 Poster: A snowHead
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Well, after some discussion about expensive boot heaters, and Mrs Monium deciding all by herself that she wanted some, I thought it might be a good idea to explore the other options first. Partly because I'm not made of money, and because they seem like the kind of thing that I'd resort to as a last possible resort after trying everything else.
The one thing I decided we should try first was these:
Looking at them, they seem to be a lump of neoprene with a velcro strap round the back. Hardly revolutionary as an idea, however the reviews suggest they work, and I can see the logic. If you are a cackhanded fool that disclaimers are written for, just get your money out and buy them from here at a cost of £25.48 http://www.thesportsemporium.co.uk/acatalog/Clothing.html#a87
I, however, like making stuff. And I'm a bit tight when I see a product that seems to be so simple a child could make it, and the raw materials are readily available. They are also only 5mm neoprene, which isn't very thick compared to the kind of neoprene I use for diving. 7mm is thick enough to keep you warm, so 7mm it will be, and I think I can improve the design a little, insulating the base and sides of the boot as well as the toe.
So, get yourself one very sexy and preferably thick wetsuit, the kind of thing that is shot to bits and old, doesn't fit anyone in the house any more, or just get one from a charity shop somewhere. Secondhand value of wetsuits are almost nil, nobody wants to use a suit you've been peeing in for several years, and the neoprene goes stiffer than when new so it's not comfortable to use any more for surfing/diving/dogging/scissor sisters concerts etc.
As modelled by my sexy assistant, some woman off the internet:
Now, you want it to be an old wetsuit because you're going to cut it to bits. Luckily I had just the thing kicking around, having cut the arms off it for a different invention some months ago.
Interestingly, I noticed that the shoulder of a wetsuit is pretty similar to the toe of a ski boot.
So start by cutting it in half straight down the middle (either the front if the zip is down the back, or the back if the zip is down the front) to ensure they are both the same size.
Next check the fit of the wetsuit against the toe of the boot. Luckily the suit fitted rather nicely on the front of Mrs Monium's boot, but neoprene is stretchy and there's loads of ways to tweak this little invention so most sizes of suit will fit most sizes of boot, within reason.
I think you can now see where this is going. If you can't, you need to go back to the top and go and buy them off the internet for £25.
Now, get an adult with some sharp scissors to cut off the zip - easy way to do this is to just cut behind the teeth, you don't have to go unpicking stitching or anything.
Next job is to punch your first hole, I just used some sharp pointy scissors to make a hole, and then put a piece of bungee cord through it and tie it off.
Now tie it to another hole on the other side of the boot, effectively securing the wetsuit to the toe of the boot around the ankle.
Last job to secure the back of the boot is another bungee, just to make sure it isn't going anywhere and to keep tension around the bottom of the boot as well as the ankle.
Next turn the thing you've now made inside out, so the coloured side (there's always a coloured side in my experience) is outwards, assuming you want the colour on the inside and the black on the outside when you're done. Now get the other boot (left or right, depending on which you are doing first) and fit it to the other one. This is important, because now it is inside out, it is effectively the other way around. This avoids issues with boots that have one side much further from centre than the other, not much of an issue with these boots but it could be for you.
Time to get the pens out, remember that permanent marker can be exactly that, so be careful. What you need to do is hold the neoprene against the boot side and bottom while you trace the toe and heel pieces on your boot.
Remember to leave more material than you need in the middle section, and then cut cleanly along the marker line.
Then put the two sides together on the underside of the boot, and mark where they join. They want to be together, but not yanked over or your stitching won't hold (unless you are a really rather good seamstress, I am not)
Now, nearly the final job is to stitch the two sides together, using some waterproof and strong thread. It doesn't have to be pretty, it has to be functional. If you want to get really fancy, once you've stitched the two sides together, chuck a bit of glue on the stitches, any old glue will do.
Once you have stitched the two bits together, you now need to fit the boot glove to the boot. Once this is done (it should be very very easy to just slip it on, unless you've made the bungees incredibly tight, which you don't need to do) just get your scissors and cut around the toe piece to stop it overlapping too much when you walk - we don't want anyone tripping over these things. It doesn't, however, need to be trimmed right back to allow space for the front binding, because if you reach down before you clip in, you can do this and it stays there:
After you've clipped in, use the tip of your pole (bending over is so unladylike) to flick the end of the material over the top of the binding, where it will sit nicely flush with the thing, held down by the stretch of the neo - also means you won't get a load of snow building up on the toe of the boot that will just sap heat away.
The cover doesn't go near the rear of the boot, so no issues there, just make sure the bungees haven't dropped down when you clip in.
Simples. Enjoy. Any questions just shout, I'll try and help where I can. We will be conducting an in-depth test session next week in Courchevel, where if they are warm I'm going to steal them off Mrs Monium in the night. Hopefully it will mean that she doesn't have ice inside her boots at the end of the day any more, at the very least it should up the boot temperature by a few degrees.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Pure Genius!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Top one!!!! 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Amazing. Chapeau, as they say in Courchevel. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Now you just need some go faster stripes and you're good to go
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I have been doing some thinking about this, and have worked out how to insulate the back of the boot as well - I just don't think it is necessary. If you can keep the snow off the toes of your boots, you stop it melting, stop water getting in, prevent the sweat from condensing on the inside as much and then freezing, on the heel it doesn't seem to be an issue.
That said, it might just help with the overall temperature, and wouldn't affect function of the boot etc.
If anyone is really interested in buying something like this, but made to a much more professional standard, I have contacted a company that manufactures far more complicated neoprene products than this, their version is likely to be a lot more impressive than mine. Pricing should be pretty good too. I'll keep you all posted.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Those would never go round my rear!
Oh, you mean the rear of the boot. In all honesty, they go on in the morning, come off for lunch to go on a radiator, and then back on for the afternoon. The bungees work fine and keep everything taut. Investing in velcro isn't worth doing for this, if you need to adjust it just undo the knots in the bungee and adjust.
For anyone that is thinking about doing this at home, the trick to making bungee stay in knots is to actually cable tie it. I know I didn't do this in my version because I was rushing to get it done before our trip at the weekend, but that is the best way to keep it looking good and secure - just pull the bungee tight, tighten up a cable tie around it, then when you release the bungee it will be tight. Use two cable ties if required, only really necessary for significant pull on thick (i.e. 10mm) bungee. And you can get black bungee if you really care about these things.
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No experience with skiing, but I've used neoprene overshoes when cycling in Winter, and they really do make a staggering difference. Be interested to see how you find them on the slopes.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Wow.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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First thought is that theneoprene foam might get waterlogged and then freeze. But the second thought is that we'll know when they are tried out. Good luck - and let us know how they work out.
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You know it makes sense.
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| achilles wrote: |
| First thought is that theneoprene foam might get waterlogged and then freeze. But the second thought is that we'll know when they are tried out. Good luck - and let us know how they work out. |
Neoprene is a closed cell foam, it doesn't absorb water. If it's nylon covered, the nylon can 'hold' a surface layer of water.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Just back from an intensive week of testing in Courchevel. That's right, I took Mrs Monium all the way to the Alps to test these revolutionary creations. Well, ok we had a trip planned anyway and this fitted nicely, but we had a good chance to test them out.
Now, first up it wasn't anywhere near as cold as Tignes, at any point on the trip. So intensive testing will have to happen another time, possibly with some kind of freezer and I may have to tie her up, but the progress of science and DIY is all important.
Day one and it had snowed heavily the night before. With 6" of fresh stuff all over the pistes, this was exactly the kind of conditions that seemed to create cold feet before - snow builds up on the front of the boot, and just sits there, on the lifts, on the runs, chilling the boot and feet inside. With the boot warmers the snow didn't even stick to the neoprene, it just brushed right off without anyone touching it. 1-0 to the warm feet. Mrs M actually, not kidding, complained that her feet were getting too hot. That has never, ever, happened before, not even in the warmest skiing at Easter last year in blazing sunshine.
Day two or three, and our brave test pilot reported how simple they were to put on and take off. Described like putting diving fins on and off, they slid on the front, and a finger inside the bungee just slipped them on. Foolproof, they always went on and didn't affect bindings in any way. I was also impressed that my stitching had survived a couple of days of solid use, including walking about in the boots a fair bit. Adjusting ankle bindings easy, adjusting toe bindings not so easy, but entirely possible with a brief stop. 2-0 to the warm feet.
Sometime around day 4 we actually got a bit of colder weather, somewhere around minus something, cold enough that my control conditioned boots (no warm feet) had got very slightly cold feet inside. Normally my feet being slightly cold is enough that Mrs Monium will have feet cold enough to have a bit of a whinge about it, and suggest a hot chocolate stop. No whinging. When asked, reported nice warm feet. 3-0 to the warm feet.
Finally some of the other girls got to having a look at these things, and several seemed to want a pair. I managed to escape before they ran around the resort ripping wetsuits from shop displays. 4-0 to the warm feet.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Good stuff.
In the past, I've noticed condensation build-up on the inside of my boots (hot sweaty feet+snow on the toe), which eventually led to cold toes syndrome. Would a thinner, toes-only model designed to keep the snow off the boots be the solution to this particular problem? I think i've seen a plastic bag used for this somewhere.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| ALQ wrote: |
Good stuff.
In the past, I've noticed condensation build-up on the inside of my boots (hot sweaty feet+snow on the toe), which eventually led to cold toes syndrome. Would a thinner, toes-only model designed to keep the snow off the boots be the solution to this particular problem? I think i've seen a plastic bag used for this somewhere. |
In all honesty, I don't think you'll find much difference between a toes only thing and the whole front and ankle cover, there's no significant difficulty putting them on and taking them off, and you can still easily get to the ankle buckles. You're going to lose access to the toe buckles with either.
If you just want to keep the snow off your toes you could easily use a much thinner neoprene (like the original Boot Glove, something like 5mm and a much smaller cover) and do the same. To reduce the size of the thing just cut the neo away until you've got the shape you want - I could have easily cut off the ankle piece and it would work the same way, but it was there so I kept it until it was tested.
The main aim of it was to avoid frozen toes at minus 10 and beyond. It seems to meet that brief for Mrs Monium, the temperature inside the boot is definitely much warmer than without, and no problems with condensation inside the boot.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I thought monium was female ??????
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Frosty the Snowman, ah, now, that was a question that was (sort of) answered on the EoSB...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Schuss in Boots +1
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Just bumping my own thread because these were dug out over the last week to show a cold footed friend, and because now the surfing season is over, and half of SH are planning to be on a glacier in the next couple of weeks, you might want to do something similar.
Plus some people said we were nice on the EoSB
Strangely, the picture of a woman off the internet in a wetsuit seems to have disappeared. She's probably a bit cold now it is November, which many of us were looking forward to for the Lara Croft "peanuts in the suit" effect, but you can't have it all - warm feet and hot chicks in wetsuits is just too much for one thread.
I have, as mentioned above, had a very positive response from a wetsuit manufacturer, who laughed a bit and said it would take them about 5 minutes to make a pair of those. They also said they were far too busy to start making another product, especially in the summer season. I may have more luck over Xmas, but I reckon DIY is the way to go on this. It seems you can, if you are determined and have strong needles, put neoprene through a standard sewing machine and it will work.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Mistress Panda,
I realise this is an ancient thread, but doing a search on neoprene overshoes this is all that came up. Do you still have the pictures available as they don't show in the links anymore.
I saw someone wearing a pair of neoprene overshoes in a resort a few weeks back and thought that would be a great thing to stick on to my boots to prevent the inevitable cold toes. I would rather not get electric ones until at least trying a low tech idea first
Has anyone else made some or got any fresh ideas?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Glad this thread's been resurrected, good reminder.
I had some mad ideas about copying this and making some, however, having admitted (to myself) that I am precisely the "cack handed fool that disclaimers are written for" & don't have wetsuits taking up space around the house, have just ordered some alpenheat ones off t'internets. Reviews suggest the attachments aren't particularly robust but I'm pretty sure I can wrangle repairs if required.
Looking forward to trying them out 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Well.  disaster on the alpenheat. Don't fit on my boots, sent back & refunded.
Does anyone know of a walk in shop these kind of things can be bought?
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@king key, ://www.amazon.co.uk/DryGuy-BootGlove-Boot-Covers/dp/B000MTRX9U?tag=amz07b-21
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You know it makes sense.
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@kittya, I thought that the alpenheat come in various sizes? I have a size that fits my youngest child's mondo 20 boots which I can't believe is the only size they make. If you can find ones that fit, they are fantastic.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@holidayloverxx, Thanks for the link.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@ster, same ones
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| @ster, same ones |
Ah. Didnt follow the link throught to see.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just ordered Alpenheat boot gloves from gb extreme, £21 each, will report back nxt week
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FAQ
