agreed. i tried fox river (or something like that) and thor lo. don't care for either brand. smartwool is where its at.
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Anybody have problems with toes freezing?
- Thread starter ssudha17
- Start date
agreed. i tried fox river (or something like that) and thor lo. don't care for either brand. smartwool is where its at.
Beetlenut
New member
Another thing I thought of, they make super thin socks for old people who have circulation problems in their legs. I think they're called embolism socks or something like that. You can get them at most good drug stores. Also I sometimes have this deal if my feet aren't feeling right or circulation is a problem, if I just take my foot out of my boot, and put it back in and re buckle, it goes away for the rest of the day. I know if your foot has been in a boot for a while, and you take it out, it swells up as the blood flow returns, and actually gets slightly larger. Perhaps re buckling then accommodates for this increased size and allows for better blood flow.
ssudha17
New member
I haven't done this in the past - just usually leave my boots out of the bag to dry.....hmmm
ssudha17
New member
I don't have a problem on somewhat warm days that I have skied in. So I wouldn't expect to be cold if I wore them around the house. These are my first custom foot beds I got made by a podiatrist and I definitely paid a fortune for them.
thinnmann
New member
Really concur with just about everything here, except the plastic bags and surgical gloves...
Here are a few of other things I was thinking you might consider:
Your body heats its core in favor over its extremities. Try adding an extra vest and maybe heavier ski pants or two pairs of long johns. Send all the extra heat to your toes. I definitely vary the insulation around my legs depending on the forecasted temp and precip. My toes seldom feel cold.
Also, use the foot rests on the chairs - hanging your feet might protect your ski bottoms and edges, but it might constrict circulation at the hamstrings and it might be bad for your knees.
Lastly, you need fuel to burn and you need to burn fuel. Eat enough carbs for breakfast, supplement with an energy bar mid-morning, and ski hard, top to bottom nonstop; do bumps; make twice as many short turns and work the edges. Skiing the greens and easy blues without much turning, and standing around waiting for people is gonna make you colder in general and your toes will be one of the first areas to feel it.
Here are a few of other things I was thinking you might consider:
Your body heats its core in favor over its extremities. Try adding an extra vest and maybe heavier ski pants or two pairs of long johns. Send all the extra heat to your toes. I definitely vary the insulation around my legs depending on the forecasted temp and precip. My toes seldom feel cold.
Also, use the foot rests on the chairs - hanging your feet might protect your ski bottoms and edges, but it might constrict circulation at the hamstrings and it might be bad for your knees.
Lastly, you need fuel to burn and you need to burn fuel. Eat enough carbs for breakfast, supplement with an energy bar mid-morning, and ski hard, top to bottom nonstop; do bumps; make twice as many short turns and work the edges. Skiing the greens and easy blues without much turning, and standing around waiting for people is gonna make you colder in general and your toes will be one of the first areas to feel it.
riverc0il
New member
I have the same boots and no issues. It is not a boot issue. Make sure you are doing the following things:
1. Try loosening the buckles. If your buckles are too tight, you cut of circulation.
2. Put your ski socks on at the mountain. Shower in the morning and dry off the feet thoroughly and put a clean pair of regular socks on for the drive. Be sure you feet are not sweating during the drive. Ski socks on in the lodge, dry foot completely if needed before putting on ski sock.
3. Try using a lighter weight sock. This may seem counterintuitive, but if the ski sock you are using is too heavy, you may be sweating or have too tight a fit (see adjusting buckles but a light weight sock will also do the trick).
4. Make sure you have a good quality ski sock, don't be cheap. I use the lightest weight smart wool sock and find that works well but your mileage may vary.
5. Make sure you have two pairs of good ski socks. When you go into the lodge to eat, remove the first sock, warm up the foot and remove moisture, and then apply the new dry sock. Check the boots for moisture at this point to see if perspiration is the issue. If the boots are wet inside, try to find one of those boot drying machines and consider plans to reduce perspiration.
Those hand and boot warmer things just seem like a waste of money to me. For most people with normal circulation and no weird abnormalities, it is usually a matter of reducing perspiration and starting with good quality dry clothes that work moisture away from the body.
1. Try loosening the buckles. If your buckles are too tight, you cut of circulation.
2. Put your ski socks on at the mountain. Shower in the morning and dry off the feet thoroughly and put a clean pair of regular socks on for the drive. Be sure you feet are not sweating during the drive. Ski socks on in the lodge, dry foot completely if needed before putting on ski sock.
3. Try using a lighter weight sock. This may seem counterintuitive, but if the ski sock you are using is too heavy, you may be sweating or have too tight a fit (see adjusting buckles but a light weight sock will also do the trick).
4. Make sure you have a good quality ski sock, don't be cheap. I use the lightest weight smart wool sock and find that works well but your mileage may vary.
5. Make sure you have two pairs of good ski socks. When you go into the lodge to eat, remove the first sock, warm up the foot and remove moisture, and then apply the new dry sock. Check the boots for moisture at this point to see if perspiration is the issue. If the boots are wet inside, try to find one of those boot drying machines and consider plans to reduce perspiration.
Those hand and boot warmer things just seem like a waste of money to me. For most people with normal circulation and no weird abnormalities, it is usually a matter of reducing perspiration and starting with good quality dry clothes that work moisture away from the body.
ssudha17
New member
I am always warm on my legs and body as I am moving whenever I am not on the lift chair and the foot rests help me last longer but I guess not long enough.
ssudha17
New member
I currently own one of each of the fox river and thorlos as they were the thinnest I found in the shops I went to. Will gladly try a third. Any suggestion on which one of the smartwool models you tried? I am thinking of the thinnest one with no cushion - think they call it skiing ultra light.
Those are what I have. I bought some seconds from Sierra Trading post. Not sure if they still have any, but they were about 1/2 price.
One more thing: when i'm starting out I usually unbuckle my boots for the ride up to keep circulation going until I really warm up.
Jake123
New member
I have Thermic Footwarmers and love them.
http://cozywinters.com/shop/th-1460l.html
I bought the more expensive ones with the li-ion battery packs. I keep them in my work boots and will transfer to my ski boots when I ski.
My toes are cold all the time. I either get chilblains, have reynauds, or had frostbite damage on half my toes. My doctor says I have great circulation and checked my blood levels. I'll know for sure when I see a rheumatologist in April. I better ask about the glucose tolerance test, too.
Then you are missing out.
Vapor barrier is a must for mountaineering so there's something to it.
That's all.
How much wiggle room do you have in your toes? Just curiouse.
I'd second the Hotronic foot insoles, but they can be a bit pricey for an addition to a boot. They're not actually 'heaters' really, they provide heat to the boot to offset the cold that's coming thru the shell generally.
I ask about the wiggle room because I had that issue with my old Dalbelo boots. They fit great for like, 2 hours, but after that, my feet would cramp, my toes would get cold, etc.. This year I sold them at the Nashua Exchange swap and tried on many, MANY different boots. And then, I tried on my Atomic M100's. I didn't really know what a good fitting boot felt like until I got these. And I have *NEVER* had an issue with cramping or cold toes again. Fit of the boot is crucial. Even if the boot DOES fit well doesn't mean it does (if that makes sense). The liner can actually give you a false sense of correct fit because it does provide 'cushion' from the shell, but can be snug and putting pressure on parts of your foot which limit blood flow, without you even really feeling it.
What stands out the most from your post is 'begin to ache' and not being able to fit a toe warmer. Toe warmers are NOT that big.
Beetlenut
New member
That's only if both of you had the same identical foot shape and characteristics, which I doubt. Since most ski socks are designed to wick moisture away from the skin, I'd bet this is a fit issue. It doesn't take much impingement to cut-off circulation.
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ssudha17
New member
I can move my toes but not much. The boots are snug and after I had put in the toe warmers, the pain/cold toes did not get any better. I already wear very thin socks.
I already have custom insoles that I paid more than $600 for. So I would rather not have to replace them.
You don't have to replace them. You do have to cut a hole to run the wire through, but the heating element goes under the ball of your foot and you put a thin stick-on cover over the footbed to hold everything in place. the cord then runs under the footbed and out a hole you also cut in the back of the liner.
skibum9995
New member
My toes get cold pretty easily. I find that once I warm them up after they get cold they stay plenty warm for the rest of the day. When they start getting cold I'll take my skis off and run in place before a couple of runs to get some circulation going. That usually works but if it's really cold I'll go in the lodge and take my boots off and let them and my toes warm up before going back out. Works well for me.
Lots of good advise here. I have the same issues with my feet. I have an older set of hotronix installed on my boots. Easy installation but they are expensive. I bought a pair of Smartwool socks back in Nov and now that's the only brand I use. I actually use a prescription strength antiperspirant on my feet. The brand name is Drysol. That stuff works unbelievably well.
The only thing I can add that hasn't been covered is don't put your boots in the trunk on the ride up to the Mt. Keep them in the car so they stay warm. You don't want to put on cold boots.
The only thing I can add that hasn't been covered is don't put your boots in the trunk on the ride up to the Mt. Keep them in the car so they stay warm. You don't want to put on cold boots.
billski
Active member
I want to hear more about this one. My boots are pretty watertight (I landed in a small stream by accident last week in the woods, oops!), so I would think the shell is plenty good vapor barrier. I ascribe to all the aforementioned strategies, yet I'm always willing to listen and learn. Tell me how this works?
ComeBackMudPuddles
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Try to find someone in the mid-mountain lodge with a foot fetish....Always works for me!
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