How do you keep your feet warm?

[cbcbd]

Since it was a bitterly cold weekend on the slopes recently, and some saw consequences, I'd figure I'd open this question up.

What do you do to keep your feet warm?

Here are some thing I make sure to do:
-Keep well hydrated
-Unbuckle my boots at the lift
-Swing my legs while on the lift
-Wear not too thick socks - for fit and to prevent sweating in my boots

I would think that if you're one who has sweaty feet, taking a second pair of dry socks to switch halfway during the day would be a good idea.

I try to stay out of using artificial external sources of heat (ie. heat packs), because, well, sometimes things like that fail, or you just don't have access to them, or it's already too late to make a real difference.

IMO, staying warm in the winter time is a very proactive process, especially for extremities.

 

[Phildozer]

I'd love to get some answers to this because I have perennially cold feed.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

The only thing that helps me is to unbuckle on the lift ride up, and keep flexing my toes the best I can. My son tried out a boot glove that you velcroed on this past weekend. It also covered his boot buckles so it couldn't unbuckle on the way up. He said too much pain for too little gain.

 

[Talisman]

On cold days like this past weekend, I use 'Boot Gloves". Boot Gloves are made from neoprene rubber (think wet suits for divers and surfers) that fit over the fore foot of the boots and are held securely in place with velcro. These work great for me with thin socks in side my boot. They may not work for you if you are always fiddling with your boot buckles.

I have also put anti-perspirant on my feet to cut down on sweating if it is really cold out. I have heard that along with the anti-perspirant rubbing your feet with Ben Gay will keep your feet warmer.

 

[dmc]

Thin socks and snowboard boots...

 

[Greg]

Never heard of the swing feet one...interesting. In addition to the good advice above, get custom foot beds if you don't have them. An improperly fitted boot may cause your foot to splay and decrease blood supply to the toes. Don't crank down buckle 1. Take breaks.

 

[Grassi21]

Never heard of the swing feet one...interesting. In addition to the good advice above, get custom foot beds if you don't have them. An improperly fitted boot may cause your foot to splay and decrease blood supply to the toes. Don't crank down buckle 1. Take breaks.

I was a habitual "crank down buckle 1" guy. It made huge difference in the comfort of my boots. I also got set up with custom foot beds. After 8 days in these boots, a little stretching in the toe box, and the foot beds my boots feel great!

 

[BeanoNYC]

Never heard of the swing feet one...interesting.

I do that on lifts w/o foot rests. I loose all circulation in my feet on a long ride up with all that weight on my feet. Must be the seat cutting into an artery by the hamstrings.

 

[smootharc]

Ditto....

On cold days like this past weekend, I use 'Boot Gloves". Boot Gloves are made from neoprene rubber (think wet suits for divers and surfers) that fit over the fore foot of the boots and are held securely in place with velcro. These work great for me with thin socks in side my boot.

Absolutely great for cold days & powder days (when your boot is "encased" inside snow). Love mine. I keep my two toe box buckles (covered by Boot Gloves) basically snug and don't touch them all day, and I can adjust the much more important upper two/cuff buckles anytime I want without interference.

$35+/- bucks well spent !

 

[BeanoNYC]

Same things for me .. I have never had cold feet in my snowboard boots.

Are they warmer?

 

[Warp Daddy]

1 before putting on your socks rub your feet on bottom with ANTI- Perspirant ( keeps them from perspiring)
2. Wear a Thin pr of socks -I often wear a silk liner and ski in sub zero temps here in Northern most NYS. My second choice is HOT Chilly's socks
3. If you ride a lift without footrests , ride single --then lift one leg up on the seat to give your legs a rest/boost
4. Don't crank the crap out of your boot buckles
5. swing your legs if you can't put them up on a single ride
6. BE HAPPY dont over obsess

If all else fails get a cup of hot chocalate and take a break

 

[andyzee]

Two basic thing I do and they always work for me:

1. Keep socks dry.
2. Do not tighten the bottom buckles of your boots too tight, they should just be snug. Cutting off circulation will cause some major freeze.

Also this weekend stopped in EMS. They had an interesting product, not sure how good it is, but may be worth checking out:
Toe gators:

http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442147549&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574488340791&bmUID=1169483178089

 

[dmc]

Are they warmer?

Hell yeah! My feet are never cold in my sb boots... they don't fit as tight - the don't have all that cold plastic - lot of insulatition

My tele boots are super comfy and warm too!

 

[KingM]

I suffer cold feet, too. Even if the rest of me is toasty warm I frequently have cold feet. Mine don't sweat very much and I find they stay warmer with warmer socks. I might look into those gator toes.

 

[skidbump]

hotronics boot heater and heated bootbag.Put boots on at 100+ degrees and boot heaters are under footbed"to lazy to do correctly"Takes 2 runs for boots to stiffen backup"nodica speedmachine 14" but skied wed thru sunday and feet really never got cold

 

[Grassi21]

Never wear the socks you plan to ski in on the drive to the hill. I keep my ski socks in my bag until its time to get booted up. Starting the day with sweaty socks is a bad way to start.

 

[dmc]

Never wear the socks you plan to ski in on the drive to the hill. I keep my ski socks in my bag until its time to get booted up. Starting the day with sweaty socks is a bad way to start.

When it's warm - i don't wear socks at all..

 

[bvibert]

Never wear the socks you plan to ski in on the drive to the hill. I keep my ski socks in my bag until its time to get booted up. Starting the day with sweaty socks is a bad way to start.

I do this too...

Unfortunately my feet still get cold on cold days, even when I'm wearing my bulky Sorel winter boots while working the lifts. Those boots are supposed to be rated to be comfortable down to -60F...

 

[Hawkshot99]

It takes alot for me to get cold. Even When it is 15-20 degrees out I still have all the vents in my jacket, pants and helmet open. The only time I really have gotten cold feet im my boots is when they have gotten wet. Couple weeks ago I skiid 3 straight days without really haveing a chance to totally drive my boots out. On the third day my toes were really cold from the wet boots.
All I wear is a medium weight pair of Euro Socks, and Dalbello V9's.

 

[hammer]

Never heard of the swing feet one...interesting. In addition to the good advice above, get custom foot beds if you don't have them. An improperly fitted boot may cause your foot to splay and decrease blood supply to the toes. Don't crank down buckle 1. Take breaks.

What buckle is "buckle 1"? If that's the first buckle over the toes, then I can't buckle that one down without killing my toes...