Lenz Heated Socks?

[TAFKALVS]

Lange RX are fucking cold

it doesn't make sense? the liners are pretty plush and seam like a decent foam?

[MMP]

I use these on cold days. they work well at keeping the inside of the boot warm (the foot) but not always the toes which is my main problem. Big toe freezing can be kept at bay if you start with them warm. I cant run them on full because they are too hot on the bottom of my feet.

I have the app for my phone (which they charge for after paying a couple hundred for fucking socks!), so when i am done making almost extensively soulful tele turns I can adjust the heat. I usually run them on 3-5 out of 10. Battery life is decent. Thickness is ok, price was not so hot. I'm told you can put the heat element under the part of the sole you want heated with the hotronics, if i could heat my big toes, i would prefer that to these.

[SunshineTom]

+1 Langes, and tight boots are fn cold. I no longer ski them below 15*, after frostbite on the tips of my toes. I have scarpa tornados, a 3 piece shell easy to get in and out of, sized up from my lange 27.5 to 28.5 and fitted with intuition power wraps for cold days. Piggies are warm and happy down to zero.

Another tip that helps with cold feet is to preheat your boots, makes a huge difference for me. My boots ride on the passenger side floorboard getting blasted by the heater for an hour on cold days. Boot heater bags do the same thing but are more versatile, if your drive to the hill is short. Try preheating your boots before you drop $400 on socks.

[MMP]

+1 Langes, and tight boots are fn cold. I no longer ski them below 15*, after frostbite on the tips of my toes. I have scarpa tornados, a 3 piece shell easy to get in and out of, sized up from my lange 27.5 to 28.5 and fitted with intuition power wraps for cold days. Piggies are warm and happy down to zero.

Another tip that helps with cold feet is to preheat your boots, makes a huge difference for me. My boots ride on the passenger side floorboard getting blasted by the heater for an hour on cold days. Boot heater bags do the same thing but are more versatile, if your drive to the hill is short. Try preheating your boots before you drop $400 on socks.

open a couple hand warmers and throw them in the toes of your boots for the ride to the hill. then use them to keep your batteries warm, phone, vaporizer, etc. once you get there.

[LiveLarger]

Not sure I agree with the Hotronics issues here. I run Hotronics in a pair of boots with surefoot (they are kind of cold) liners and soles. The hotronics hasn't been any issue at all. They just make the boots less cold.

[Eastcoastdan]

Still loving my Sidas system. Batteries always last through the day and haven't had to painfully thaw out my toes since buying them.

[SB]

Hotronics and boot gloves

[Flyoverland Captive]

Boot gloves might not work with tele boots, esp. NTN; the strap underneath is right on the ball of foot, and would interfere with the binding. Might need to modify. Also, I loosen my buckles after every run, which is impossible without removing the boot gloves.

[TahoeJ]

Lange RX are fucking cold

Yep. Cause they fucking leak. Too bad, nice boots otherwise.

If someone truly solves the cold toes thing - and it's going to be a full liner system not some add on - they're going to do very well.

[LiveLarger]

Yep. Cause they fucking leak. Too bad, nice boots otherwise.

If someone truly solves the cold toes thing - and it's going to be a full liner system not some add on - they're going to do very well.

Intuition liners are pretty warm. I'm sure that should help?

[Eastcoastdan]

Yep. Cause they fucking leak. Too bad, nice boots otherwise.

If someone truly solves the cold toes thing - and it's going to be a full liner system not some add on - they're going to do very well.

As racer kids we used to duct tape the seam right above the toes. Seemed to help.

[tintin5]

I use these on cold days. they work well at keeping the inside of the boot warm (the foot) but not always the toes which is my main problem. Big toe freezing can be kept at bay if you start with them warm. I cant run them on full because they are too hot on the bottom of my feet.

I have the app for my phone (which they charge for after paying a couple hundred for fucking socks!), so when i am done making almost extensively soulful tele turns I can adjust the heat. I usually run them on 3-5 out of 10. Battery life is decent. Thickness is ok, price was not so hot. I'm told you can put the heat element under the part of the sole you want heated with the hotronics, if i could heat my big toes, i would prefer that to these.

Got a pair for Christmas and used them for the first time on the weekend. I'd second what MMP said about the big toe. But otherwise my feet were noticeably warmer all day.

[Pegleg]

I've been using Hotronics for the last couple of years and I can't imagine skiing without them. I've got Intuitions, but I froze my toes enough times that they go numb if it's even slightly cold out (they go numb when I'm mountain biking and it's under 50 degrees, for example) so I needed active heat to be able to stay out skiing all day. If you do a good job mounting the heater plate it's barely noticeable under your toes - I skin in them and have no problems. They keep your toes as warm as you want (anywhere from just-not-freezing up to toasty). I did lose one of the batteries early on, before I invested in the $10 clips that keep them more securely fastened to the boot - no problem since then. Just gotta remember to charge them up every other day or so.

The Lenz socks are interesting but (a) if they don't warm the toes then that's a dealkiller since that's what is cold for most folks, (b) having to wear the same ski socks every day on a multi-day trip is gross, and (c) I'd guess that they'll wear out much faster than Hotronics since you're putting them on and taking them off every day, whereas the Hotronic system is pretty much immobile once it's installed.

[Shorty_J]

Anyone have these for a while and can comment on how they feel after some time in these socks?

[Sillygoat]

I believe the new and current lenz socks have a toe-cap heating element that surrounds the toes entirely. I haven't seen or felt them. The shop I work at only has the older year's model with the heated pad under the ball of the foot. Possibly this was why they were 20% off? I also us Intuitions in RXs but I have always used power wraps because I like them. They do leak through the toe and instep seams and duct tape does help. I once was surprised my toes were cold after a long day hiking, and I pulled the intuitions out in the parking lot to find quit a lot of snow in the tow of the boot. I was kinda surprised it hadn't melted to be honest.

[barkcity]

Ever since I got minor frostbite on my toes during a mountaineering trip years ago, my feet are always cold. I now run Hotronics, and my first setup was in custom fit Dalbellos with custom cork footbeds, and it worked without any problems for 4 seasons (~50 days a season). My latest setup is in custom fit Scarpa SL's with custom foam insoles, and I'm going into my 3rd season without any problems. I'm still using the original batteries, but I might need to throw down for new batteries this season.

I had "heard" the big weak spot for the Hotronics is the cable wearing/breaking at the top of the boot. So I used gaffers tape to adhere the cable to the back of the liner from the heal up to the boot top, and I also wrapped 2 layers of tape around the cable from just below the boot top all the way to the plug. Lastly, you do need to pay attention to kinking or pinching the cable... things like chair lifts on load up can tear up the cable if you're not paying attention.

Nothing like warm feet on a single digit pow day!

my 2 cents.

[johnnyg82]

How do these hold up to washing in a washing machine?

[Shorty_J]

I've been using hotronics for years and like them a lot.

The batteries seem to be done and I need to replace them... or get a new system.

I have broken the wires a few times. They break pretty easily on my touring boots when actually used as touring boots.

The socks intrigue me but I worry about durability.

[Shorty_J]

Just purchased a pair and will report back once tested.

High of -14C on Friday at Fernie should be a good test.

[TLWUtah]

Hey, when you report on the socks, will you also comment on the thickness? I am wondering how they feel under your foot. Thanks!!

[Dr. Crash]

Still loving my Sidas system. Batteries always last through the day and haven't had to painfully thaw out my toes since buying them.

Which ones? Sidas Pro? What temperatures outside and how long is the day? They mention 4/6/8 hours at most on high/med/low heat.

[Mudfoot]

Got Langes now and before that BDs, both with replaceable sole blocks and both colder than shit. My theory is that the steel bolts suck the cold right up into the bottom of the boots.

[MMP]

Hey, when you report on the socks, will you also comment on the thickness? I am wondering how they feel under your foot. Thanks!!

They're too thick for my tastes and the inside of the underfoot has a less than smooth feel to it that I found annoying initially but forgot about in minutes.

I switched from a T1 to NTN and I can't fit the sock in the new boots comfortably. I did get a heated boot bag though. Friends with the owner do the ski shop. It costs me $100 just to stop and say hi.

[Shorty_J]

I would call them a medium thickness. There was a time when I ran very tight boots with thin liners and thin socks, and at that time I would have found these borderline too thick, but my feet can't take that any more. They are really not that thick IMO.

So the review summary: I like them but they're not perfect.

I skied 3 days in temperatures from approximately -19C to about -10C. I have poor circulation in my feet and part of what causes cold toes (and heels, for me) is when my boots are ratcheted down too tight and/or my form suffers and I'm bouncing around in the boot too much. On the first (and coldest) day I had cold enough toes after about 2 hours that I needed to go in for a bit to warm up, but I was aslo skiing like shit that morning so could have been the second problem.

The next day was -16 to about -10, no snow and some wind. Had the socks set to 2 (out of 3) and toes never got cold enough to require me to warm up. That day I went bell to bell minus about 45 minutes for lunch and toes felt good all day.

Last day, did a half-day, temps down to about -16 or so, sunny. Had a bit of cold toes (and heels) when I stopped, socks were set to 3. My form was not great due to 35cm of blower powder requiring some back-seating to get the tips of my skis to come out, and due to physical exhaustion.

My biggest complaint is that, even though I bought the 5.0 version with toe specific heating, the heating seems to really be centered on the middle three toes. I'd really prefer it went all the way from the edge of the big toe to the edge of the pinky. When my feet did feel a little cold it was at those extremities.

Other notes:
- Consider buying 1 size smaller than you think you might need... they seem to fit a little large.
- I didn't really notice any issues with the electronics digging into my feet, but my boots are not super tight... YMMV. The electronics strip running on top of the sock can bunch up a tiny bit but I never found it uncomfortable.
- The batteries are difficult to operate manually because you can't really see the button when you have the top rolled over (like you're supposed to). The app might make that better but it is so slimy that they want another $5 for the app after spending $400 on socks that I can't bring myself to make that purchase as of yet. It's not about the actual cost, but the principle. I'll probably cave on that.
- The socks are so long that the battery pack is sitting at knee height on me. Makes it a little tough to access them to adjust the heat setting while I'm all geared up. Not a deal breaker but a little less than ideal for me.
- The charger is a USB interface into a wall plug adapter. This means you could charge them with a USB power bank if you were on a multi-day touring trip. This is a great feature and something that was a real limitation of my old Hot-tronics. The batteries take a while to charge, but given how cheap power banks have become, you could have many days of heat possible.

In comparison with my Hot-tronics, I would say the Hot-tronics were better simple heaters for single day use... with heat place-able wear I want it and very long battery life... but the Lenz socks seem less susceptible to the wire breakage failure I was getting with hot-tronics in my touring boots, and have a couple of other advantages listed above.

All in all I would say they work well for what I need... keeping me out there longer than I could without them and so far not running out of power.

[MMP]

If the batteries are snapped into the correct sock, when you fold the top of the sock over the battery, the control button lines up with the dot on the sock and you can see the bars on the battery strength leds. (i sprung for the app)