(no subject)

[lapsedmodernist]

Dear livejournal genie

Is there such a thing as self-heating socks? Like, something like electric blankets, but portable and for feet? Alternately, what are the warmest slippers I can buy, like some special heat-conserving NASA slippers? I have low blood pressure and apparently shitty circulation and my feet are ALWAYS COLD. It's not that big of a problem during the summer, but now it's autumn, and I have the same cold that everyone I seem to know has, and my nose is runny and I am coughing and I would be so very insanely happy if I didn't have to constantly rescue my feet from the Land of Hypothermia.

Regular socks with double layers and wool socks don't really work. I need something xtra here. Help!

[ON EDIT: my google-fu indeed yielded some electric socks. Do they really work? If I accidentally step into a puddle of water in the bathroom while wearing them, will I get electrecuted? Is there a brand that is better than the others?]

[ON FURTHER EDIT: I don't understand how these battery powered socks work. Are there actually batteries around your toes? Can you feel them? How do you wear your shoes with them?]

Comments

[omnia-mutantur.livejournal.com]

google battery powered socks.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

do you have them? Have you tried them? Talk to me about them.

[claudelemonde.livejournal.com]

i had them in marching band. the heat doesn't distribute evenly--it's through two conduit coils--but they do indeed work. i never got shocked or anything despite my feet getting damp from snow.

[claudelemonde.livejournal.com]

as regards how they work, they each had a 9v battery on the outside cuff--they were kneesocks--and then had a heating element that ran down the leg onto the sole of the foot. you wear shoes like a regular person would. mine weren't adjustable but weren't overly hot.

for in the house, they make down slippers--literally like tiny duvets wrapped around the foot--that are quite warm.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

aha. Thank you!

[omnia-mutantur.livejournal.com]

i just accidentally posted with Light's account. whoops.

[kowboy.livejournal.com]

My redneck family who go hunting every winter swear by their electric socks. You should check out hunting supplky stores as evidently squatting very quietly for hours on end (usually up a tree) in the freezing cold will tend to make your toes a tad chilly.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Will do! Thank you!

[mjmj.livejournal.com]

uhoh. this could mean looking at guns for hours. will you be taking a trusted friend?

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

mjmj, we have discussed this before, I LIKE guns. or...do you mean I should take a friend so as not to be led into temptation?

[mjmj.livejournal.com]

yes, the second. is it possible that you'll need pnts&more to keep from being too long with the penguins?

[mjmj.livejournal.com]

the new definition of "neocon"? liberal with gun (http://www.newyorker.com/printables/online/051031on_onlineonly01) the definition is from (paleo)conservatives, who no longer want neocons to be able to use "conservative" now that the conquest of iraq hasn't been wrapped up. "why, it's one more reason to hate the liberals. clearly, they're responsible for that mess."

[cascadianista.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that they would last very long. Generating heat is very power-intensive; you'd need a huge battery.

[vocodedreality.livejournal.com]

There are slippers made just for you. I don't remember what they are called but they have these packets of rice or something or other inside of them. You take the packet out, toss it in the microwave for 10 mintues or so and then you can put the packets right into the slippers. It's like an ice pack but backwards.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

omg that is brilliant. So much better than electrodes near the feet. I must find them.

Did you get my email? :)

I love the pitures you posted today.

[vocodedreality.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Got your email, just let me know when you have a day on the weekend to go as long as it's not the 30th of this month.

[apathyfabulous.livejournal.com]

These inserts are what most people in mn use. There are microwavable kinds and chemical reaction kinds where you just shake them for a while and they get warm. They can usually be found in outdoorsy stores like REI. You can try leaving your shoes/sox out over the heating vent or radiator between waking up and leaving your house.

My slippers are fleece inside and leather wrapped outside. They keep me very warm but I am sure there are better ones out there.

[twistedcat.livejournal.com]

my feet are almost always cold. even in august.

i found these socks from birkenstock that are chenille, and now my feet are both warm and snuggly.

*swoon*

[profundamente.livejournal.com]

a friend of mine has circulation problems (reynauds, it SUCKS) and has some heating pads that she sticks into her shoes and mitts during winter - she gets high quality ones from an outdoor clothing store called mountain equipment co-op (it's a canadian thing, but maybe their online catalogue would be useful).

(she also focuses on keeping her entire body as warm as possible with a hat and thermal layers).

[mjmj.livejournal.com]

> I don't understand how these battery powered socks work. Are there actually batteries around your toes? Can you feel them? How do you wear your shoes with them?

from the thunderbolt web site:

"The heated electric socks are designed to be worn inside a pair of insulated boots, over a pair of inner socks. One cable from each sock is normally run up the leg between long underwear and outer pants and exits at belt-level. The cable connects to the controller/battery pack, which may be clipped to the belt on either side of the waist."

http://www.thunderboltsocks.com/heatedsocks.htm

[nearly-there.livejournal.com]

There are also the ridiculously-trendy but still very warm and fuzzy ugg slippers. C has a pair and I steal them all the time. The warmth, it is so worth it.

(I don't think that you even qualify as a fashion victim until you get pink tall boots, roll them down into cuffs, and wear them out with a flippy mini, preferably when it's 30 degrees or colder. Not that people around here do that all the time or anything.)

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

ooh, I didn't realize Ugg made slippers. I think I, like, avoided anything Ugg-related after being traumatized by Williamsburg hipsters wearing Ugg-ly boots with, like, cut up legwarmers held together by safety pins and a sequined mini-skirt in JANUARY. They do look warm, though...

[nearly-there.livejournal.com]

O, that trauma is completely understood. I promise you, despite the bizarre catwalkiness of the boots + frozen girl parts trend (because seriously, that's all I can think about when I see the hoochie undergrads dress that way all winter), Ugg makes lovely warm slippers.

[never-the-less.livejournal.com]

late to teh party, but yes, they have boot warmers/hand warmers for skiing that are chemial packs that warm up when exposed to air. expensive if you're going to make it a regular habit, but toasty!

[congogirl.livejournal.com]

If you go the route of inserting those shake-n-bake packets, let me know, I'll knit you some socks.