Cold feet!!!

[stuffx]

Hi! My first post!

I have this problem, maybe someone has the same and can share some thoughts

I think it's physiological, but maybe there is some nice 'cure'. My feet are freezing almost all the time when i go on a overnight bike trip. Body feels fine, but not my feet. I feel some discomfort because of this. Maybe i should use some warmup rub before sleep? Thick wool socks?

What do you think?

[sam.pederson]

Wool socks. Merino, and thick.

[Mario]

Two words: Down booties 

[wahday]

I love my down booties! I have never, ever put anything warmer on my feet.

[Colorado Cool Breeze]

2x on the down booties.
Other ideas to try is make sure your feet are dry and have a dry pair of socks to change in once stopped.
A warm dry hat and gloves will also help keep your feet warm.

Another thing to consider is if your shoes are too tight from wearing a thicker sock that can restrict blood flow to the feet.

hth

Oh! Welcome to the forum.

[Damnitman]

I'm a big fan of elastic laces when riding in the cold...I'm an even bigger fan of putting on super fluffy smartwools and thick booties when I get into my bivy...

[stuffx]

Thanks guys for advice! Newer heard of down booties, but i can imagine what it is. I will consider wool socks! My gandma used to knit awesome socks. Also what's cool bout wool is that it works also when it's wet!

[Colorado Cool Breeze]

Thanks guys for advice! Newer heard of down booties, but i can imagine what it is. I will consider wool socks! My gandma used to knit awesome socks. Also what's cool bout wool is that it works also when it's wet!

Below freezing I have taken my stinky wet socks into the sleeping bag with me to dry them out over night (if they are needed for the trip) but they are never on my feet. In my firstaid kit I always carry a chemical hand warmer for those times when my hands or feet will just not warm up.
Another trick I have used if you can have a wood fire is to heat some water, and put it in a water container, slip a sock over it and put that down by my feet.
This also insures you have water for morning coffee/breakfast.

Note: it's very important to test the container at home to make sure it will not leak as the water cools and the container deforms.
The thicker walled nalgene's have worked best for me.

[ywen]

What about Overshoes? I picked up a pair of NEOS overshoes to go over my GorText trail runners..  I'm hoping they will help, but no opportunity to try it out yet.

[Damnitman]

...lotta people like Neos, but they really don;t breathe well at all...negative point for some, tolerable for many...

[stuffx]

what is this chemical to warm up hands and feet? i was thinking maybe to make some kind of extract from chilly peppers. Coz they have substance that makes blood circulate better around body. Now I usually ingest them, makes me warm, but not my feet I wonder should i make alcohol or oil based extract. That would be cool DIY solution to my problem

[KenSmithMT]

I agree...Thick DRY socks right when you go to bed. You can also stick a hand warmer in each sock. http://www.hothandsdirect.com/.  A Nalgene bottle filled with hot water works great, but agreed, check for leaks first! 

[wahday]

what is this chemical to warm up hands and feet? i was thinking maybe to make some kind of extract from chilly peppers. Coz they have substance that makes blood circulate better around body. Now I usually ingest them, makes me warm, but not my feet I wonder should i make alcohol or oil based extract. That would be cool DIY solution to my problem

Calcium chloride and water will generate heat (exothermic reaction) You can buy it as ice melt pellets at the hardware store. A simple trick is to put water in a smaller ziplock inside a larger ziplock with the pellets. Then you smash the bag and break open the smaller water bag to start the reaction. I've never tried it, only read about it. There are more complicated ways to do it but this sounded like the simplest. It's a cool idea so I hope someone tries it...

[KenSmithMT]

what is this chemical to warm up hands and feet? i was thinking maybe to make some kind of extract from chilly peppers. Coz they have substance that makes blood circulate better around body. Now I usually ingest them, makes me warm, but not my feet I wonder should i make alcohol or oil based extract. That would be cool DIY solution to my problem

. 

Are your feet actually cold or do they just feel cold?  Anything you rub on them will just make them feel warmer but won't actually warm them up.  If you just want to feel warmer try http://madalchemy.com/ or a home made embrocation. Handy for getting going in the morning as well.

[Damnitman]

http://www.warmers.com/

[Mario]

Have not been very impressed with the Warmers so far, had more fail then success, don't know if its operator error or bad batches. Was using the solid charcoal sticks that go in small metal case but can't seem to find the sticks anymore.

[KenSmithMT]

I've had a LOT of bad luck with off-brand Warner's, especially some from Wal-Mart. I have had very good luck with Graber and HotHands. They do have an expiration date and are best used within the season. I make sure to buy them at a busy store so I know I'm getting fresh stock. Also, squish them in your hand before you buy them. As they age/react they get stiffer. Don't buy them if they are not soft and loose feeling. Take care of them in your pack and at home. Little nicks in the plastic package allow air to slowly leak in and ruin them.  I also always bring an extra pair in case they fail.

[Damnitman]

you also have to keep air circulating around them...if stuffed into a boot, once they consume the available O2 they kinda snuff themselves out

[Nico_SB]

+1 to a warm pair of sleeping socks for in camp or when really cold, a pair of down booties or down socks.  For sleeping socks, find some nice fluffy, thick merino wool socks (maybe check out NZ possum down socks, order up a size, shrink them a little and enjoy super thick, warm but very light socks).  If you want to go the down sock/bootie route, consider Goosefeet down socks.  Super light (~2 oz.) yet super warm.

If your shoes are wet in camp you can use some cheap plastic produce bags worn over your socks (with rubberbands to help keep them up) inside your shoes.  You can also bags like this as a vapor barrier liner which can help keep your feet warm as long as you don't mind a little clamminess.

Also make sure you've got good insulation under you and on all of your extremities.  A warm pad will add a lot of warmth to your sleeping set-up and we all lose lots of heat from our head, hands and feet.  There's some truth to putting on a warm hat if your hands or feet are cold.

While on the go, thin (0.5mm) neoprene socks worn over a merino sock help keep my feet warm (enough) while hiking in wet, snowy conditions in trailrunners.  Haven't tried it while biking but it seems like it would translate over.  Goretex socks could probably work for this too.

[ascar_larkinyar]

a long time ago i was part of a study done at UCLA.  it was about core body temperature and how to keep it up and loss.  one of the test was sitting in a large fridge room with nothing on but a speedo and a electric warming vest.  then they lowered the temp and measured the body.  they found that keeping the core of the body warm helped a lot to keep the arms and legs warm when not covered.

so my advice is to try and also keep your "body as warm as possible to let the warm blood warm up your feet.  keeping the head covered and warm helps too as we lose a lot of warmth there.