I read all topics on staying warm. All the products ....Sitka, First lite, KOM...zero degree weather,high winds and wind chill...My feet get cold just reading about it. When that happens the hunt is over for me. It's the first body part to give into the cold. Who's wearing what to keep the toes warm on an all day sit in 10 degree weather? I'm talking sitting, not stalking. My insulated boots with my Thermal Cells are fine until the batteries go dead, after that it's not long until I feel the cold work it's way in.
I use good old military Micky Mouse boots , can't beat'em .
I have the same problem. Hunted in 10' weather twice this year, both times with 2 'Hot Hands' glue-on foot warmers and still got cold.
I have read good things about the slip-on cover made by Arctic Shield (I think that's the brand). I may have to try them for sitting in a stand on those cold days. Anyone have an opinion of the boot cover?
I have the same problem and this year I bought some alphaburly pro 1600 gram boots and always wear thick wool socks and have had good luck so far
X2 what Graps said.
You can also wear Fort Lewis mountain/cold weather boots.
Deno
I have the best luck w one pair of thick omniwool socks and a loose pair of insulated boots - when it's really cold I'll use the stick on toe warmers
Tim
Boot blankets are great, its amazing how much warmth they add. I have a home made pair my mother sewed up 25 years ago, and the are bulky, but lightweight to carry. I'm sure the commercial ones have better insulation (mine are quilt batting). Still, mine work great - if you have a little snow on the boot when you put it on it is steaming when you take it off. Check size and how easy on/off....you ain't climbing in these, and putting on/off in a stand can get a bit 'coony.
R
What ever boot your wearing have wriggling room for your toes. A lose fitting toe area makes a incredible difference. Remove the insoles over night to let the moisture completely dry out. I have the MM boots and they are warm, just not comfortable for me to walk in. Spray deodorant on the feet will help also.
Mickey Mouse boots or a good pair of Sorel's and like Ryan said.. Any type of "boot blanket" I usually carry mine in my pack for late season. They came with a heater body suit I have and they will really help. Also a good fabric cover like Hockey Tape work's great if you cover the platform of your stand with it. Your feet will conduct the cold from your stand.. Hockey Tape will help unsulate the stand as well as deaden the metallic sounds.
Me too, my feet will ruin a good hunt.
As said above, the most important thing for me is ROOM around your foot. If you put a heavy pair of socks on and your feet are all squished up in there you are already done for.
I like two layers of socks, one light merino and then one medium to semi-heavy merino, then a good insulated pair of boots. My toes have to wiggle freely once in. A chemical toe warmer both on top of toes and below. Boot blankets after that when super cold.
Don't put them on if your feet are already cold, they are insulators, not heaters. Unless you have something in there like the battery socks or toe warmers.
I have managed to stay in some nasty cold weather like this.
Thanks guys good advise practicing some but not all. Looks like it's pack boots for me, just will have to be careful negotiating the swamps I love to hunt as they are not as high as my insulated rubbers.
Arctic shield boot blankets are the real deal and work great for me. I had tried boots up to 2000 grams of insulation prior to finding these and my feet still got cold. I often have long walks in so my feet would sweat in heavy boots and it was game over. I wear 200 gram Danners all season with a liner sock and a wool sock here in the Midwest. I just grab the boot blankets when it gets cold enough. They are light and pack flat.
Only negative that I have found is that they are a little noisy when it gets bitter cold because they have something like foil bubble wrap insulation in them.
When it's really cold I'll wear pack boots with the felt liner. They are oversize and with one pair of good thick wool socks my feet still have lots of room. Lots of room is the key. Extremely cold....I bring a blanket too. I like the idea of the homemade boot blanket Ryan R posted above and will give that a try. I really don't like wearing the pack boots if I have any distance to walk.
1st..Wear a damn good hat.
2nd.. if your feet sweat spray antiperspirant on em...yes really.
3rd.. Wear thick wool socks that don't fit tightly. Layers are best...but when have you ever found layerable socks that didn't end up being tight?..I haven't. I wear em for a day before hunting with em..just to get them loosened up a bit. Tight stuff restricts blood flow. Blood=Heat.
4th... Wear loose boots. Can't squeeze your foot anywhere. Super easy to wiggle your toes, no constriction. I wear the old mickey boots..just like em. As long as your boots are loose you're good.
Mickey mouse boots
Double post
When I was sitting up at night for pigs in Germany, I had (still have) a quilted over-boot. They are impossible to walk in, but I put them on at the foot of the ladder and was able to climb the ladder ok. I too have cold feet. I sleep without even a T-shirt at night, but my feet are freezing unless I wear socks in bed. With those over boots on, my feet did not get the least bit cold. I also have a heavy wool "Ansitzsack" which is pretty much like a sleeping bag in back, but cut only chest high in front with suspenders. NOTHING got cold while wearing that. It traps all your body heat. It has a zipper that runs down one side and across the bottom. I put it on with the zipper unzipped across the bottom and part way up the side. I could climb up into the stand and then zip the bottom up. Fell asleep many times sitting in that.
Of course all this was done sitting in a very roomy tree stand, built from timber and permanent. I'm not sure either would be functional for a "postage stamp" sized hang on, or climber.
Last year I got lyme disease which resulted in peripheral neuropathy in both feet. I have always had sensitive cold feet but the lyme added more discomfort. My doc has a similar problem. He is a skier and wears an electric sock made by Lenz. They cost $300 but they are worth every penny. The high cost is due to the cost of the lithium batteries. I use them for hunting, snowplowing my driveway and the neighbors, etc. I spend a lot more on non essential items every hunting season so the cost just means that I have to be frugal for a year. The neat thing about the socks is that you can control the heat level with your Smart phone.
Two pairs of boots, one pair to walk in the second pair with dry socks to wear in the stand. I do this because the swamps are full and hip boots are not very warm. Boot blankets when it gets cold.
I get cold easily. Up to this week I have been using my Schnee 10" pacs with insulated wool inner boots AND heater packs AND sock liners with Alpaca socks.....but just not enough under 30 degrees. In part because the heater pacs just go out with the oxygen deprivation of the rubber boot.
Solution: I pulled out the old pair of Mickey Mouse boots that I had forgotten about. Without any heater packs at all they kept my feet very comfortable at 24 degrees. Not even going to be a question now if the temperture falls
Mickey Mouse boots!!
Snowshoe enthusiasts use neoprene overbooties and I have a pair of these I've used in the past, they help and you're able to walk just fine with them. Similar in price to boot blankets though, and reading this post I'm going to research a good pair of boot blankets.
Baffin Ice Bears with no socks...Feet get a bit cold wiggle your toes...We work in them at 40 below
DDave
There must not be too many ice fisherman here... I have had great luck with heavy, Smartwool socks and a good pair of pack boots with wool liners. I'm sure there are alot of good ones, but I've been using my pair of Schnee's since 2008 and have had nothing but warm, dry feet hunting late season elk, ice fishing (with/without shelter) and giving goose hunting a shot, all down to -35F.
In addition to all of this great advice, wear a thin road bike sock as your first layer. They are excellent at moving perspiration away from your feet, and keeping them dry. Pearl Izumi makes a nice sock.
Chase
Look at where people are from if they are from the Dakotas , Minn. Wis. Canada they will tell you what is warm, they deal with extreme cold every year and have long seasons to be out in it. What I have found for my feet is the Fox River socks they are wool and about 1/4" thick very warm . Fox river also has a liner that is as thin as silk socks but 60% wool . For boots the Lacross Iceman are the warmest I've tied. They have an insulated bottom and a heavy felt bootie I also put a thick wool innersole under the felt bootie . With all that I still use toe warmers . Some like the bunny boots but my feet got clammy cold wearing them .Others go for the muk luk I'd like to try a pair .
I use Lacrosse 1000 or 1200 Thinsulate boots. I also have Rocky (might be Artic Shield) Thinsulate over boots that are easy to put over them. They are light and pack down to a thin package. They are warm! My feet never get cold in them and I sit when gun hunting 45 minutes before light until 30 minutes after sunset.
I also use a hand warmer muff with Hothands. I bring in extra Hothands in the event my feet do start to get chilly and put them in the Rocky boot covers. When I do that my feet actually get too hot on the worst days I have ever sat.
If my hands and feet are warm, I am warm.
Good luck
Gil
My experience has been that full foot chemical heated insoles work far better than toe warmers.
Inside a pair of Micky Mouse boots.
I think Tim Finley has some insight. . . there is a huge difference between someone who has a few weeks of 0-20 degrees with partial cloud cover and surrounded by woods- COMPARED to places like North Dakota who can have a few months of 0-20 BELOW ZERO! (That is 40 degrees COLDER than the 20 in the south!) ON TOP OF THAT- 15-30 mph winds unobstructed coming across the prairie lands from the Artic are quite common. It can be pretty brutal.
Add to all of that sitting still in a TREESTAND for hours vs. ground hunting or even slightly moving in other types of winter activity.
The guys from the Prairies of the Canadian North may have some insight!
Give me the thick wool socks + extra sized Iceman-type boots + boot blankets of some type + chem heaters = Hunt for hours. :)
For stationary hunting I've got two words for you . Boot Blankets! period.
Mickey Mouse boots for me! I have struggle with cold feet for years! I use Artic Boot blankets over non insulated boots with temps in the 20-30 degree range.
Once the temps drop below 20, it's Mickey Mouse boots for me!
With the addition of Two Tracks felted insoles, I can maintain warm feet with single digit temps.
Also wearing a pair of gaiters helps to keep my feet warm
chris <><
I need your advice on sizing Mickey Mouse boots so I can buy the right size? I wear a 10 wide shoe so can I buy a size 10 E,W MM boot and expect it to fit close to my size 10 wide shoe size?
Thanks!
They run large.
I wear a size 12 6E shoe....12XXXXXXW..no joke..my feet look like flippers..lol
My Mickey's are stamped 11XW.
I wear one layer of the thickest smart wool socks available and I have a nice loose fit. not sloppy...just no restriction at all.
btw...with Mickey boots wear high socks...I wear over the calf.
if the rubber on the boot contacts the hair on your legs it tugs at the hair with each step and gets uncomfortable pretty quick.
Also mine are the black ones.
The white ones have even more insulation.
Not sure if the black and white are sized the same.
The only bad thing I've found with mickey boots are the valve.
I do all ground hunting and sit on the ground a lot.
Often have a leg tucked under etc.
With the valve jutting out and your leg tucked under the valve presses into the dirt which in turn presses into your ankle. You might be different, but it caused some discomfort for me.
I took an x-acto blade and carefully cut out the valve from the outside layer of rubber. Roughed up the rubber (think tire tube patch) and cleaned with acetone. Then filled the hole with good 100% silicone clear caulk and spread it out a bit. Really rub it in to get good adhesion. Leave em alone for a few days so it really sets up good and the odor subsides.
Takes all of 5-10 mins and has lasted for 7 years now.
Much more comfortable for me on long sits.
I typically wear 11-11.5 shoe/boots. My Mickey Mouse boots are 10R (I am guessing "R" means regular). They are a perfect fit, plenty of room in length/width even with the insoles. I do wear a lightweight sock as well.
chris <><
I frost bit my feet pretty bad when young and have had to deal with feet that get cold fairly easily. My go to boot in cold weather if I don't have to walk a lot are Cabela's Trans Alaska boot; designed for the Iditarod dog sled race. This is the perfect boot for ice fishing. I will freeze every other part of my body before my feet get cold!
These boots have a thick sole with good arch support, felt insole, and metallic coated wool felt liner like a pack boot. You will not be sneaking through the woods unless you have fresh snow, but they are warm. great for stand or blind hunting in cold weather. I typically only use them for temperatures below 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just to sit in a blind or a stand I prefer a lightly insulated boot with a toasty warm boot blanket.
Smart wool expedition socks with a light pair of merinos underneath, make sure they are loose fitting to allow air trapping and circulation.
I have Sorel expedition pacs for sitting (-20 to -35). when it gets this cold I also use foot heating pads.
I've always had a pair of 800-1000 gram boots, like Danner Pronghorn's, that I can pair with different thicknesses of socks that would carry me through most of the Midwestern deer season. Then I would pack along some boot blankets to wear over them in late season hunts. That way my feet didn't overheat on the hike in but I could still keep my feet warm when in the stand. I think of it kind of like a layering system for your feet. Worked for me and I have cold feet, hands, head, neck, body, you name it! I hate the cold!! Lots of good advice here from everyone, you should be able to find something that will work for you.