Last year, during a heat wave, Meredith of Snuggly Toes sent me a free, unsolicited pair of her alpaca fur shoe inserts to test out. Meredith runs a small farm in Oregon, and calls herself the “head pooper scooper and alpaca lover at Springtime Farms.” Ever since I wrote about FiberShed I’ve been keen on supporting local fiber. When the package arrived, my first thought was “when will I ever need these in California.” But then I remembered that my feet are always cold, and the perfect opportunity came up: Iceland.
It was as cold as -9º C (15.8º F) in Iceland during my recent visit, and I don’t have shoes for that kind of weather; just my non-leather boots with no lining to speak of. So this was the most opportune time to put Snuggly Toes to the test.
Snuggly Toes are made of felted fiber from alpacas living on the land at Meredith’s farm. You can watch the video on this page to learn how it’s done. The fiber is first milled at a US mill, then sent back to Meredith to knit and felt. From there she cuts the felt into what you see above.
Putting Snuggly Toes To the Test
As soon as I put on my shoes I noticed the extra warmth. But indoors is one thing. We needed to test Snuggly Toes out in the real world. I didn’t wear them on the flight to Iceland and my feet grew cold within a few seconds of stepping onto the tarmac (yes, they actually unloaded us straight on to the tarmac at 4:30 a.m. in Iceland to board a bus for the terminal). So I knew how long it took for the weather to penetrate my shoes without Snuggly Toes. About 30 seconds.
Later that morning I slid into my Snuggly Toes lined boots and stepped out into the morning air.
I was amazed at how long it took for my toes to chill. Snuggly Toes WORKED! I was comfortable for most of my walk through town, and when we’d step inside somewhere, my feet warmed up faster. Snuggly Toes worked so much better than I expected.
They shape to your foot as you wear them, so they don’t take up much room after a little while. They can be washed and re-worn over and over. They’re perfect for working in the garden in cold weather, too. I’m sold on these things! Thank you, Meredith, for introducing me to Snuggly Toes.
You can find other items made from alpaca fur (living, happy and thriving alpacas, BTW) at SnugglyToes.com.
Thanks for the share, this time of year England should be normally bracing itself for some prolonged wishing ‘the sun was here’ already but this year around I admit the cold has strangled us with yet another cold one so I’ll have to see if these are available as they look cozy.