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ConforTeck: Frozen feet is now a thing of the past!
Canada🍁 being a Nordic country, freezing your extremities while having fun on our machines (be it snowmobiles, ATVs or even motorcycles) is, although very unpleasant, known to everyone. 🥶 Between inefficient heating accessories and overpriced equipment, it quickly becomes difficult to navigate.
While the heated equipment industry is booming, how can heated insoles stand out from others of its kind? How do they work? Are they effective? This is what I suggest you discover in this article thanks to my experience with the lithium insole kit from Équipements ConforTeck Inc.
The company “ConforTeck Equipment Inc.”
This Drummondville company was founded in 2002. It specializes in heated equipment for all types of sports: ATVs, snowmobiles and motorcycles, hunting and fishing, skiing and snowboarding, etc. It offers a variety of items such as:
- soles,
- gloves and mittens,
- jackets,
- coats and undercoats,
- underpants,
- pillows…
All heated, of course!
The heated insoles kit
The ConforTeck lithium insoles kit contains the following elements:
- a 12 Volt DC 5200 mAh lithium battery with 2 outputs with 4-level electronic controller allowing 2 heating devices to be connected simultaneously at the same power level;
- a pair of heated insoles;
- a 66” “Y” wire from DC plug to 2 outlets;
- a lithium-ion wall charger.
The different power levels
When the insoles are connected to the battery, the button must be pressed and held to turn on the device. By default, it will turn on at the maximum level.
There are four levels:
red: 100%;
orange: 75%;
green: 50%;
flashing green: 25%.
The approximate battery life (in hours) depending on the level used
Depending on the heat level desired, the life of a battery charge will vary. Here is the chart of the duration of a charge according to a given percentage of intensity:
25%: 30 hours;
50%: 3 p.m.;
75%: 10 hours;
100%: 7 hours.
What is the sole size? How do I know if it will fit in my boot?
When you open the box, the heated insoles inside are particularly large. I would bet that we are dealing with a 14 for men. It’s a detail that makes them particularly attractive: all you have to do is cut off the excess material so that the insoles are the same size as your foot.
- You have to be careful to cut the rear part of the sole, therefore the heel, since the heating part is under the sole of the foot (hatched portion).
ConforTeck insoles are not designed to be worn directly on the skin. It is important to place them between the felt of the boot and your foot, making sure you are wearing a good sock.
The usefulness of the “Y” wire
The “Y” thread allows it to be passed along each leg. The two ends that meet in the center of the “Y” are connected directly to the soles. The third end is connected to one of the two battery output sockets.
If I lose or damage one of the elements of the heated insoles kit, do I have to buy another complete kit?
Without making you wait any longer… No! Each of the items in the heated insoles kit can be sold separately. It is even possible to get a single sole in case you damage one!
My personal experience
When I received these insoles, I was especially excited to try them out. 🤩 During a mountain bike ride in winter, I believe that frozen feet remain the most irritating factor. When the feet are frozen, nothing goes well.
I rushed to recharge the battery and cut the soles to the desired size. Since I am wearing a “wader” (waterproof suit), I have to put the sole between my foot (wearing a sock) and the inside of the neoprene kit rather than between my foot and the sole of the boot. The result remains the same.
I decided to start the test by immediately adjusting the intensity to 75% of the battery capacity (orange light). The soles reached the desired heat quickly.
Despite the fact that we haven’t been hit by very cold temperatures yet, I decided to test it on two different types of rides: one off-road and the other on the trail.
When I went off-trail, my soles were tested to the max in terms of the amount of different movements performed: putting my body weight on either side of the ATV to counterbalance; getting my machine stuck in the snow, having to disembark, push and bend over to install the winch hook, etc.
This is how I managed to discover the negative point of these insoles: since the “Y” wire passes along the legs, it can also move around them. It was probably after bending several times that I came to disconnect the ends of the “Y” from the two soles. Remember that the ends simply fit into each other; in my opinion, a twist and lock type of technology would be a complete game-changer by preventing them from coming out of each other.
- However, it is important to mention that I only realized this once I got home; my feet hadn’t had time to start freezing yet. I was only starting to notice that the heat was decreasing, but so little that I could still feel a nice warmth in the boots when I took them off.
On my trail hike it was a bit colder and windier than my previous outing. Since I was much more relaxed (well, I had fun, but without getting stuck in the snow and without having to perform a lot of various movements), the problem I just mentioned did not happen again . After almost three hours, the warmth of the soles had not diminished one iota, despite the cold outside intensifying as the sun went down.
ConforTeck insoles are comfortable and we quickly forget about them. Some may find the battery to be heavy or a bit bulky; as for me, I put it in a pocket at chest level, which allows me to forget about it and this, quite quickly. As mentioned earlier, this battery can accommodate two heating devices; so you could connect both your soles and a pair of gloves to it, for example.
ConforTeck Equipment Inc. guarantees a usage time of approximately 10 hours when the insoles are used at 75% of their capacity, and it is at this intensity that I tested them. I currently have about 7 hours of testing under my belt and the battery – whose capacity indicator is always red – still indicates a charge of at least 90%!
In fact, to find out the remaining charge capacity, simply disconnect any heating device from the battery first, then press and hold the button.
Depending on the color that appears, you are able to discover the remaining load capacity:
Red: 90-100% (battery is full);
Orange: 50-90%;
Green: 30% (battery needs to be charged).
If I rely on this color chart, I have no doubt that the different durations mentioned, depending on the desired intensity and the time of use, are exact.
Summary
To conclude, here is a small table that brings together the advantages and disadvantages of the heated insoles kit from ConfortTeck Equipment Inc. At first glance, you will already understand that I strongly recommend them to you!
