NABRXX

Hello all,

I'm pretty sure most of you know the old trick stolen from motorcycle riders with cold hands and gloves that are either wet, or simply not up to the task...the trick being that wearing a disposable latex glove underneath the other glove keeps your hands so warm that they sweat. I am interested to know if anyone on here has a similar suggestion for feet. Just for use on those single digit days when during the last 30 minutes of a 90 minute commute, I can't feel my toes. I'm not interested In those ski boot chemical warmers...I guess I'm looking for disposable latex socks....anyone out there run into these.

gregjones

Yeah.

But, they aren't sold to go on your feet.

CommuteCommando

I didn't know that about the gloves. I'll try it this morning, as I keep Nitrile gloves in the work shop. (Mild latex allergy, but the nitrile should work about the same.) Thanks.

etw

I have heard of people putting those plastic grocery bags over their socks.

Dave Cutter

Try a little saran wrap?

e0richt

I think that is why some recommend using plastic bags (that bread comes in)... I have never tried it but if it really became an issue, I would give it a try...

Wanderer

More layers of technical fabrics, i.e., wicking socks, more of them. Trapping moisture at your feet will be very cold indeed! And, rubber, or waterproof/windproof outer layer(boots).

xtrajack

In the early 80's I used bread bags over my wool socks, seemed to work ok.

NABRXX

I just took the dive and bought Hotronic heated inserts. I bought these for my wife while on a ski vacation out in utah a few years ago for her ski boots and she loves them. I had totally forgotten about them and remembered them as very expensive....and they are when custom installed in ski boots at Deer valley ski shop. They have evolved a bit tech wise and a purchase online cost $210 which I happily spent. My commute originally was 25 miles each way...in my head....GPS verified it at 18 miles each way and I love the ride so much....its just that cold feet suck...ill keep you folks posted on their performance though there
are far more demanding reviews already online. It seems that these things are bullet proof.

Matariki

I put a bag over thin sock and then a heavier wool sock over it. Seems to do the trick but the inner sock gets pretty sweaty.

Gatorfreak

I use shoe covers. I think they were about $15 and they make a huge difference.

gregjones

I tried that with the layer reversed. Thick sock on foot, then the plastic sack with a very thin sock to hold the bag in place (sort of). It lasted longer and was warmer than the thin sock first. It's thin enough to fit my regular boxy MTB shoes that are too tight with two pairs of thick socks.

It gives me a good 5 degrees over my shoe covers alone.

wphamilton

I've got these disposable shoe covers: which have worked pretty well in light rain using two per foot. One on top and the other as normal. Just a few cents each the price is right. I'm going to try them on my socks inside my shoes when we get our edge of the arctic vortex next week.

CrankyOne

Baggies (not ziplocs) work well. I cut them down so they cover just about a half inch past my toes which provides warmth without sweating and avoids my feet slipping around which more coverage caused.

jputnam

Don't know about disposable latex, but hazmat and housepainters use disposable shoe covers.

rm -rf

I've tried disposable gloves with winter gloves over them. It didn't seem to make much difference--I even tried it on just one hand and that hand wasn't any warmer.

Backpackers have been using vapor barriers to keep evaporating sweat from condensing within the outer layers, on boots and sleeping bags. Soggy insulation doesn't work. I suppose that the air flow when biking keeps the moisture buildup from being a big problem.

I've read that if your core is warm, then your hands and feet will be warmer. At 30F-40F, my hands are very cold for 30-40 minutes, then they are fine. I should do a half hour on a trainer before I go out.

2manybikes

Been using plastic bags over the sock for a couple of decades, it works fine. If you have good insulaton, like thick socks, and they are almost good enough, a bag over the sock will add a lot. I do this on 4-6 hour rides sometimes. Your foot does get a little sweaty, but it does not seem to matter. Small bags are just as good as disposable latex anything.

It'a similar to wearing a "windbreaker" jacket, except the jacket breaths more.

dubes

+1, though I use neoprene socks over the liner socks. I tried using insulated shoe covers, but then my socks and shoes soaked through with sweat and were still damp when I rode home.

EricSteven5

Reminds me of the time last winter I was touring through cold-ish but extremely wet weather up in Northern California.

I was completely unprepared in the gloves department. I was using a set of PI P.R.O. (water-reistant) gloves that were not up to the task and I was miserable. In a dire attempt at keeping warmth I bought a set of rubber kitchen cleaning gloves. They did almost nothing. My hands were neither warm nor dry

I imagine latex gloves would have a similiar problem in keeping the water from entering through the wrist area.

Sixty Fiver

Nitrile gloves are part of my travelling kit... they serve many purposes ranging from first aid to keeping my hands warm when it is raining (they go under my gloves) and they also work really well in the winter when your gloves or mittens aren't cutting it.

Nitrile is important as if you use them in an emergency you never know who might have a potentially fatal latex allergy (like my wife).

acidfast7

i find that XC ski gloves work well down to 0F. they're made of Lycra and synthetic leather. (299 SEK = 46 USD)

i find that Adidas Nordic Walking shoes with GoreTex work really well on the feet. (€49 = 65 USD)

wphamilton

Something else a little off-beat but I tried it this morning and it worked fine at 20°F. I used this rubber spray on an old pair of running shoes, several heavy layers. I didn't notice my feet at all, not cold no sweating. I guess it still breathes, or else the temperature was just right.

noglider 

I'm going to try wrapping my toes in duct tape, taping over my socks.

Leisesturm

Your hands sweat because the latex forms a vapor barrier that prevents the water that your hands perspire from going anywhere. Your hands are warmer because there is in effect another layer in the system. If the 'liner' material was silk, or thinsulate, or wool for that matter, your hands would still be warmer in your gloves but the sweating effect would be less or non-existent because these underlayers breathe. There are latex booties for your feet and you could probably find them in a surgical supply. Feet perspire less than hands so a vapor locked barrier isn't the worst thing I can think of, but I have to think that there are silk or thinsulate liner socks to wear under regular thermal socks to provide and additional layer. BTW. Just last week someone offered me the half-dead chemical warmer they had been using on their drive in to our rehearsal. They know that I was going to be riding home, 8 miles in sub-25* weather. I politely declined not knowing that the warmers had been used and were thus going to go in the trash anyway. So I took them, more as a gesture than any thought that the things would have any use to me. Hmmmm. If this is what more than half spent chemical warmers can do inside gloves on a cold night I may have to look into getting some as an emergency back up for cold snaps. I don't have any gloves that really work well below 30*and I have some expedition type that are just as thick as any ski-glove you've ever seen but without the zippers and pockets that make real ski-gloves so clunky.

H

Leisesturm

Hands and feet are not easy to keep warm. You need bulk, and windproofing, maybe water resistance. Your sleeves keep water from going past the wrists of your riding gloves. Latex gloves would work as well as dishwashing gloves but only if you had an over-glove, or mitten, that was sufficiently bulky to profice insulation. Thinsulation is not magic. It is not going to be as warm as thicker insulation. It is warmer than regular cloth gloves because it is thicker. Cloth of the same thickness as Thinsulate would be just as warm! Two thin layers are warmer than one thick one because the air space between them acts like another layber of insulation. A thin latex, or silk, or cotton, liner under a normal pair of gloves will be warmer than the gloves alone or the liner alone. If you're hands or feet are warm enough they won't care that much about being wet.

H