Turn Your Steps Into Heat or Cold With Battery-Less Insoles

Solecooler’s Climfeet insoles are battery-free, self-heating insoles that can keep your feet warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The insoles use the same approach as a fire piston and are powered by the user’s footsteps. The insoles feature sealed bubbles made of a combination of silicone and copper, with each side having a different consistency. The softer side of the bubble compresses when stepped on, forcing air into the more rigid side and creating a temperature increase of about 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit. When the foot is lifted and the pressure on the insole decreases, air rushes back into the softer side of each bubble, creating a cooling effect.

While battery-powered insoles can generate heat as a by-product of a chemical reaction, they only last about 10 hours. Climfeet insoles, however, only need the user’s footsteps as a power source. The insoles don’t need to be charged, which is ideal for winter camping and long hikes. The insoles use sophisticated technology that only requires a footstep to generate heat. However, the Climfeet insoles won’t regulate temperature when the user isn’t walking, which is a downside to this approach. Furthermore, the heating and cooling effects are most noticeable in more extreme temperatures such as below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, or above 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

The insoles differ from peltier-based insoles, which use electrical power to heat a thermoelectric chip. Peltier-based insoles use two conductive materials; one is heated and one is cooled. The downside to peltier-based insoles is the limited battery life, which only lasts up to 7 hours. However, they provide a much more significant temperature increase than the 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit created by Solecooler’s Climfeet. Battery-powered insoles are also less expensive, making the $69 price tag of the Climfeet insoles a bit difficult to justify.

Although the Climfeet insoles may face steep competition from the more affordable and powerful battery-powered insoles, the novelty of Solecooler’s technology and environmentally friendly and self-sustaining capabilities may give it an edge. The all-natural concept of the insoles is a significant selling point for eco-conscious customers. Additionally, the insoles can contribute to the outdoor experience by providing a lightweight and eco-friendly heating solution during winter sports activities.



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