 Poster: A snowHead
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We are off to Finland next month and the weather was -30 last night!!! Today it's only -17 and heating to -4 mid-week so not too bad. Hopefully in one months time, it will have warmed up a bit. My question is as these conditions are pretty extreme, what socks would people recommend? It would have to be something thin as my boots are quite snug. Any thoughts appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Personally I used the same socks there as anywhere else. At minus thirty the snow gets a bit squeaky, but you're more likely to encounter less severe conditions most of the time. If you get cold feet then.. well the rich people use heated socks, which are about $300CDN a set, I'm told. Old style boot heaters are very last year.
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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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Neoprene boot gloves are brilliant, they go over your boots so don't interfere with fit. If you suffer with cold feet or have Raynauds put the little charcoal toe warmers between the glove and the boot. Works wonders and again don't interfere with fit.
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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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You're right - I forgot about those, saw a ski racer lady using those the other week at about minus 25.
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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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I'd agree about the socks. You don't want to go to0 thick and you are best sticking with the socks that you had on when you're liners were moulded. We have some pretty extreme weather days here in Banff. I've got the Boot Gloves. They do work. They don't make a huge difference but they probably give you 4-5 degrees of extra warmth (I think the manufacturer says about + 7). Another trick is to put sticky foil insulation tape under insole and around the toes of your liners. The Boot Glove people sell this tape as part of a pack but you can buy the same thing from a DIY shop.
The Boot Gloves are also excellent for helping you get your boots off at the end of a cold day. When it's minus 20 or more the plastic in your boots really hardens up and it can be so tough to take them off. I mean really tough like you think you will have to have them surgically removed. Boots gloves help this.
For me the charcoal tea bag toe warmers don't work as I find they can cramp my toes up. However, what we tend to do is put them in the boots on the way to the hill. We have about a 20 minute drive and so we want to make sure that our boots are nice and toasty when we get there. As well as the toe warmers in the boots we put the boots in insulated boot bags, then put the boot bags in the car, never in the back. It makes such a difference to keep your boots warm before you put them on.
When we get home from our ski, the liners are whipped out and we put boot heaters in the liners to dry them out if we're skiing the next day. If not we just leave the liners out until the next day. Our boots stay in a warm boot room until their next outing. Starting out with dry liners is essential.
Finally, I always make sure my legs are well insulated, probably adding a layer more than I think I need. I do find this helps to maintain core temp and hence heat isn't being diverted away from my toes.
This probably all sounds like a huge faff! But it's worth it and all the small things really do make a big difference.
Very envious of your trip to Finland. Have fun!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Joules2210, try putting the charcoal t-bags between the boot and the boot glove instead of inside the boot itself, you might be surprised.
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Hi @lilywhite, great idea. I'll mention it to my OH. I was lucky enough to get the heated socks for Christmas and haven't looked back. Though I still do everything else too!
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Hi,
| bambionskiis wrote: |
| what socks |
From five separate skiing holidays in Finland (plus others in Sweden and Norway), apart from agreeing with thin rather than thick, ime no special socks required; I've always had poor circulation in my feet and, if there's a chance for my feet to get cold, they will. In the earlier visits, I used cheapo thick no-name socks; now I've used Nordica thin ones for a few years, I know cheapo thick no-name was a mistake.
| bambionskiis wrote: |
Today it's only -17
Hopefully in one months time, it will have warmed up a bit. |
I wouldn't count on it; last time I was there - Yllas, half-term week February 2013 - it was around -20 to -25 all week. But, as I say, with good-quality, thin 'name' socks, your feet really won't notice - as I posted in your jackets thread, the more-important parts to worry about are faces and hands.
Hth.
Regards,
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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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Gonna need a really big sock 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you so much for your comments - really helpful, Philwig, think I'll have to start doing to lottery at that price - would be nice though eh?!The boot gloves look like a good idea so will have a look at that. Those heat socks look good Pam but you couldn't fit an ant in the space left in my boot and I think they would be just too thick. Thanks for your comments StuartMac (I think  ); think I'm just deluding myself ref the temperatures then. Feet and hands are sorted thanks. Thanks too to Joules; some really helpful stuff there about how to treat the boots when not wearing them, will bear it in mind and will definitely be looking into the sticky foil insulation tape (I'm sure I've seen something like that in my local DIY shop. Cheers again.
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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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@bambionskiis, the heated ski socks are fairly "technical" and thin, like proper ski socks, but obviously you'd need to try them, which would be difficult.
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