Cold feet are about the only condition that can drive me out of my unheated, Maine-based shop during the winter. Replacing my wool socks with a heating mat, therefore, sounded like a good idea. So I was more than happy to try the industrial-sized Footwarmer by Indus-Tool of Chicago.

First, I wanted to know how quickly the mat could heat up. On several mornings when the shop temperature was around 20°F, I plugged in the mat, put a thermometer on it and timed the warm-up. It consistently went from 20° to just under 50° in half an hour, and up to nearly 70° in one hour. After that, temperature fluctuations hung mostly in the upper 60s, probably cooled a bit by my movements over the mat.

The mat did indeed keep my feet warm. At first, I kept my heavy wool socks on, with my usual sneakers or steel-toed boots over them. With either sneakers or boots, I stayed equally warm, which is surprising because steel-toed boots are almost always colder than a pair of heavy-duty sneakers. With heavy cotton socks, I did feel a little cold in the boots but not in the sneakers.

I only wish the mat were available in a larger size. At my 12-ft.-long workbench, a 16-in. by 36-in. mat just isn’t long enough. Two or three of them in a row would be a less than perfect solution because all of the cords would surely get in the way.

The Footwarmer uses about as much electricity as a 120-watt lightbulb. At a cost of about $75, it would be a useful, inexpensive addition to a small, unheated shop.

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