An included remote enables you to select between the two heating modes and a no heat (standby) mode. In the no heat mode the battery will still consume power – about 2% of the battery charge per hour. The remote has its own battery, which you can access by removing four screws from the back cover.

The insoles provide heat to the toe and ball area of the foot – not to the arch or heel area. In 'cool' temperatures, around 3°C here in Victoria, I didn't feel much of a difference wearing these insoles (using the medium setting). However, on a day trip to Mount Washington, in -10°C weather, I noticed the difference. Even in the high setting (111°F) my feet never felt 'hot', but rather 'comfortable' – about what they normally feel indoors. So, don't expect blazing heat with these insoles. And, once your feet do warm up you can switch to the no heat mode until you need the heat again. This would likely enable you to get through an 8 hour day on a single battery charge.

I do find these ThermaCELL insoles noticeably stiffer than the insoles that I normally wear in my boots.The insoles don't push into the arch of the foot, which I particularly like. If you do have low arches, like I do, then then these insoles should do just fine.

If you don't like the idea of throwing out the insoles at the end of the battery life, There are two versions of the ThermaCELL insoles. The 'Original Heated Insoles', which I tried, and the 'Proflex' model, which has a removable battery and USB battery charging. The Original version has an 

KEY FEATURES:

• Powered by lithium ion batteries
• Rechargeable in 4 hours
• Approximately 2 year battery life (2,500 hours)
• Trimable, waterproof sole
• Provides heat up to 44°C/111°F with three temperature settings (high, medium, no heat)
• High-tech wireless thermal technology run by remote control
• Remote control range of up to 2.1m/7'
• Comes with bag, charger, and wireless remote control