Cold toes

[BethL]

My toes seem to be getting colder every season. I have zip fit liners in dalbello boots. I always start the day with warm boots (heated boot bag). I'm wondering if the zip fit liners do not hold heat as well as other liners?

 

[SallyCat]

Please someone have an answer for this that isn't $300 Hotronics. I have ZipFits in Lange boots and my toes are freezing. I start out warm and dry and have plenty of wiggle room, but within an hour my toe area is wet and cold. Halfway through the day I have to go into the lodge to change socks and warm them up. Boot gloves help a bit, but not enough to be comfortable, just enough to not be hypothermic.

 

[BethL]

Same here - I'm trying to avoid boot heaters. My feet were never cold in my old boots. Unfortunately the old boots were too big, so that was an issue. I'm wondering if the cork (it's cork, right?) in the ZipFit liners does not retain heat very well.

 

[Jilly]

I guess the first question is are your feet wet from either perspiration or snow getting inside the boot? If not, then what type of sock are you using? Are you sure it's the cold and not numb from a fit problem.

I love my boot heaters. Mine are the thermic brand. I did use the "hotshot" toe warmer for years - on the top of my sock, but found they didn't last. I've also tried the full hot shot between my boot glove and the boot too. Finally went to heaters. I have the standard liner that came with my boots. I got new boots this summer and what a difference in the fit and comfort from my last pair. I was able to transfer the custom foot bed with the heater into the new boots myself. Used the heaters this weekend on low.

Really it's worth the investment for your enjoyment of the sport.

 

[SallyCat]

@BethL the forefoot of the ZipFits is wool-lined neoprene; I think the cork lining stops just in front of the ankle area (at least in the Garas).

Dangit, Jilly, I know you're right! I just wish they weren't so pricey. My issue is mostly moisture, which I think is largely perspiration combined with Lange-leak. I can mitigate that, but it won't go away completely, so I guess heaters are the way to go.

 

[BethL]

I wear darn tough socks, and I have plenty of room to wiggle my toes. I use chemical toe warmers on really cold days. It did not seem that cold yesterday, but I had to go in at 2pm to add the toe warmers. I sometimes use the boot glove, but it only seems to help for part of the day. My foot is moving a little in my right boot. I wonder if I should start from scratch with new boots and maybe intuition liners or add boot heaters to my current boots. I'm hesitant on the heaters in the current boots, since I'm not sure how much longer I'll have the boots.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I realize this isn't directly helpful, but I have wrap-around Intuition liners. They are the warmest liner on the market. I just had new boots fit this weekend, and my fitter and I decided to use my old Intuitions instead of the stock liners because, well, nothing comes close to being so warm.

I haven't needed heaters since I started using Intuitions - might have been a few days when I would have liked them, but not enough to put up with futzing with the battery pack.

But switching to Intuitions would change your fit, and wouldn't be *that* much cheaper than heaters.

 

[Powgirl]

Those Intuition liners are so warm and comfy...love mine!

 

[bounceswoosh]

Those Intuition liners are so warm and comfy...love mine!

It's funny ... DH was looking at my Intuitions yesterday. He was baffled at how I could find that hard, dense material comfortable. I told him at this point, the normal liners some give seem suspicious to me. I'll admit the feel is a bit like industrial carpet, but once you get used to it, it's amazing. And much warmer than the fuzz-lined stuff that comes stock!

 

[RachelV]

Please someone have an answer for this that isn't $300 Hotronics. ...

FWIW, if circulation issues are what's causing your cold toes, Hotronics might not even really help. My Hotronics just give me warm numb toes instead of cold numb toes. So -- they're by no means a magic bullet.

Maybe I will give Intuition liners a shot after I go for one more round of tweaks.

 

[bounceswoosh]

@RachelV has a good point. One gotcha on my foot is the top near the ankle (instep). If latching the buckles causes pressure, there's a .. vein? there that can be compressed. No blood flow => cold, numb toes.

Ideally, your boot fits you well enough that you can get a snug fit that holds your foot perfectly in place, but does not put any pressure on spots like that.

 

[BethL]

Circulation might be part of my issue. I tried not tightening my boots too much, but then my right heel moves a little bit.

 

[MrsPlow]

@RachelV has a good point. One gotcha on my foot is the top near the ankle (instep). If latching the buckles causes pressure, there's a .. vein? there that can be compressed. No blood flow => cold, numb toes.

Ideally, your boot fits you well enough that you can get a snug fit that holds your foot perfectly in place, but does not put any pressure on spots like that.

This ties up with what my husband's found with his boots. He has very high arches, and his leaky Lange boots were cutting the blood off to his toes after an hour or so. New boots last year with a new orthotic to raise his heel and a custom liner has made the problem pretty much go away. Not cheap by any means unfortunately, but it's really helped.

 

[badger]

I have found that the Intuition Liners in my Dalbello boots do not keep my feet or toes any warmer than previous boots I have owned. The Dalbello Chakra boot came with the wrap Intuitions; I was hoping they would be as warm as advertised, but I've yet to appreciate any significant heat retention with them. As a liner though, I do like them very much.

 

[Jilly]

@volklgirl is trying something for leaky boots. Maybe she can chime in here.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Circulation might be part of my issue. I tried not tightening my boots too much, but then my right heel moves a little bit.

Funny - I just went through this trying on AT boots. One size up, the toe box felt great, but I could lift my heel a bit. One size down, the toe box was tight, but the heel was locked down. I didn't realize how bad the heel lift was in the bigger boot till I tried the smaller one. (I'm not buying yet - just gathering information.)

Is your heel lifting, shifting side to side, something else? One thing you can do for heel lift is a "stirrup" of padding that takes up space along either side of your achilles tendon.

 

[Mary Tee]

Wet feet can be perspiration, in which case an anti-perspirant might help. Also, I don't wear my ski socks to the mountain, I put the ski socks on when putting boots on. Those 2 things help with sweaty feet, but like Rachel, I have some circulation issues, so, no matter what I do, I still get numb toes after a while.
I would like to try the intuition liners though. My boots have a pretty snug fit, would I be able to get them in the current boots, or would I have to get new boots with that decision made before fitting?

 

[BethL]

Is your heel lifting, shifting side to side, something else? One thing you can do for heel lift is a "stirrup" of padding that takes up space along either side of your achilles tendon.

My heel is doing a little of both - lifting & moving side-to-side. Moving the middle buckle one tighter helps my heel but then my feet feel so tight. I've had these boots for three years.

 

[nopoleskier]

@Mary Tee Ditto. I always switch my street socks to ski socks. I've had frost bite on my toes so I am careful, i use toe heaters, boot gloves but some days they still get cold. I look for bathrooms w/blow dryers to heat my boots back up..
I too need new boots but my old ones are soo comfy I may look into intuition liners..

 

[bounceswoosh]

My heel is doing a little of both - lifting & moving side-to-side. Moving the middle buckle one tighter helps my heel but then my feet feel so tight. I've had these boots for three years.

Can you have a boot fitter look at them? I am definitely just a layperson here. But ideally your heel should be snug without putting pressure elsewhere.

Also, I don't wear my ski socks to the mountain, I put the ski socks on when putting boots on.

I swear by this.

I would like to try the intuition liners though. My boots have a pretty snug fit, would I be able to get them in the current boots, or would I have to get new boots with that decision made before fitting?

My boots also have a pretty snug fit. The Intuitions are heat moldable, so that can help. Note that the Intuition wrap generally has a good reputation - but in my last boot they really made the boot too stiff for me in typical temps. The Intuition tongue models are generally considered weak sauce ... I'm not sure of the details, but I think they are just considered floppy. Not sure if there are other issues.