Cold Feet

[Wayne]

Im getting old. It’s official.

I have a decent sleeping bag. a Down Rab 900. A full length mat.

Yet last weekend my sleep was interrupted by cold feet.

So what’s your tips to keep the old toes toasty. I don’t like wearing socks in bed. Although I might have to consider something along those lines.

 

[Woody girl]

Hot water bottle? Socks just take a bit of getting used to and are worth it for warm feet. Hotties go cold eventualy socks keep you warm all night long.

 

[Toddy]

+1 to the hot water bottle. It's worth it
Failing that, a couple of those little clickable handwarmer things inside your socks work very well too.
If you wrap your hot water bottle up in something like a towel or tshirt, it'll give off heat slowly and it'll still be warmish by morning

M

 

[brancho]

Do you have circulation issues?
Where you hydrated?
Was the weather just too cold for the sleeping bag you used?
Is the sleeping bag roomy round your feet?
If you do not want to wear socks what do you wear in the sleeping bag?





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[Robson Valley]

I have very poor circulation, I can't tell if my feet are cold unless I touch them.
So I bought absurdly thick socks. Like 1/4" thick.
Bed socks. Somehow, their heat-trapping effect is noticed by my tiny brain.
The baggy warmth over-rode any odd discomfort from wearing them.
Can't be the least bit restrictive in any way.

The other option around the house is an extra pair of the felt liners from Sorrel snow boots.
I never have had the need to even imagine wearing those to bed!

 

[Le Loup]

Im getting old. It’s official.

I have a decent sleeping bag. a Down Rab 900. A full length mat.

Yet last weekend my sleep was interrupted by cold feet.

So what’s your tips to keep the old toes toasty. I don’t like wearing socks in bed. Although I might have to consider something along those lines.

I do not take any clothes off on winter nights, in fact I carry extra to put on. I do not remove my moccasins. You could consider carrying a hot rock bag with you, a close friend of mine used to do that. I only ever use one wool blanket in winter, but use a fire with a rock reflector & my shelter is open to admit the heat from the fire, or I use a shelter that allows a fire inside. I make my bed on a bed of sticks or bark & sometimes I add dead ferns if they are available.
Keith.

 

[Janne]

What is your bedroom temperature, o old man?

 

[Woody girl]

I don't realy winter camp any more but I know what you mean about cold feet keeping you awake. I always carry a pair of thin merino wool socks for chilly toes. I have also used a drinking water bottle filled with hot water and well wrapped up as a hot water bottle in an emergency . Make sure you go to bed with warm feet. Give them a vigorous rub untill they feel warm before you settle in to your bag. As soon as it feels warm stick it in your bag to keep it from getting cold while you do the other foot.

 

[Broch]

Mmm... I suspect you know the answers already Wayne

The only reason you'll have cold feet in a well insulated sleeping bag is because of bad circulation. So, get into the habit of wriggling your toes as you go to sleep. Eventually you'll find you do it automatically even when sleeping (OK, it's something I've done since a kid so 'eventually' maybe a bit long )

Oh, and don't drink alcohol for several hours before going to bed - you're the medic, you know why

 

[Nice65]

I’m not a fan of normal socks in bed because they cling too tight. For years and years I’ve used Afghan slipper socks. They’re wool, roomy, and have a thin leather sole that’ll put up with sneaking out of bed for a pee in the woods. The soles aren’t sewn in very well, but the fix is an absolute doddle.

Just invested in my first couple of new pairs in several years of wear and repair of my old favourites. Lots on eBay, but these were best price but limited colours, eBay have more choose from. For the price, definitely try a pair, they’re good house slippers if you don’t like sleeping in them.

http://afghanslippersocks.co.uk/epa...d63174-032a-41b4-ab16-d73e9f8dac62/Categories

 

[Janne]

Broch is correct, cold feet can he because of bad circulation.

If you suddenly start suffering, see your GP. Could be an early sugn that something is amiss.

 

[Robson Valley]

We can discuss bad circulation and cold feet in another thread.
The last sensation to go is pain. I have not felt my left foot toes in years.

 

[Janne]

Could also be that, as the mat is harder than a bed, the circulation was less because of pressure.

 

[Woody girl]

Another option would be a nice wool blanket over your bag to trap that extra layer of warm air or a fleece liner.... or both plus socks and a hottie. If you still have cold feet with all that check see if your still alive.

 

[Robson Valley]

When the tips of your toes go black, they are dead. You have a problem.
A hottie is a tough thing to produce at 10,000' in a blizzard. Just doesn't work out well!!!
My boots and my stove are in the fart-sack with me. I'm in no rush to see another white-out.

My experience shows that thick and really soft, oversize/baggy bed socks beat another blanket.

 

[John Fenna]

A hot watter bottle for me - used one for years!
I simple fill my stainless steel drinking water bottle with near boiling water a little while before bed and put it in a spare sock (so as not to burn myself...) and use it to preheat my sleeping bag. The bottle stays in the bed until I get up in the morning and it is often still warm to the touch and is ready to make the first coffee of the day. My socks for the day ahead also spend the night in the sleeping bag with me and my clothing is my pillow - so most of my kit stays warm for the morning
I learned the drinking water bottle idea when I became severely chilled - near hypothermic - when I got soaked up in the Beacons one spring. I spent the night brewing up hot-waterbottles in my bivvi and got through what could be the most nearly fatal night of my life

 

[MrEd]

Tent boots maybe? Down filled ones?

Or some felt boot liners like would be worn in mukluks?

 

[Robson Valley]

I recommended really baggy, big, thick socks. P.ost#5. At present, I am using a live cat as a bed time feet warmer.
Sorrel felt-pac boot liners are OK in a tent but they don't last long in the house, the heels go fast.