(NEWSnet) — This time around on Jill of All Trades, I show you a super quick and simple trick for staying warm that I learned from a friend of mine who is a hard-core cyclist.  I’ve gotten into cycling myself, and the biggest challenge for me in cold weather is keeping my feet warm. This little, goofy (some might say ‘crazy’) trick has helped me A TON.

My friend, Rob, told me that he wraps his feet in aluminum foil when it’s cold.  He says it’s common practice among his biking buddies and that it really works.  So, I tried it.  And, it does!

Here’s a few tips for you.  I don’t wrap my whole foot.  My issue is with cold toes, so I wrap my toes and forefoot only. Since I always wear two pairs of socks when it’s cold, I put the foil layer between the socks.  I thought it would be uncomfortable to have the foil between the layers, but it wasn’t.  The foil forms to the foot very easily. 

The other reason that I prefer the foil between the sock layers is I didn’t know if it would damage the inner lining of my favorite hiking boots, which is what I ride in, in the winter.  Turns out, it probably wouldn’t, but I still like it between the socks.  Everything stays in place better that way.

Will this keep you warm all day out in the cold?  Maybe not, although I can certainly attest that it kept me warmer longer, which allowed me to stay out longer on the bike.

Now, this next trick is REALLY going to blow your mind!  I started thinking… if the foil reflects your body heat back to you, what else would?  Then I remembered the mylar blankets that they hand out at the finish line of marathons. THEN I remembered that a lot of chip/snack bags are made of the same stuff, only thicker.

It forced me to finish off a bag of veggie snacks (purely in the interest of science).  I cut apart the bag and made some little square “pockets” that I could slide over my toes and forefoot.  I used a little packing tape to seal the edges.  Again, I put them on between my sock layers.  They, too, worked great at keeping my feet warm!  Plus… the mylar pouches are reusable.  The foil generally was not.

I’ve taken much razzing over my “snack bag toes”, but the bottom line is if I’m warmer, I’m happier.  And, if I’m able to train more, that makes me happy, too.

I can see this being great for keeping kids warm when they’re out playing in the snow, or for me when I’m out shoveling the driveway.  I’m sure that there are a million applications for this idea.  Just use your imagination.

There you have it… a nifty little trick for staying warm in the winter… from Jill of All Trades.