Nordic Gear Battery Heated Lectra Sox

I live in New England and drive a school bus that puts out almost no heat in the driver's area. I purchased a pair of Nordic Gear Lectra socks and gloves. The first time I wore the socks it was 8 degrees outside. Initially I felt no heat from the socks but after about 1.5 hours the balls of my feet felt a little warm. Unfortunately, the top of my toes were still ice cold. I am wearing the socks as I write this, having put them on a over an hour ago because my feet were cold. I feel no heat at all in the toe area. It seems that it takes quite a while for the heating elements to warm up, so essentially you lose several hours of battery life just for the socks to warm up to the point you can feel it.As other reviewers have noted, the battery weight causes the socks to fall down. Not only that, if I wear the socks so the batteries are on the outside of my legs they hit the bus seats when I go down the aisle during my seat checks. If I wear them so the batteries are on the inside they knock against each other. Why Nordic Gear opted for "D" batteries instead of a pack of smaller "AA" batteries baffles me as the capacity (milli-amp-hours) would be roughly the same and the "AA" holder could be made curved to better conform against the leg. I also do not understand not putting in some sort of on-off switch rather than having to totally remove the battery to turn the socks off.Unlike other reviewers I have not yet noticed the wires while walking but I do question why the wires would be situated under the balls of the feet where they will see the most amount of wear and stress. I am also curious as to how long the contact spring and snaps will last after repeated washings.Considering the manufacturer's report that a "D" size battery should last 6-8 hours, this means a pair a day. I bought a 6-pack of alkaline "D" batteries for $6 so that is $2/day. There are a lot of cold days in New England and I really can't see spending $50-$100 in batteries for something that does not do a proper job of warming the feet.Every website I have visited that has reviews for these socks have shown a low rating and pretty much the same comments. A technical website reported that there is less than 1 watt of heat generated along the wire strip, so contrary to what one reviewer reported, the socks will not get hot. And unless you have well insulated boots/shoes, the little amount of localized heat is not going to matter at all.I have considered getting some higher capacity rechargeable batteries but really am unsure whether it is worth it since I really don't have any other devices that use this size battery.If you are considering this product I would recommend otherwise unless you have access to an endless supply of free "D" cell batteries.

My son gave these to me last year. When I used them the first time, shoveling snow on my FRONT walk for about an hour @ 30 degrees, I didn't think they were working, because I didn't feel any perceptible 'hot'. My feet weren't cold, but I expected to feel 'heat'. Later that night I went out to shovel the BACK walk @ 15 degrees, and tried the socks again @ my sons urging. No problem with my left foot, but my right foot (toes) were freezing within 10 minutes. I went inside, and discovered that I hadn't secured the flap over the battery on my right sock. I secured it then, and waited about 5 minutes, then went out again. Feet not hot, but not cold at all. My fingers got cold after about an hour or so, but my feet were fine. I think everyone expects them to feel like a heating pad or something. Give them a chance, try the one foot without the battery. You will see the difference. Only problem is the batteries are heavy and tend to make the socks fall if not worn with boots. But I will put up with that to not have frozen toes.

Okay, so I was born with ice-cubes for toes. I don't think I have any kind of circulation issue- I'm really athletic and tend to actually be hot most of the time. But my toes, good heavens, get seriously cold, man.So my wife got me these and as soon as I tried them, I had a similar experience with some others here- I felt that there was little warmth coming off of the little heating element... but I wanted to be sure. So I did an experiment using some basic testing equipment:my wife's cooking thermometer...Please don't rat me out to the wifey. She... may not look favorably on me using said thermal testing device on my recently removed socks.The simple boil-down is this:-I measured the temperature of the socks in a room that was 68 degrees Fahrenheit.-I laid a sock on the kitchen counter (don't tell her that, either...) for about twenty minutes to get room-temp.-I measured the temp of the socks at the calf: 70.1 degrees, and at the element: 70.2 degrees.-I inserted a battery which I tested on at amp-meter, It had 3/4 charge left, and left it sitting for five minutes.-I measured the temp at the calf after five minutes: 71.3 degrees, and at the element: 91.2 degrees Fahrenheit.I was astonished. It wasn't the socks. It was my freakin ice-cube toes.Okay, so here's what I think: they can't be making socks that cook your toes. Even if we wanted that, from what I read, there are consequences for some people with circ. problems not being able to tell when things are too hot down there. That opens the company to liability issues. Additionally, speaking just for me, I'm not sure which would be worse, toes which are too hot, or too cold.So, I think these are basically designed to take the edge off.Which, if I think about it, is actually what I'm after.They are not toasty-hot. But they will probably work so well, so subtly, that you might not realize they're working at all.For super cold toes at bedtime, I have a hot water bottle which is AMAZING. But for everything else, these are very helpful.

These socks generate no perceptible "heat" per se, but they do something to take the chill off ones feet. The texture of the heating wires, as others commented, are noticeable, but not a problem for me. I use them mostly seated, while flying a small plane with inadequate heat for night flights in cold weather, and think the chemical pack solution is as good or better -- and surely less expensive (particularly considering battery cost). I found that they slip down my legs due to battery weight, and I do better wearing them with tall boots so keep the socks in place.The socks themeselves are comfortable and warm, and they look like they will hold up to several washings. So, I'll use these again, but I would not buy them if I was making the decision again.