Although I am not one to particularly feel the cold, I have often experienced cold feet in my ski boots on the best days of winter. For the 2023/2024 season I took the plunge and went for a pair of heated socks, and in this blog I will discuss my experience and provide a brief review of the Lenz 5.1 heated sock, Lenz RC1200 battery, and the Lenz Heat App.

Initial setup and installation

The sock I chose was the Lenz 5.1 sock and Lenz RC1200 battery, which is a medium cushioned merino sock paired with a 1200 m/h battery. My first impression was that the sock felt like any other technical ski sock that I had ever worn which was a relief, as the heating elements within the sock did not diminish the comfort and the way that it felt in my ski boots.

The second thing I noticed was the ease of use first time round, as I simply had to charge the battery overnight, download the Lenz Heat App and pair it with my batteries, and then I was ready to go. On the first day of skiing all I had to do was attach the batteries to the top of the socks using the built in attachment buttons, turn the batteries on, and choose my heat level using the Lenz Heat App when I got to the snow. It really was a simple and intuitive process, and was more straightforward than I had expected.

On the snow

Almost as soon as I activated the heat level on the socks I felt a gentle warming sensation in my feet, and this continued throughout the morning even though a storm was rolling in and the temperature was dropping. When it wasn’t quite enough and my feet only felt moderately warm I increased the heat level from 5/10 to 8/10 on the app via my phone and felt the increased heat almost instantly, and skied the rest of the day in comfort. It was a great day skiing cold dry powder, and for the first time in a while I realised that I wasn’t thinking about my cold feet on each chairlift ride. The story went the same for rest of the season, I would start the day with my socks on a moderate temperature and adjust if necessary, and started to muse about how I had suffered so much before getting the heated socks. Now that they were on my feet they seemed like they should have always been there, and something that I would not go without again.

The app

I downloaded the Lenz Heat App to my iphone from the app store, and was grateful to find that it was free and required no subscriptions to access the full features. It was easy to pair with the batteries after a quick read of the instructions, and after the initial set up I found everything would naturally pair up without having to manually reconnect. It is a simple and intuitive app that I mostly used to adjust the temperature levels and monitor battery levels, though it has more in-depth features available such as an interval timer that allows you to cycle between low and medium heat at specified time intervals, and a left/right adjustment feature that enables you to have different settings on each sock if you for some reason have the need for that. I found this app very helpful on the mountain as I could easily control the heat level of my socks without having to pull up the cuff of my pants and control the system via the battery, however that is still an option if your phone goes flat. Overall I am stoked with the app and how well it works.

The Batteries

I opted for the RC 1200 battery as opposed to the larger capacity RC 1800 battery, as I am a skier who rarely skis for longer that 6 hours in a day. The RC 1200 battery definitely was enough for me, however if you often ski for 6 hours or longer or if you think you might want to run your socks on maximum power each day due to having very very cold feet, it may be worth considering the RC1800 battery. The only real disadvantage of the bigger battery is the price, as they are interchangeable with all Lenz socks. In terms of charging I would do this after each use, using the USB charger that works on both 100V (Japan), 120V or 240V power supplies.

Caring for the socks

As per the care recommendations I would simply put them in the washing machine in the supplied washing bag, and then hang them out to dry. As they are made from merino I found that they would dry quickly in a moderately warm place, meaning they would be clean, dry and ready for use the following day.

Overall experience

Having heated socks may not be 100% necessary for everyone however they certainly make the great days better. I have spent a lot of money on ski gear and ski trips as it stands and hindsight I wish I had spent that bit extra on heated socks earlier. Cold feet are now one thing I don’t have to worry about, and for people who often suffer from cold feet I really recommend going for these. They are the envy of my friends, and if I had more money I would be buying a pair for each of them for Christmas.

The Lenz 5.1 toe cap sock and RC1200 battery pack retails for ¥49,700 total are available at our Niseko Hirafu and Niseko Village stores.

Heated Socks – Are they worth the money?