HEATTECH Mania
I suffer from cold feet, probably because I have lost muscle mass with age.
I could raise the temperature setting of the heater, but if it gets too dry, I tend to get sick easily.
With electricity costs skyrocketing, I don’t want to spend a lot of money by using a high temperature setting for long interval of time.
I bought a pair of UNIQLO “HEATTECH fleece set and socks” to see if I could do something about it, but my feet were still cold.
I tried the UNIQLO HEATTECH 2-way blanket, thinking, “I know where I get cold, so maybe I can make that area warmer…”
The blanket, 130 cm long and 70 cm wide and soft to the touch, was quite warm when buttoned up to wrap around my knees, but I felt cold after a while because of the cold air coming in from the leg space.
Also, I began to feel annoyed at having to take the buttons on and off every time I stood up, so now I use it as a poncho to keep my body warm instead of my knees.
Disadvantages of the electric blanket
I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the space covered by the blanket could be warmed!” I searched for a heating device on the Internet and found Panasonic’s “Kuruketto,” an electric blanket.
The size is easy to use (125 cm long and 93 cm wide) and the design is stylish, and the electricity bill of about 2 yen per hour is within my acceptable range.
“Okay, I’ll buy it!” I was about to press the buy button on Amazon when I noticed the controller sticking out from the blanket.
The white wire leading to the outlet is very annoying, and when I work on my computer while using the electric blanket, I can’t stand to have two wires extending out from the outlet.
The power supply to the nearby outlet is already occupied, so it would be a hassle to buy a new power strip and rewire it.
I asked myself, “Is there an electric kneeler that doesn’t require an electrical outlet?” I googled again and found MUJI “Washable USB Blanket.”
With the separately sold USB battery, it does not need to be plugged into a power outlet, making it look sleek and neat.
However, as far as the product is concerned, the blanket does not have a heat wire in its entirety, but rather an area about the size of a large-sized hot pocket warmer (20 cm in length and 11 cm in width) that can be heated by the mobile battery.
Since the area that emits heat is small compared to the entire blanket (110 cm long and 80 cm wide), the area around the heater will probably be only slightly warm.
Products that prevent gaps between pants and socks
Panasonic’s electric knee blanket “Kuruketto” seems to solve the problem, but its bottleneck is that it must be connected to an electrical outlet when used.
On the other hand, the Muji washable USB blanket, like the Uniqlo Heattech 2-way blanket, is unlikely to be effective enough to warm the space between the knees.
“The case is on the scene!” I thought, and once again calmly considered the cause of my cold feet.
“Why am I still cold even though I’m wearing a HEATTECH fleece, socks, and covering my knee area with the blanket?”
The reason is that the gap between the fleece pants and socks, i.e., the ankle area, gets chilled by the wind.
Women would immediately think, “Leg warmers will do the trick!” but the old men, not being accustomed to the warmer culture, including arm warmers, are not aware of the existence of the products.
I can’t believe I’m looking for HEATTECH leg warmers, reflecting on the fact that I’m drowning in “HEATTECH when it gets cold” thoughts, but alas, they are sold out both online and in physical stores.
I can buy arm warmers, but the fingers are in the way. Above all, I cannot compromise on my first warmer product.
I searched the MUJI online store and found “wool blend double-knit combinable leg warmers,” but unfortunately, they too were out of stock.
“If I give up, your cold feet will never be solved!” So, I continued to search in turn at general stores, and found “double-knit leg warmers with silk inside” from KEYUCA.
This one was in stock and available online, but I was not willing to pay the 550 yen shipping fee to the Kanto region for a product that costs 1,980 yen including tax.
However, there is no product I would like to buy for the 11,000 yen for which shipping is free, so I stopped by the store on my way home from work and made the purchase with a sense of embarrassment.
KEYUCA’s leg warmers are made of soft fabric and are comfortable without feeling oppressive when worn.
As expected, the leg warmers covered the gap between my HEATTECH fleece pants and socks, which helped to alleviate the coldness of my legs.
With gender and diversity becoming more prevalent around the world, I recommend that men become familiar with the warmer culture as soon as possible.
Also, since these products are mainly sold to women both in stores and online, I hope that products for men will be developed in the future.
