removable does that mean you don't have to cut a slit in the back of the liner? Where do you route the wire?

The battery pack is removable. Mine is on an adapter on my velcro power strap. In the spring, I pull the battery packs off.

The wire runs from the battery pack down the back the liner. It's held to the outside of the liner with duct tape. You have to slit the liner at the heel so you can run the wire underneath your custom footbed. On my foodbeds, my boot fitter ground down the toe area and glued the Hotronic heating element underneath.

 

[speden]

I suffer from Raynaud's in my hands and feet, and I find the best way to avoid attacks is to keep my core temperature up, so you might want to try getting her a warmer coat, or try wearing extra layers. If your core temperature is a little elevated, I don't think the blood vessels in the hands and feet will clamp down.

 

[darent]

bought my wife Hotronics M4. you can get a longer set of cables to get the batteries off your boots and you can wear them on your waist. they are under your coat so they stay warmer and are more effecient. you run the cable down inside your ski pant legs. NO complaints about cold feet, best gift she ever received for skiing. she uses mittens and heat packs on really cold days.

 

[Eski]

a buddies wife bought the heated gloves and finally enjoys cozy hand comfort, something she has never had prior ... she raves about them

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

i have Renaud's Disease too....i cant feel the hottronix, i didnt think they worked so i brought them back to the shop and they put a thermometer in the boot and it read 125 degrees.....i use the packs in my mittens....i take Niefedipine (prescription 2x day) and its helped....

 

[Mildcat]

The battery pack is removable. Mine is on an adapter on my velcro power strap. In the spring, I pull the battery packs off.

The wire runs from the battery pack down the back the liner. It's held to the outside of the liner with duct tape. You have to slit the liner at the heel so you can run the wire underneath your custom footbed. On my foodbeds, my boot fitter ground down the toe area and glued the Hotronic heating element underneath.

That's the way mine are too. I must have misunderstood what he said.

 

[RichH]

Any more info on the heated gloves? My wife is a boarder, needs new gloves and gets extremely cold. I'm debating if we should buy the warmest mittens I can find with an industrial box of hand warmers, or if heated gloves may be a good investment.

The hotronic boot warmers sound like a great option - I'm going to get some ordered.

 

[Glenn]

I've never used them. For now, do a google search. That may link up with some online places that are selling them. And hopefully, they'll have some customer reviews up.

 

[Geoff]

Any more info on the heated gloves? My wife is a boarder, needs new gloves and gets extremely cold. I'm debating if we should buy the warmest mittens I can find with an industrial box of hand warmers, or if heated gloves may be a good investment.

The hotronic boot warmers sound like a great option - I'm going to get some ordered.

If you can hold off, you're likely to find Hotronics on sale at a lot of ski shops in another couple of months. Nobody is going to walk in asking for boot heaters on April 1 and the shops aren't going to want to carry the inventory over until next season.

In my internet cruising looking around for heated gloves, it appears that the Mountain Hardwear gloves won't be available until next year. There's an Austrian brand called Zanier. I don't know anyone who owns them so there's no telling if they are well made and work reliably. Anybody with cold hand issues is probably going to want a mitten. According to the Zanier web site, there are two US sources for their stuff... cosywinters.com and a bike shop called Precision Tandems. The Austrian site says the mitten comes in both womans and mens sizes but I can only find the womans mitten. Here's a link to the Zanier womans heated mitten:
http://cozywinters.com/shop/zs-hmgx.html