Testing heated socks during a hunting trip in Moselle on January 17, 2018.
At the beginning of December, I came across a big guy on a hunt who was plugging batteries into his socks. I asked him what they were, and he explained that they were heated socks and that he now always wore them when it was cold. The next day, I order the same heated socks (brand G-Heat on www.g-heat.com) and receive them in early January 2018. I then wait for my next outing to try them out.
A WINTER'S DAY
FIRST TEST OF HEATED SOCKS G-HEAT
I've been wearing my socks since this morning (I nearly forgot the batteries I'd charged the night before! ): nothing to say about the appearance of the socks, which look just like my hunting wool socks. So off I go, stuffing both batteries into my pockets and heading for my post, where I'll be spending the morning.
Once at my post, I plug in the batteries and set the socks to the minimum heating level to test this. After a few minutes, the sensation of heat is perceptible. I pay attention to it for a quarter of an hour: the sensation is stable of a very slight heating. The hunt begins and I forget about my feet until the end of this first stalk, when I see a superb stag. I leave my post and start walking, remembering that my batteries are still on. I take them off to join the others.
I didn't feel the cold at all, whereas my feet usually go numb after 2 hours of standing still, despite the use of high-quality wool socks. It's just just great, and I didn't even feel cold on the rest of my body, which often happens when it's windy.
A LARGELY POSITIVE BALANCE SHEET
The great thing about these heated socks is that they make me forget about my feet, which is usually all I can think about (especially when you can't see anything;). Beyond the feet, the effect is also on the whole body, and the sensation of cold is clearly reduced. So it's a good investment and I'm going to see what it does over time. In any case, I won't be doing without it when I'm on a post hunt, or when it's below 10 degrees and wet.
Hubert S.