The importance of warm dry feet for hiking and camping

As you may have read in my article about Ben going on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition soon, he has a huge kit list! One of the things he needed were hiking socks and warm socks for sleeping in so I wanted to share with you the ones we have chosen and why it is so important to ensure feet are warm and dry when hiking and camping.

This article includes products I was sent free of charge as a PR sample in return for testing and sharing them with you. All opinions are my own.

What happens when you get cold feet?

Cold feet are very like cold hands, uncomfortable and can lead to pain. Whilst looking after them is really quite easy, it is often overlooked, though I am not really sure why. Buying suitable socks really isn’t expensive and makes a walk or camping much more comfortable.

The feet, like our hands, are vital in controlling our overall body temperature. For example, at home, if you are cold this can often be rectified easily by putting on slippers!

Due to the large surface area of feet and them being at the extremities of our body, it is so easy for them to cool down and then struggle to warm up again.

Cold feet can make it harder to sleep, difficult to concentrate and even affect your balance and walking if they get really cold. Of course, it is also just generally not a nice feeling when your feet are cold!

This is why warm dry feet are a must whether you are hiking, camping or at home!

What causes cold feet?

Aside from cold weather, there are some other causes of cold feet that may be out of your control. Conditions that make you more susceptible to cold feet due to poor circulation. These include Raynauds Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia.

Improving circulation can help if you have these conditions and this will warm your feet up. Additionally, avoiding getting your feet cold in the first place will help considerably as it is a little bit of a vicious circle, cold feet make the conditions worse and the conditions lead to poor circulation and cold feet!

Another main cause of cold feet is when they are wet for a prolonged period of time, usually from poorly chosen footwear. If you go hiking with walking shoes that are not waterproof and it rains, you walk through dew-covered grass, or even walk through a shallow stream then your feet will get damp and cold easily.

Warm dry feet with the right socks

Socks that keep your feet warm do not have to be thick but they do have to be made from the right fabrics and fit you properly.

Poorly fitting socks can cause blisters, as well as limit circulation, making your feet cold.

Ben has size 11 feet and some socks he finds too tight for him as he also has wide feet so we chose the Mens Bigfoot socks from Heatholders. This range fits UK sizes 12-14 and is perfect for Bens size 11-11.5 wide feet!

As Ben is completing his expedition and hiking in June and July, we opted for the Mens Bigfoot Ultra Lite socks from Heat Holders for his hike and then for in the camp and/or sleeping depending on the weather we chose the Mens Bigfoot ankle slipper socks and Mens Bigfoot Lite socks.

If the weather is cool then he can wear the lite ones for hiking too because of course, we can never predict the UK weather, can we?

Why we love Heat Holders

We already have some Heat Holders socks so we chose these as the perfect addition for Ben on his expedition. Ben finds socks with elastic around the top hard to put on due to his motor skill difficulties so we often opt for diabetes-friendly socks which these are.

Head Holders are made from specially developed heavy bulk yarn which has extreme thermal qualities and the socks all have tog ratings (like those on duvets!).

I am not a big fan of hiking but I have some Heat Holders I swear by for in the house as my feet are always cold! If you hate having cold feet I would definitely recommend you invest in a pair of them, you won’t regret it!