LOVE
A friend let me borrow hers and I was hooked. Got my own and I NEVER have cold feet anymore!
Sidekicks
Ordered the 2oz since I don’t get too cold usually. So glad I did as these are nice and toasty!! The only improvement I’d suggest on these is to add a sole so walking around camp would be ok, the material is tough, but I’d rather pay a bit more with an added sole. Still don’t regret getting them tho, as I wear them while sleeping and they keep my toes nice and warm.
Toasty
After a cold and wet hike, the last thing I want is to go to sleep with cold feet. These baby's keep my toes warmer than toast, with no sweat.
SideKicks
Had a few weeks now, not that long really for a proper write up.
THEY DO THE JOB.
There light, soft and you do not notice them on, till your feet get to hot.
That's my fault for putting them on indoor's with the heating on under the blankets.
Like the nice touch of elastic around the ankle.
Would I recommend them. YES
Sidekicks custom are a treat!
I ordered the mid-grade Apex booties and wow - they're SO TOASTY! I'm planning on using them as part of a winter bootie system - adding them to DIY lightly insulated shell (also using 4 oz Apex insulation) but having a grippy sole. That'll be for outside the tent/shelter, and then inside the tent/shelter I'll use the inner booties as part of my sleep system. Can't wait for shoulder season sleeping bliss!
Extremely Poor Sizing
These just came in the mail today and I was extremely disappointed with how big they are. My shoe size is typically 12.5, so per the sizing chart recommendations I went with size XXL. I feel like my feet are floating in these things. Having it larger than necessary makes them both less effective at warming your feet and take up more volume in your pack! Really bummed with how these turned out. I'm honestly questioning if I'll need to purchase a better fitting pair in preparation for my upcoming thru-hike of the PCT. Paying money to return these just feels insulting.
I can't comment on their effectiveness as I've only just received them. Honestly just really disappointed with the sizing. When you sell your items online, it would seem to me that having accurate sizing charts would be important.
Warm, Comfortable and Almost Human Foot Shaped
Think of a pair of pointy toed cowboy boots.....now think of any Altra shoe. These fit like a pair of Altras with the added bulk and length of a cowboy boots. Stupid long and pointed way past the length of a human foot.
So small I can’t get them on!
I ordered xl , got a med or something. Customer service sucked on getting them redone. With all the cottage industry guys out there I’ll buy from someone else
Sidekicks
Bought these for my wife for Christmas. She finally got to use them this past weekend on trip. The temps got down to 28F and her feet stayed warm all night.
Sidekicks
Lighter, warmer, comfortable, and more packable than socks. They are a new constant in my backpacks that are not in the summer. So efficient they are occasionally too hot at times. Mine are a bright color to make them easy to spot. Great value
Kick out the cold
I have used the sidekick Apex booties over a few nights now in the UK. They fit well with or without socks on and are fine the tent or tarp and weigh next to nothing. Used from 42-26f they have been OK if you have been warm to start with. A great addition to my Enlightened Equipment sleeping system.
Sidekicks 4oz
I haven’t had a trip since my purchase to test them out in the cold, but everything EE makes is top quality and high performance gear. I can’t say enough good things about my quilt and apex torrid jacket. I am part of an adventure guide company that teaching new backpackers and I always expose my students to EE and how they can enhance their experience outdoors! Keep up the good work EE!
Amazing!
These are total game changers for me. I always dreaded going to bed while camping or backpacking. No matter how many layers, pads, temp rating on the bag I was using - I'd always be miserable trying to sleep. Last fall I was putting hand warmers in my socks at night and was still awake tossing and turning and freezing to death.
I just used these for the first time. It was low 30's at night, and using the same setup I'd always used, I managed to stay toasty and comfortable all night. No tossing and turning, no shivering, no just wishing for morning. I'd just fall asleep then wake up when the alarm went off. This happened every night. It was wonderful.
If you're one of those people who loses all your warmth through your feet, cough up the dough and get a pair of these booties. They're super light and just fit in your sleeping bag as you stuff it. I wouldn't wear them around camp, they seem pretty delicate and they're now one of my most valuable (to me) pieces of gear I own. If I was on the trailhead and realized I'd forgotten my booties, I'd rather turn back and get them than go in without. I'll never not have these with me.
Warm and light!
Super light and kept my feet super warm at night! Absolute recommendation to buy!
Love my sidekicks
Slept in the side kicks 20 degree weather, I stayed warm. They are lite weight, stayed on my feet all night. Love them
SIDEKICKS
Ultra Light, Ultra Warm. cinches around the angles real nicely ((adjustable regardless of thickness of pants/baselayer) Highly recommend,. only addition is possible reinforced bottom, however this would increase weight and probably sacrifice comfort. ,
Sidekicks
These sidekicks (booties) keep my toes nice and warm during the cold weather. Best addition to my backpacking gear. I am a person who tends to stay cold at night so I highly recommend these to people who tend to stay cold and sleep cold. Another bonus is the booties are super lightweight. Can't wait to use them again at the Grand Canyon!
Sidekicks
These booties keep your feet super warm and cozy in the cold weather. A great addition to have in the cooler months. Very lightweight and easily packable. I love them.
Stellar
Super lightweight, thick loft. Cant wait to hit the far north.
Super warm, super light, very compressible. A must for cold feet and quilt users.
These are great. I think they are even better with quilts because it's easy to have a draft in the footbox based on the way the area is closed off. I think you should also get dark colored interiors as your sweat/dead skin could make the brighter colors look dirty. Taking on my AT hike starting in February 2018 and will ship home once the warm weather has arrived in earnest.
Warm and WIDE
I was nervous about the sizing, due to my wide Fred Flintstone feet. When I contacted customer support, they gave me the exact interior measurements for the "last" When they came, I was happy that they fit well. I only tried them once in the field (cabin in the 40s), but they kept my feet toasty. I can still wriggle into a pair of crocs or slides with them on, so I don't have to be worried about outside the tent durability
Sidekicks
Truly bliss to sleep with these wonderful booties. I nearly burst with excitement when I slipped them on for the first time, so silky, so poofy, so... Purple! Nothing ruins a night sleep for me like ice cold feet. Never again. There is little to no chance that my feet will ever get cold with these on! I have tested them down to -5 F now with my winter sleep setup (a 20 degree ENIGMA inside of a 40 degree CONVERT) Toasty as pie all night long!!! Easily my biggest sleeping issue is now solved at a mere 2 oz. weight penalty this is totally worth it to me. thanks EE crew!
Solved my Worst Sleeping Problem
My feet are the last part of me to get warm sleeping. Sidekicks have totally solved that! Even wool socks and such have never kept my feet as warm as I'd like. Now, even in the upper 30's, my feet are no longer an issue, even if they sometimes slip out from under my quilt! Love them! I'd give a 5, but they seem rather delicate, so long term durability is still a question.... (and at half the price, they'd get a 5 anyway.....)
Toasty tootsies
I've had many sleepless nights in the backcountry due to cold feet; however, since I've started wearing my Sidekicks, my feet have stayed toasty on multiple trips in Montana (including Froze to Death Plateau!). These are extremely light weight and barely take up any room. The ankle draw string keeps them in place nicely even when I toss and turn under my quilt. I'll never backpack in cold temps without these booties again.
Sidekicks
My feet stay cold, but these crazy light footwraps kept my feet cozy on 38 degree nights under a a Revelation 40 quilt.. nice, comfortable pull cords keep them on your feet.
toasty sleeping pill
Cold blustery snowy night in the Bigelow Range in Maine. The Sidekick booties contributed to a comfortable and sound recovery sleep helping to extend the range of my sleeping bag and keeping my pack weight down. And worn in ultra light over boots kept my feet warm preparing supper and breakfast Each and every item has to justify its inclusion when going ultra light. The sidekicks weight and compressibility are tops and function so well they fully make the cut. Great product, quality and service.
must have, worth the weight
So comfortable while camping. Would buy again and again.
Another Great Enlightened Product!
Great investment! Excellent addition to my back country sleep gear adds extra warmth and comfort on cold damp nights with next to no extra weight to carry! Thank you!!
Super Warm
I was considering down booties for backpacking but after reading about these I got a pair of Sidekicks. The fabric is so silky and smooth and a joy to put on. But will they be warm enough for my always cold feet? I was incredibly pleased with these booties. My feet were warm night after night. I am so in love with my Sidekicks! Thanks!
Toasty warm feet
Love them
Perfect finisher for my sleep system
These booties are excellent! I'm a huge fan of EE gear, already being the owner of two of their Revelation quilts (10 and 40 degree.) As typical with EE gear, they are remarkable lightweight for the warmth they provide. I ordered these after a couple cold nights in the hammock this winter when I realized that my entire body was fine, except for my feet which were cold to the point that I couldn't sleep. These closed that gap, and now I'm good throughout anything my winters have to offer. I'll likely only need them for about 2 or 3 months out of the year, and without them I'd be shut down for those 2 or 3 months, so for me they were totally worth it.
Warm feet at last!
As a woman, who suffers from bad blood circulation on top of it, my feet are cold even in the summer.
I discovered a new level of comfort thanks to those booties!
Perfect
My feet are always cold, and these are so perfect. Someone else's review said they are like little ovens for your feet, and I couldn't agree more.
One of my favorite pieces of gear
While seemingly a luxury item, I am so glad I brought these along on my recent Colorado Trail thru-hike. I’ve always had issues with foot circulation: if my feet get cold, they tend to stay cold, often painfully so. During my CT thru, over what ended up being Colorado’s wettest monsoon season on record, there were many nights above treelike where my trail runners were quite wet, it was really cold, and my toes were getting painfully cold by the time my tent was set-up and dinner was ready. Normally in such a circumstance, I’d be worrying about how I was gonna warm my feet up…but not on this trip. I KNEW that if I dried my feet off, no matter how cold, and popped them in my 15-30 degree EE booties, they would be toasty warm within 5 minutes. Plus, these booties actually weigh LESS than the thick wool socks I usually carry camping for cold weather.
Most nights, I would shift much of the down in my EE quilt up to my torso for extra body warmth. My legs, which usually feel too warm when sleeping, would feel great. My feet, which are usually too cold, would be toasty warm in my wonderful EE booties. After using these booties pretty much every night for 5 weeks, I came to realize another thing: synthetic insulation in booties is worth the extra weight. Goose-down booty options, such as those by Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends will have issues dealing with all the oils and moisture given off by feet over many many nights. Tim at Enlightened Equipment, however, has correctly anticipated this issue and decided to make his booties out of climashield apex. Totally worth the extra ounce, in my mind.
Summary: a luxury item, I spent many wet, cold nights around camp NOT worrying about how cold my feet were getting because I KNEW that as soon as I put my EE booties on, my feet would be as warm and comfortable as possible. I absolutely loved these things.
(note: this review is mostly copied from a review I did for the /r/ultralight subreddit over on www.reddit.com)
Precisely what I was hoping for
These are light, comfortable and do the trick. I sleep warm except for my feet, and these balance it out well. In some conditions, they are too warm, but I did opt for the 4oz level. I might advise the lowest level of insulation for most situations, but I haven't taken these out again in sub-freezing temperatures.
pure awesomeness
They are like little ovens for your feet. They keep my feet so warm when i normally have cold feet. I highly recommend these to anyone who has cold feet. Love these little botties.
I love these booties
The booties are sized correctly and easy fit over a pair of wool socks, or they are so soft and warm, they can be worn alone.
They are a great addition to Enlightened Equipment's quilt and I am glad I bought them.
Sleeping booties
I'd been on the lookout for a quality, warm, lightweight booty for some time now. I own a pair of synthetic booties by a certain Canadian company (rhymes with "maffin") and although they are warm, the seams started to fray after not many uses, and they are not US made.
I was turned on to EE by my climbing/backpacking partner and was immediately excited & impressed. I ordered the warmest/largest size booties ( I'm an 11.5-12) and received them in a timely manner. They are lighter than expected!
I used them this past weekend on an overnight. The temps ranged 8F-10F, and inside the tent was 12F-15F. I used a -20f degree down bag. My toes were cold when I put the booties on, but I then work up less than an hour later with feet extremely warm. My feet are usually the first part that feels cold in those few hours just before dawn but never felt this at all!. It was my coziest night I've spent out. I'm excited to use these for years to come.
Finally, my feet stay warm.
Due to previous frostbite, by feet are really sensitive to the cold. I use an EE quilt, a base layer and my Sleeping Booties I purchased from EE. My feet stay warm and because they can breathe, they stay comfortable all night. Its well worth the small weight in my pack.
No extra sleeping socks needed!
I used to carry an old pair of loose wool socks just to wear sleeping. Well, no more! I got the mid-level insulation and these are the bomb. Keep your nails trimmed and don't walk in them and you can look foward to warm feet at night. Lighter and warmer than my socks too...
