Cheap hand & foot warmers at Cosco

[Query]

A few people get cold hands or feet when skating.

There are many good things to try.

• Better insulation all over
• proper boot fit (extremely tight fit cuts off circulation and makes you cold)
• neoprene boot covers (trade-off: interferes with very close footwork)
• pre-warming boots with hand or hair drier, or with a microwaved sock full of rice
• insulated insoles (e.g., some are made of multiple layers of aluminized mylar)

But a few of you have said these are not good enough. Some people simply can't generate enough heat in their hands and feet to stay warm.

Chemical hand and foot warmers generate heat for you. The foot warmers take up very little space in the boot, though a few of you with very tight fits may want to replace your insole with a dollar pair, and shape it and hollow out a space under the insole for the pack.

Alas, they cost $1 - $1.50 / pair in camping good stores, and are only good for 1 use.

Costco is temporarily selling boxes of hand and foot warmers relatively cheap, in the variety that heats for about 8 hours.

40 pair of hand warmers, + 3 body warmers: $14.99
30 pair of foot warmers: $12.99

That's $0.375 / hand warmer and $0.433 / foot warmer.

If hand or foot warmth interferes with your skating enjoyment or safety, it could be worth it - if you already belong to Costco.

The sale isn't on the website. I don't know if it is just my store, but it's probably the whole chain.

[FigureSpins]

TJ Maxx had them for the same price in their Men's Holiday Gifts section.

[Sk8Dreams]

They really cannot go in your boots.  Not in mine anyway!  They are bulky and get hard as they give up the heat.  I am going to try putting one on top of my toes, over the boot and under my neoprene covers.  The best thing I ever found was to use home made microwave rice warmers followed by the neoprene covers.  I can't use the warmers now, because my boots might lose shape.

[jjane45]

home made microwave rice warmers

Used DIY warmers made of rice and red bean mixture before, and they hold the heat for hours. Greener too?

[Sk8tmum]

There are reusable "warmers". They have a chemical compound inside of a soft plastic cover; you "click" a small metal disk inside which precipitates a chemical reaction that causes the compound to solidify/crystallize and heat up.  They stay warm for several hours. Once done, you boil them and the chemical compound returns to a liquid state.  Quite inexpensive, and they work quite well. Can be bought in a variety of sizes, including hand sized, hip sized, back sized, etc.  Far preferable to disposable ones; plus if you place them in your glove, or wherever, as they crystallize, they form perfectly into the needed shape.

In terms of keeping feet warm, look at good quality ski socks or polartec socks. LL Bean, for example, sells Polartec socks that keep feet warm, but, are not any thicker than a normal pair of sweatsocks.   You can also buy hunting socks - they have wires that attach to a battery pack; the wires heat up and keep the socks warm.

[MadMac]

Sweat sox, polartec sox, hunting sox . . . absolutely no way I could fit any of those in my skates. I tried the thin chemical foot warmers inside my skates last week -- they fit sort of, but were so annoying. I couldn't "feel the ice" if you know what I mean. Like Sk8Dreams, I plan to try sticking one on top of my boot at the toes with a neoprene boot glove over it.

[Query]

I tried some 20 years ago in other sports - much too large for inside skates. Maybe they are better now.

What types of re-usable warmers have you tried?

How large are they, in each dimension?

How long do they stay warm?