Any tips now weather getting colder ?

As a relatively new barefooter (been barefoot most of Summer apart from a few 'weak moments' ) I'm now facing my first Autumn in England (Fall for you US visitors) and wandered whether any long-term barefooters have any tips to enable me to keep going as long as possible ?

 

wear heavier clothes. no, seriously. go easy on snow. beware of frostbite and chillblain.

 

Just take it slow. Dress according to the weather---as long as you are comfortably cool or warm, your bare feet will adjust. "Coldfooting" can be quite refreshing, but everybody has different tolerances and endurances.

 

i was living in the uk for 11 years and have been bare footing quite a lot.

the tips i can give you is that beware when stepping on wet grass during very cold days, avoid stepping on snow and be careful of glass. i would suggest wearing light clothing on your feet when it gets very cold and that you should really save bare footing for the warmer-ish seasons.

i remember one day going out bare footing in a park and coming home with the soles of my feet pitch black! and unable to move them for quite a few days...

 

Walk on the sunny side of the street.

 

Dress warmly from the ankle up. Upper body and head are most important; if you get chilled there, circulation withdraws and you'll get cold feet. If you're nice and warm there, your circulation keeps going and you can also keep your toes warm for quite a long time! Also leg warmers help, that way the bare/cool part your blood has to keep warm is limited to the feet themselves only, the rest is well-insulated. You can even make some 'barefoot gaiters' for the very cold days, sort of like barefoot sandals but then with more fabric covering the top of the foot (some folks don't like anything on their feet, for me it's the sole that counts, I don't mind something on top as much. Although fully bare is still the nicest. )

In snow and especially slushy stuff, bag balm helps protect your feet, walk on untreated snow unless the salted area is really dried up and clear, and rinse your feet by walking through some fresh snow after crossing a slushy road. Also remember that slush is colder than snow, and some kinds of 'salt' can be pretty nasty! You can also find advise on this on dog forums, dogs sometimes have trouble with salted/chemically treated roads too.

Keep walking! When you're walking you will stay warm better, if you have to stand still for a while you can wiggle or clench your toes a bit. You can even clench your toes a bit while walking, at every step. Also flatten deep snow when you have to stand around for a bit so you're standing on it soles-only and not with the snow on the sides and top of your feet.

When you step outside, your feet will feel the cold, but if you're dressed warmly enough otherwise and walk briskly, they should warm up pretty quickly. If they turn red, that's okay -it's the circulation doing its thing! If they turn white/bluish/light, that's not good, put something on or go indoors. Also keep wiggling your toes and watch for any sign of numbness, the cold feeling should fade to 'normal', *not* just go away because you can't feel anything anymore at all!

When you go out any distance from home and it's really cold, make sure you have some footwear with you in a bag and/or a way to get indoors at all times. Learn your limit -for me it's only below freezing but if you're not used to going barefoot yet you may put a pair of mocs or something similar in your bag at a little above freezing already, especially on a wet and/or windy day.

Eating a little more fatty foods helps also, that's the fuel for your 'internal heater'. Of course you have to watch your general health too, so don't go and gobble pounds of pork fat, but if you're on a very lean diet you probably won't be able to keep yourself warm as much as when you eat a bit more fatty foods. Fish is good, other omega-3 fatty acids that don't increase heart disease risk. Look up some info about Eskimo/Inuit diet.

 

Thanks for the most fulsome answer, Myranya !

Still some way off the snow yet, thankfully, but temps have dipped a lot this week. However, the sun has been out the last two days and I'm so glad I persevered, as the pavements were lovely even though the temps were down.

I suppose the longer I keep at it, the longer my feet will adjust to the dropping temperatures. However, one interesting observation is that with the dropping temperature comes an increase in the amount of 'funny looks' I get, not that I care a hoot what others think. A sunny 'Hello' at their baffled faces usually results in either (a) more confusion or (b) they can do nothing other than smile or say hello back, relieved I'm not a weirdo !

 

This isn't sarcasm, but wear shoes in the winter. You could end up with frostbite in the colder months.

You can always go barefoot when indoors.


That's just my advice, anyways.

 

Agreed with above. What are you proving if it bothers your feet to be without shoes? A pointless moral victory.

 

I'm inside right now and my feet are freezing! I like going out barefoot in the summer, but no way am I interested in doing it in the cold weather.

 

I agree with TypsyGypsy and the previous two posts. If my feet are gonna freeze, I'm gonna put on whatever it takes to keep them warm. In the summer, I despise shoes, socks, or anything else that makes my feet sweaty, clammy, and restricted.

 

Good article

 

I saw these today and thought of you guys. :3

 

Follow those tips and you'll be fine. For what it's worth my flip-flops came out briefly earlier this week when we had the cold snap but now that temperatures have gone up slightly normal service has been resumed,so what if there's wind and rain My circle knows it's serious when a hardcore barefooter like me gets the footwear out!

Btw loved that pics of flip-flops in the snow,lush

 

I have a friend who has something that looks kinda like a more beat up version of those. He seems to enjoy them during the winter and he barefoots the rest of the time.

 

Vibrams make an excellent Leather version as well, I am adverse to being out in Chicago below 0 winters with no socks or shoes! Call me wimp!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

People go barefoot for pleasure. You don't HAVE to go barefoot in cold weather if it hurts you rather than pleases you. But you CAN learn to enjoy a new facet of barefooting by following the suggestions of Myranya and others: keep upper parts of your body warm, take it SLOW, try LITTLE by LITTLE, and increase your tolerance/enjoyment. If it doesn't work at all for you---every BODY is different---then wait for warmer weather.

 

Warm clothing on cold days surely helps keeping the overall temperature up enough to prevent bare feet getting too cold. This picture was on a dry day with air temperatures around freezing level:



Wiggling bare toes, still barefooting in November,

~*Ganesha*~

 

My neighbours pointed out it must be cold as I had to wear boots....yes boots...today to go for a medical related to my new job (job is subject to medical so had to create a good impression, particularly as I was going there to discuss long term mental health problems :dizzy2: - wouldn't do for them to certify me as insane on the spot ). Annoying really, as it was 12 degrees today and nice and sunny.

I do understand the comments above about not having to prove myself, but that isn't what this is about, really. I just dislike wearing shoes so any excuse not to wear them is good - it's a personal decision to go barefoot, not to prove to others how 'rock hard' I am

Cold weather isn't necessarily a barrier (and yes, I've wrapped up with a nice fleece jacket and a woolly hat but still been barefoot when temps were down to 8 degrees C this week), but it is getting harder to do - however, my theory is to keep on going : my feet are definitely hardening to the cooler temps, and after walking around for about an hour (in and out of shops) my feet are positively glowing at the end of it all.

 

just wear shoes