Review: VOLT – 3v Heated Socks

[NevadaWolf]

The eternal struggle against the cold.

Been thinking of battery powered socks for awhile, but either the temp wasn't high enough or the time wasn't long enough. My goal was to be able to ride through the early spring nights that got down to 20-30*F (-6 to -1*C). Since the temps got cold around 9pm and stayed that way until about 5am, the batteries lasting 3-5 hours just would not cut.

Eventually found Volt Heat (thanks mostly to the ads floating around this site). They claim the standard battery lasted 3 hours on high, 10 on low - BUT the *expanded* battery lasted 8 hours on high and 20 hours on low!

Finally bit the bullet and ordered the socks directly from here: http://voltheat.com/product/volt-3v-heated-socks/ (The Warming Store and Bass Pro Shops have them too, Bass Pro is cheaper).

First:

Email to company asking about availability (as everyone showed out of stock) and guesstimated temps resulted in a rapid response, a correction on their web site, and a claimed ambient room temp range of 85* to over 150*. Obviously, air temp will have a massive impact on that range.

I ordered on January 12th, regular shipping as I wasn't in a hurry. They upgraded me to priority two day shipping and I received the socks today (Jan 15). Sweet! Their customer service has already won me over.

The socks.

I wear a size 8 shoe, so ordered a medium. The socks are very tall and come up to just below my knees. They are made of a thin "moisture-wicking micro polyester" that stretches and hugs my leg tightly. There's a pull string on the top to tighten any slack, but my calves are huge from walking so much, I'm a bit worried it's a bit tight at the top.

Here's what you get in the package:



Before I put them on, I opted to see if they even worked. Charging the two batteries is easily done with the dual charger supplied. They say to fully charge before the first use, and the LED on the charger will tell you the status. The batteries have a LED to show the four different power settings, and the charger shows red then green when 95% charged.

Took about 4 hours originally.



There's a leg strap meant for the expanded battery pack.



Plugging in one battery and setting it on high for a few minutes resulted in one sock reading 95* and the other reading 65*. Switched the battery to the other sock and let it heat up too. The warming element works. (Note here, the battery will not turn on without the cord plugged in. )

So, it passed the "does it at least work?" test. Time to put them on. Volt advises against wearing these directly against your skin, so I put on my hiking sock liners on before sliding into these. See how tight the top is? There's also some excess fabric around my heel.



The standard battery fits into a small pocket along the top.





I don't feel it pressing against my leg here in the living room. Have not yet worn them with my overpants.

My biggest worry was my boots, would they fit with the battery pack? Here to tell ya, no problem.



While wearing the boots, the high setting got REALLY warm here in the house. I had to turn it down to low (the LEDs go from Red, Orange, Green, Blinking Green to show the setting). These socks are not as thin as they seem and I had to push my foot in as if I was wearing my thick heavy wool socks. The excess fabric on my heel also bunched up a bit and I could feel the material against my heel.

My only complaint so far? The wire from the battery runs down the back of my calf and goes right over the heel to the footbed. I can feel that wire every step and definitely in the boot.




Initial impression?

8 out of 10, with the wire being the ding. Here in the house, they do get very warm with the boot and warm on their own.

Will do a road test this weekend.

[MrAtom]

They look nice, but I'd rather have these:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[NevadaWolf]

So after three rides with these, I like them.

Rode in mild 40-ish weather and had them on low (blinking green) and med/low (solid green) and it was just enough to keep the chill off. But the equivalent of a thick pair of socks.

Tonight, rode an hour in 32* weather, with the socks on med/high (orange) and never felt a chill in my boots.

Still need to do an overnight, but so far these are working out for my needs.

[NevadaWolf]

Update: rode today 2/1 in 20* temps and used the high (red) setting. Very warm foot bed that kept my feet from getting cold. They do work, though the battery life is very limited.

In an email exchange with Volt, they mentioned that soon they would be offering remote controlled socks. When I asked if my socks would work with the remote, they responded yes. Not sure if its a new battery or connection yet, but waiting on those before I buy the extended battery.

[JohnnyBravo]

I'd rather stay home when it's cold, or move back to Texas