Heated Boot Bags?

[auvgeek]

Anyone have experience with heated boot bags? Are they gimmicky or worth the money?

I hate putting on cold boot shells. They're hard to get on, and my feet get cold way faster. Sometimes I'm in a pickup, and it's a pain to fit the boots in the cab. And if sleeping in a parking lot, warming the whole truck to get the shells warm seems really inefficient. There are a number of options from Lange, Hot Gear, Transpack, etc. Can anyone recommend one brand or model over another?

Also, it seems cheaper and more space-efficient to buy that has room for two pairs of boots rather than buying two, but I only found one option:http://skigearbag.com/doublebag.aspx.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

[XXX-er]

sounds like heated bags are a must with zipfit liners and I think maybe they sell one?

[auvgeek]

I think maybe they sell one?

Looks like they're affiliated with Hot Gear. Thanks for the heads up—I wasn't sure if they were a SkyMall-type company or not, and ZipFit's affiliation lends some credence. Looks like that double bag might be the ticket.

[DGamms]

No doubt that this is a sign that I am getting old and soft, but I love my heated gear bag. I bought a HotGear bag 3.5 yrs ago. It is awesome because:

1) You can warm overnight on low settings, which makes plug shells pliable and easy to slip on in the AM
2) Warming overnight on low settings also dries out your boots and liners. I don't even unpack my bag most weekend days. Ski, cram wet boots, liners, wet gloves, jacket, etc into the main compartment, warm overnight, put on warm dry gear the next morning
3) Heated bag with regular liners is really nice, but heated bag with Zipfits is even better. Not just because it helps the Zips mold, but more because you usually put Zips on your feet without the shells first, then slip liner-foot combo into the warm, pliable shell.

Only downside is It seems like sometimes shell punches don't last forever. Probably my fault for leaving my boots heated in the bag for extended periods of time. Worth it to me though. I am one lazy son of a bitch

[auvgeek]

Great stuff! Thanks for the excellent review.

Only downside is It seems like sometimes shell punches don't last forever. Probably my fault for leaving my boots heated in the bag for extended periods of time.

This is really good to know. I'll probably still pull the liners out to dry and avoid letting the shells be warm for extended periods of time.

[Shredhead]

I too am a Hot Gear Bag disciple.
I just leave mine on high all the time.
RIP Ivan, my piggies are happy!

[gmerz]

I own two heated bags, big one for home use, small one for travel. Much nicer shoving my quickly aging bones into warm, compliant shells rather than a cold, hard shell. Get a heated bag.

[fcetoface]

Hot Gear bag is legit, I tend to use the Low and Medium settings the most

[eskido]

HotGear bag here as well, going strong for about 4 yrs or so?? I don't leave home without it, it's seriously a must have for me now. When it dies I will immediately purchase a new one, really, it's my favorite piece of gear, hands down.

[XXX-er]

so you plug this bag into the 115V at home and the bag stays hot all night, does it plug into your car cigy lighter as well?

[eskido]

Yup! 12v cig is money, I typically just use that on the drive up and use the 110 (high,low, and warm settings!) if my boots are still wet when I get home. Obviously don't want put anything leather in there but I absolutely warm up my jckts/layers on the way up and dry em on the way home.

[Jethro]

Hot gear bag user. I can't get into my boots if they are cold, or I left them in the truck, or I had to walk across town with them over my shoulder. Without my heated bag, I often need to go into a shop and use their heater to soften the shell. The Conformable liners make them harder to get on also. I built myself a C-clamp punch to re-punch the 6th toe problem area I have when it get smaller.

[mfa81]

+1 for the hot gear. I have the ajax one and can store a ton of sruff! warm boots and gloves!!!

[baerski]

Been using a hothead bag for 8-9 years! Absolutely love it! Used it with intuition liners, zips, and sure foot, doesn't matter what the liner is warm pliable boots at the parking lot makes for one hell of a comfy situation.

[zombinate]

why not just do the portable boot drier/heater, like the dry guy? $40 inside any bag instead of $200 for a boot bag. Seriously, is there something I am missing?

[fcetoface]

The hot Gear bag uses basically a heating pad to wrap the shells of your boots instead of just a drop in dry guy.....Warm shell and liner dry out very fast!!!

[AKbruin]

My reactions:

[Sees thread title] Heated boot bags exist? Sounds like a gimmick.

[Reads thread] Heated boot bags sound sweet! I want one.

[Looks up prices] Shit.

[fcetoface]

I also forgot the heated pad you can pull out to stand on in those snowy parking lots!!

[Shredhead]

My reactions:

[Sees thread title] Heated boot bags exist? Sounds like a gimmick.

[Reads thread] Heated boot bags sound sweet! I want one.

[Looks up prices] Shit.

When Ivan died, a ton of them ended up on Sierra Trading Post for over 50% off. Someone else has the company now and it's not really the time of year to get a deal on one.
Maybe wait till spring.
I think you could make one. But it would be hard to execute it, quite as nicely.

[galibier_numero_un]

Damn all of you! I just ordered a Classic bag from Hotgear. The lie I'm telling myself is that my wife will try it and like it (good for domestic tranquility).

Cheers,
Thom

[pfluffenmeister]

I thought that I had everything that an avid gear-whore could have ... until I heard about heated boot bags.
Googled it and purchased within minutes.
And never looked back.

Slipping into your oh-so-warm-ski-boots-in-the-sub-zero-blizzard that we all hope for is w/o compare.
Pre-heat overnight with all your other close to skin kit in the bag like gloves & socks.
12V plug in for the car ride up to keep them nice and toasty.


If owning one of these things makes me a gaper, well ... a gaper I will be!

A definite must.
I have this one: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/hot...t-bag~p~4707f/

[galibier_numero_un]

I have this one: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/hot...t-bag~p~4707f/

What a JONG I am. I missed that in my search & ended up with the Classic (arriving tomorrow).

Cheers,
thom

[Garth Bimble]

Another vote for the Hotgear. Got mine for free but if it ever broke (god forbid) I'm buying another one.

[Benny Profane]

why not just do the portable boot drier/heater, like the dry guy? $40 inside any bag instead of $200 for a boot bag. Seriously, is there something I am missing?

I own something like those, I forget the brand. Plug into lighter, and drive. Take a while to warm up, so, if you only have a ten minute ride to the parking lot (lucky you), not very useful. Cheaper than a bag.

[galibier_numero_un]

Preliminary feedback after first day of use.

Firstly, I'm really liking the bag, but because of vastly improved shell fit, which results in requiring looser buckle tension, and therefore increased comfort, performance, and toasty toes ...

I think the warmth factor over the first few hours is a secondary effect of the initial temperature of the boots. The shells cool down very quickly, as you would expect. Yes, your feet are quite warm for the first 30-120 minutes (almost too warm for the first 15-20 minutes), and I won't turn down putting on a toasty boot while the wind is howling in the parking lot.

I think the key element at play however, involves starting off with a soft, toasty shell which dramatically improves your initial shell fit and qualifies as almost as much of a performance boost as custom foot beds. I think that a lot of the good press that Zipfit liners get (and I don't doubt that they're good) is because people use hot gear bags with them.

All these years, my biggest problem with boot comfort and performance has been in dialing in buckle tension. I was always the guy at the top of the lift who was forever fiddling with fine tuning buckle tension, and more often than not, popping my buckles open on the ride up (because they were too tight) only to try and get it "right" on the next run.

For me, when I put on a cold boot (room/car cabin temperature qualifies as "cold"), the boot shell takes time to form around my foot and hence the fiddling around at the top of the lift. Perhaps it never formed around my foot and I was only arriving at a "best compromise" for that day and temperature.

I don't know how much value these would add in a touring context, where you're (for example) skinning up for an hour before you latch down for the "down". This Winter will tell that story ...

Cheers,
Thom