lightweight electric heating pads

[FOG]

I saw these pads last week at Sno Pro Jam (a Professional Ski Instructors' Association event) at Killington VT. They seemed to work well, although I never personally used or needed them, as I seem to be alright without heaters in my regular ski clothes and boots down below 0 Farenheit. The guy who makes and sells these is a very independent businessman (maybe even a little crusty), so be patient in talking to him. They look to be a very nice product. He solicited me to rep these, but I don't have the time, or inclination, so I have no financial interest in them.

http://www.neverbcold.com/

[jawnn]

This is the only ones that I have seen, I tried their gel pads and they are a total waste of time and money. I am desperate for heat to my feet for cycling in cold wet windy and sub freezing weather...so I may have to try them. $$$

The real problem is they come from England and were stuck in customs for a month waiting for the right paper work.

http://www.heated-gloves.com/blazewe...btn&cPath=1229

How about these that I found following your link

http://ecom1.sno-ski.com/therm-ic.html

http://ecom1.sno-ski.com/product1689.html

But only the very expensive ones tell any data...

I need to find someone that has tried one of these.

[BeastRider]

I saw these pads last week at Sno Pro Jam (a Professional Ski Instructors' Association event) at Killington VT. They seemed to work well, although I never personally used or needed them, as I seem to be alright without heaters in my regular ski clothes and boots down below 0 Farenheit. The guy who makes and sells these is a very independent businessman (maybe even a little crusty), so be patient in talking to him. They look to be a very nice product. He solicited me to rep these, but I don't have the time, or inclination, so I have no financial interest in them.

http://www.neverbcold.com/

Bad link

[BeastRider]

This is the only ones that I have seen, I tried their gel pads and they are a total waste of time and money. I am desperate for heat to my feet for cycling in cold wet windy and sub freezing weather...so I may have to try them. $$$

The real problem is they come from England and were stuck in customs for a month waiting for the right paper work.

http://www.heated-gloves.com/blazewe...btn&cPath=1229

How about these that I found following your link

http://ecom1.sno-ski.com/therm-ic.html

http://ecom1.sno-ski.com/product1689.html

But only the very expensive ones tell any data...

I need to find someone that has tried one of these.

Just a wee bit overpriced I think.

[jawnn]

I was using the altered carbon Grabber toe warmers when I discovered that I still had some electric sox from years ago. The never worked because they were designed for a single D cell battery each. So I calculated that I just need to use two AA batteries in series to double the voltage (that’s four time the power? Go figure). Now they pump out the heat, almost too much. I need better battery holders than I got at the Radio Shack. And a switch on each sock.

I tried new disposable lithium AA’s (1.6volts) and they got the too hot (foot and battery), half a volt more than the NiMh rechargeable, that start out at 1.3 volts and run down fast, so I get only two hours of heat. That would be 2.6 volts for the pair.

I should set up a couple 18650 lithium batteries (3.7volts @) in parallel with a pulse width modulator, but I have no clue where to get a modulator.

So now I am thinking of buying the Thermic Basix , I have the batteries and a charger. And the battery boxes have the electronic pulse width modulators in them, but only three settings, not variable.
I don't know if they will work with lithium batterys... but it’s probably only a matter of fitting the right battery in the boxes. In parallel not series.

http://www.backcountry.com/therm-ic-...DSA&mv_pc=r101

http://cozywinters.com/therm-ic/

http://www.alpineaccessories.com/The...ductinfo/THBP/

[jawnn]

These are the sox I am trying to use with more batterys than designed for. They last only two hours.

[pt109]

The best electric socks around:
http://gerbing.com/Products/Socks.php

I use them all the time for hunting and cycling. I had to redo the connectors to hook them up to an aftermarket 11.1v lithium battery pack.

[jawnn]

Those sox run on 12 volts for motor cycles, if you have a powered cycle they are the rigth thing, but if no motor, 12 volt batterys are too big. although you may get a lot run time out of them.

[pt109]

Size and weight of battery is relative and depends how long you want to use the gerbing socks. The lithium ion battery I use is:
http://www.batteryspace.com/customli...5acharger.aspx

It's a 4400 mah battery that will run the socks for about 3 hours 20 minutes.

The battery could almost fit in your pocket:
140mm(5.5") x 38mm(1.5") x 35mm(1.4")

It weighs:
300 g ( 10.4 Oz )

I will pay almost any price to get my toes warm at freezing temperature. These socks/battery combo make my toes feel like they are in heaven.

[chefisaac]

How long with the battery last that comes with the sock?

[gecho]

I got a pair of these in the spring on closeout: http://www.hotronic.com/products/fw/index.html It hasn't been cold enough for me to use them more than a few times, but they seemed to work well on the few -20C days we had. I also got the 80cm extension cables so I can attach the nimh battery packs to a belt I made from a luggage strap.

[jawnn]

I got the thermic insoles, the batteries are all in serries, adding up to about 6 volts.

The manual says not to use batteries that have more than 2000mAh, possibly because they would have more than 1.5 volts when new? Well the NiMH do not.

The rechargeable NiMH are working good above freezing (about 30 to 40) on the middle setting and lasted 7 hours. The clips do not fit a thick walled boot, but I used Velcro to make straps. They do sell accessories like extension cords to raise the battery packs up to your belt. http://www.thermic.com/


The plugs have a little click tab that brakes off when unplugging for the first time. And the insoles while producing heat more than just at the toes (feels like the whole thing except the heal) are not wide enough for my wide feet; I feel the edges cutting into my feet. The batteries are hard to remove from the boxes.

http://www.alpineaccessories.com/The...ductinfo/THEX/

[jawnn]

Does it have a heat regulator of any sort? And the battery pack wire goes down your pant legs? or do you have need two battery packs?

Size and weight of battery is relative and depends how long you want to use the gerbing socks. The lithium ion battery I use is:
http://www.batteryspace.com/customli...5acharger.aspx

It's a 4400 mah battery that will run the socks for about 3 hours 20 minutes.

The battery could almost fit in your pocket:
140mm(5.5") x 38mm(1.5") x 35mm(1.4")

It weighs:
300 g ( 10.4 Oz )

I will pay almost any price to get my toes warm at freezing temperature. These socks/battery combo make my toes feel like they are in heaven.

[pt109]

Does it have a heat regulator of any sort? And the battery pack wire goes down your pant legs? or do you have need two battery packs?

For biking, I only use the socks when the temperature gets down to 40 degrees F and below and therefore don't use/need their regulator which I have(http://gerbing.com/Products/tempcontrols.php). I did try to use the socks when it was 45 and had to unplug them as my feet were too hot.

I biked this Monday ( 1.5 hours) when it was below freezing and my toes felt great the entire time. My setup:
1. a light wicking sock
2. the gerbing electric sock
3. shimano R087 road shoe (my normal summer shoe)
4. specialized neoprene boot

The socks comes with a Y cable. I use the cable to connect an aftermarket 11.1 volt lithium ion battery to each sock. I carry the small battery in a fanny pack on my backside. The wire runs from the fanny pack, under my biking shorts/winter tights, down each leg to the socks. So far I find this configuration optimal. I see there are lithium batteries built into water bottles that might be worth investigating.

Hope this helps.

[jawnn]

I am having trouble with one of the battery packs; it will not turn on with the 26mAh NiMH batteries.
But will work with the older ones I have and 2300mAh. The lower the mAh capacity the less heat is produced.

This is a reply I got from the Thermic people:

Thermics R&D tested all different battery types and came up with these guide lines based on those results, as I understand it batteries with a larger than 2000mah capacity did not perform well in colder temperatures. This applies to rechargeable as well as disposable batteries. We do not make a charger for the basic pack.


it’s not possible to charge the batteries, when they are inside of the Basic PowerPack.
When you have rechargeable batteries, you need an adequate battery charger for this batteries.

Have a look in our webshop:
http://www.thermicshop.com/webstore/...jqm8lq0ttls9h1

normally all types of batteries can be used with our Basix / Basic Powerpack, but attention:
Thanks for visiting our site! In regards to the Hotronic batteries, no these do not have the kinds of problems that sometimes occur with the Thermic insole heaters with NiMH batteries. We have not yet seen any returns for the new e3 Hotronic batteries. Regarding the batteries for the 805 heated gloves, they are a lithium ion battery. The batteries themselves can be viewed here: http://cozywinters.com/shop/spare-battery-805.html


If you want gloves, go to this one and forget the Themic rip-offs.http://gerbing.com/Products/gloves.php

[jawnn]

Neuropathy in my feet are unbearable unless I keep them very warm.


I tried out the Thermic pads on snow and ice at 23 degrees f and the cold started creeping in from the sides; they had to be turned up to high for while.

I think I will try building something better next winter; weave the micro wire back and forth across a synthetic sock (big enough to fit over a think wool sock) so it covers the whole foot and use the heat controller from the electric sox above.


And use two battery packs that will give much more time.
http://gerbing.com/Products/tempcontrols.php

[jawnn]

On a mild day these overpriced foot heaters over heated and started blinking then shut down, when using the more powerful batteries. I had to unplug them to turn the heat setting down.

[Burton]

Wow! In 40 years of downhill skiing and winter biking, my issue has only been sweaty feet and wet socks! I guess I feel lucky not having to deal with anything a change of socks won't solve!