I suffer from cold feet, and no, I don’t mean that I chicken out of things.  I mean that my feet get cold, with a capital C, and stay that way, even when other people around me are comfortable.  The theory is that frostbite when I was a kid damaged my circulation; that’s certainly possible.  But, regardless of the cause, the fact is that I really have to pay attention to keeping warm, or I’m utterly miserable.

One of the things that I’ve found useful for years is disposable toe warmers with adhesive on one side.  They’re easily available from several manufacturers, they’re inexpensive, and they work for hours.  Whether I’m cycling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, whatever, they add warmth to the toe area of my boots.  Unfortunately, though, they have a problem.  If you put them UNDER your feet, so the warmth is rising, they’re miserably uncomfortable when you’re walking.  So, we all put them on top of our feet, where they’re a whole heck of a lot better than nothing, but not as useful as they could be.

Enter the Little Hotties Cushion Insoles.  On the face of it, they look like a typical decent quality insole, shaped to fit a typical foot, with the usual arch support and heel cup.   A little thicker than typical, so probably a bit warmer.  Nice, but nothing special…until you turn them over, and that’s when the “aha” moment comes.  Right directly under the ball of your foot is a little plug that just HAPPENS to be the same size and shape as, you guessed it, a Little Hotties toe warmer!  Pull the plug out, take a warmer, stick it in adhesive side first, and slide it into your shoe; voila, instant heat!

Biking with Little hotties Insoles

The Little Hotties insoles happened to arrive the day before I did one of the Saturday morning bike rides, which has me leaving my house at 6:30 and riding about 14 miles in to meet the group for some serious pain.  And, when I got up, it was 30 degrees.  Not a great temperature for my feet, but perfect for testing the insoles.  Into my race shoes they went, and rather than putting on heavy booties as I typically would for that temperature, I wore my Sugoi Ti booties, which are wonderful, windproof, and remarkably warm for their thickness and weight, but are NOT designed for subfreezing temps.  And…on the way in, during the ride, and on the way home, my feet stayed comfortable!  Because the heat source is by the ball of my foot and not the toes, the very tips of my two middle toes felt a little cool for a while, but that was it.  No discomfort, and 4 hours later, they were still producing useful heat.

That by itself would be enough of a test, but Mother Nature wasn’t through with me.  April 9th, I did a bicycle race called the Tour of the Battenkill in upstate New York…62 miles of hell.  But, at least the weather forecast was good; temperatures at race time were supposed to be in the low 40s, not a lot of wind…great racing conditions.  And, I was fully prepared for them, which of course means that when I woke up at the Mount Snow Grand Summit hotel in the morning, it was snowing.  And at race time, it was 34 degrees and a 15 mph wind.  And, you guessed it…no, I didn’t have clothes, and particularly footwear, for those conditions.  I had the Sugoi booties mentioned above, perfect for the conditions I was supposed to be riding in.  But, I’d thrown the Little Hotties in, and a set of toe warmers, almost as a joke; I really hadn’t expected to need them.  Into my shoes they went, onto my bike I got, and throughout the race, at least my feet wore comfortable (the rest of me was in pain, but that’s what I get for doing a race like that early in the season!).  The race was miserable enough without any help; with cold feet, it would have been sheer torture.

Basically, Little Hotties insoles are, to me, a “no-brainer” for anyone who cycles in cold weather.  There’s no downside to them, period.  But that’s not all they’re good for.  Anyone who expects to stand around in cold conditions watching kids playing football, or goes to watch an XC ski race, or is an ice fisherman, should have them.  If you can imagine a time that your feet are going to be cold for an extended period, you should own them.  The price is so low for the performance that there’s just no good reason not to get them.  The only thing you need to be aware of is that they’re likely to be a little thicker than your current insole, so make sure you don’t have a tight shoe.  Or wear a slightly thinner sock than you usually would…you’ll MORE than make up the difference with the heat from the toe warmers.  The little plugs go back in, so if you want to use the insoles without the toe warmers, you can do that; keep a pair of warmers in your pocket, and if you unexpectedly find yourself in a situation where you’re stuck standing around in the cold, you’re all set!  It really is that easy, and they really do work that well.  My feet will never be as cold again!