During our cold Minnesota winters, we try to stay warm any way we can, especially when we have to trudge outdoors in extreme cold. There are lots of products out there to keep you warm and some of them are super innovative.
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A few years ago my in-laws got me some rechargeable warming gloves. I'll admit, I haven't used them often because they're definitely meant to keep you warm and aren't very easy to do much with your hands. However, when I've used them they're great!
But I'm going to be a bit more cautious about using them from now on because of a warning that was issued after a scary accident involving rechargeable warming insoles.
Rechargeable Warming Attire
There's lots of rechargeable items that can keep you warm throughout the winter. You've got those gloves I mentioned. There's also warming vests which seems awfully fancy.
And there's also the warming insoles that you put in your shoes. It seems like such a good idea, especially if you're someone who works outside in the cold!
(Note: The specific item below is not associated with the accident.)
Rechargeable Warming Insoles Explode in Shoes
A Minnesota man named Tyler was out working on an ice fishing house last week. He had his rechargeable warming insoles in his shoes from last year but didn't turn them on. He told KARE 11 that he tested them in the fall and they didn't work quite right but he thought they were comfy so he left them in the shoes not turned on.
But even without the insoles being turned on, all of a sudden Tyler felt a pain in his right foot that he describes as like a knife stabbing him in the heel.
He then says it started getting really hot and white smoke was coming out of his right boot. Thankfully, he had shoes without laces on so he got the shoe off super quickly but damage had already been done.
His sock was burning and he ended up with second and third-degree burns on his foot.
Because he was wearing shoes without laces and he wasn't wearing wool socks he saved himself from even worse injury. The crazy thing is that Tyler's doctor told him he was the third person to come in with a similar injury that week.
The product that Tyler bought was heated insoles on Amazon from a company called iHEAT. I was able to find an Amazon page for a company called iHEAT. If it's the same company that Tyler purchased from they are still selling heated insoles as well as heated gloves, vests, and socks.
If you are considering buying any rechargeable warming items, Tyler and his wife Mikaela are urging people to do their research on the product and company before buying it. It's much better to pay more money for a quality item that's safe than to pay the medical bills later, or maybe worse.
Tyler will be ok, KARE 11 reports that he may need skin grafts but, as he and his wife kept saying, thankfully it wasn't any worse and also thankfully it wasn't a vest or something that exploded.
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Gallery Credit: Carly Ross
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