This did not come up in a search..
Wondering what folks use to remedy; easily cold toes and fingers??
Asbell muff, up to 2 pair of good wool socks, and chemical warmers when it gets really cold. I wear the same thin poly type gloves I do in spring turkey.
If someone responds with a good answer, he could be a millionare.
Don't wear boots that are too tight regardless of the brand. Wear socks that wick the moisture away from your feet. If they sweat too bad, use antiperspirant. If sitting, get some fleece pullover boot blankets and put handwarmers in them.
#1. Wool gloves
#2. Better boots and keep your feet dry
#3. Hunt earlier in season (before the freeze). I prefer cold enough temps to hang a deer over night.
#4. Try some still hunting even moving slowly can keep your extremities warmer.
Do you take blood pressure meds? Can effect tolerance to the cold.
Wear military Mickey mouse boots! Best boot I've ever hunted in for warmth. Mittens and hand warmers to keep fingers warm. Light glove under mitten for shooting opportunities.
Get a pair of ArctIc Shield boots covers and your feet will stay warm in even non-insulated boots. They weigh next to nothing and pack easily/flat. If really cold, just add a chemical hand warmer and you're good to go. Hands, I just use the hand-warmers with light gloves.
Arctic shield boot covers X2. Insulated hand tube type warmer that goes around your waste. Keep hands in it while sitting and can add hand warmer inside if needed. I picked up a really thick warm one the other day.
Silk or poly socks,under armor cold gear or wool socks, poly glove liners and a glommit glove.
Article this issue of deer and deer hunting written by a colleague of mine. he is a physiologist who has studied (data based research) thermoregulation for the past 30yrs or so (name is Phil Bishop). Great advice in his article.
it comes down to 1. heat production 2. heat dissipation and how they can be effegtivley manipulated.
mg
Control the dead air space around where you're cold and control the moisture and you have it whipped.
Looser fitting (slightly looser) boots to allow for the auxillary warmers and a hand muff made of fleece much like what you see quarterbacks using in the NFL. Inside those muffs are the hot hands warmers.
I hope this link is OK to use.
http://stn3.headgap.com/hothands/FMPro?-db=Ordershh.fp3&-format=products.htm&-new
What everyone said above. I also use SEVERAL chemical warmers for each of my hands, either in pockets or shearling sheepskin pockets I made like the old "wooly boogers" from Echo Enterprises years ago. If walking far and my feet sweat, a change of socks in my pack before sitting, then a toe warmer above and below my toes. My sweaty socks go in a ziplock bag.
Boots CANNOT BE TIGHT OR YOU ARE DONE!!!!
A chemical pack on the back of my neck seems to help me keep warm all over too.
Just a tip about toe warmers, my friend had some and he gave me a pack also,well his the whole box was defective and both of us had to rip our boots off in the stands due to the warmers actually getting so hot they were burning the crap out of our toes. I only use hand warmers now.
Slightly different angle here.
Keep your core warmer.
I wear two hats because that's where we tend to lose the most heat. If I can keep from feeling "chilled" then my hands and feet take care of themselves. Also, I rarely wear gloves unless it's really cold and only then it's a pair of the cheap thin ones that have the little rubber dots on the palm side which keeps my hands off of a cold bow. I keep my hands in my pockets.
If it's a real issue, get a Heater Body Suit and you'll forget the temp.
Hot Hands and Tostie Toes!!!! I swear by them. lol and boots that aren't too tight that way the tostie toes can get a little bit of oxygen so they stay activated.
A lot of good advice in above posts.
I assume you are talking about sitting still in a stand or blind.
Feet: thin poly liner sock with a merino wool sock over that. My favorite cold weather boot for under 20 degrees is a Cabela's trans alaska boot. Best boot I have ever worn for cold weather. It has a very thick sole, with a wool felt liner and a metallic liner. I frost bit my feet pretty bad when I was young so my feet get cold pretty easily. These boot keep my feet warm.
See boots at the following link and check out reviews. Boots are on sale. I have older pair of camo version.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Footwear/Mens-Footwear/Mens-Pac-Winter-Boots%7C/pc/104797980/c/104747580/sc/103959180/Cabelas-Trans-Alaska8482-III-Pac-Boot/749505.uts?destination=%2 Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffootwear-mens-footwear-mens-pac-winter-boots%2F_%2FN-1107989%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_103959180%3FWTz_l%3DUnknown%253Bcat104797980%253Bcat104747580&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat 104797980%3Bcat104747580%3Bcat103959180 (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Footwear/Mens-Footwear/Mens-Pac-Winter-Boots%7C/pc/104797980/c/104747580/sc/103959180/Cabelas-Trans-Alaska8482-III-Pac-Boot/749505.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffootwear-mens-footwear-mens-pac-winter-boots%2F_%2FN-1107989%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_103959180%3FWTz_l%3DUnknown%253Bcat104797980%253Bcat104747580&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104797980%3Bcat104747580%3Bcat103959180)
Core:
If you under dress your core (torso), your brain will reduce blood flow to extremities to keep brain and organs warm. So dress to keep core warm. I carry clothing to the stand to put on when I arrive so I do not get sweaty on the way to my stand/blind. Base layer of wool, Thermax, Capilene, polypropylene, silk, or other base leayer with wool or fleece over that, followed by outer layer.
Hands: The chemical heaters (I like the disposable hand warmers) work great. I will wear a light glove on my bow hand, with a hand warmer inside the glove on the back of the hand. I prefer a large wool mitten with a hand warmer inside on my string hand. I stuff the mitten in a pant or coat pocket and pull my hand with tab out when I neeed to shoot, leaving the mitten in the pocket.
Nutrition:
Nutrition plays a big part of staying warm, as does being hydrated. If you are dehydrated, your body will not be able to regulate heat as well. Consume protein to help regulate heat.
I use a Heater Body Suit when it gets cold. I've had mine for about 8 years and wish I would have bought one long before that. They are a little pricey, but they sure work. I've sat in cold and wind for 3 to four hours and have been comfortable, in fact I have fallen asleep a time or two!
They generally have reduced prices after hunting season. http://www.heaterbodysuit.com/index.html
As stated above all great ideas, advent of wicking socks and baselayers (Merino wool, ploypro) etc all help! However age, health, Meds, circulation and old injuries all play roles in the ability to keep warm! I injured my left knuckle/index finger this spring, now my left index finger gets colder when the rest of my fingers do not I think it is do to some nerve issues from the injury! Lets face it some times at least here in Michigan it is fricking cold enough that nothing will keep the chill out, no matter how much clothing or what type I put on, those days I stay home! LOL getting old or wiser I guess!
For me cold fingers is a management thing. Learned spring fly fishing that core temp and head temp helps keep fingers warm. Also I try really hard to keep hands out of exposure by keeping in my coat pockets and while sitting with bow on lap. Even on really cold days learned my bare hands stay warmest in my pockets, allowing for several minutes of barehand exposure to make the shot. I use warm mittens to and from stand.
A real warm hat will go a long way towards keeping the rest of your body warm. When it's real cold I take a beaver fur hat with me and put it on when I get to my stand. It's way too hot to walk in but sure keeps me warm when sitting. If you eat carbohydrate rich foods before you hunt it will help - it's fuel for the furnace.
Wow !!
What a response.
I was/am aware of most of these. I was ask the question and responded with similar thoughts. Glad to hear I was pretty close to good advice with my response.
Keep 'em coming. There may be a few tricks out there that'll help someone else.
A carpet sample of mid to long shag, to stand on; either in stand or on the ground is a wind/cold barrier that has helped me.
Not a popular answer, but...excersize. The first place you will see circulation issues is with cold fingers and toes.
Move south to one of the southern states. Sorry, couldn't resist. It has been years since I have been cold like it gets in the northern states and I can't imagine living in those cold climates again.
Toe warmers and handwarmers both work like a charm. Two hats, the inside one being a balaclava, a good warm vest, and wind resistant clothing. Like someone else said, the warmer your core, the warmer your extremities will be.
Lot of great information here...bowslinger gave some really good feedback, in particular, the nutrional comment.
One other item to consider is one of those 8-hour heat packs for the back...place the pack across the back so it warms the kidney area.
I must be doing alright for an old koot, I do some of what others say above and don't get cold, correct base layers, not too much so you don't sweat, if your feet sweat on the way in, take your boots off when you get to your stand and let the moister out for a few minutes, you can easily do this with Mickey boots ( the white ones have more insulation ) I use fleece next to the skin then smart wool or thicker fleece, then wool. For the hands I use the hand warmers with the type of mittens that you can remove the mitten part of the glove but still have the glove on, this allows me to keep the tab on and just peel back the mitten part of the glove.
Good luck !
I have never been more comfortable hunting in the cold since using wool sweaters bought over sized then felted, mickey mouse boots with wool socks and antiperspirant sprayed on my toes.
I also have glomits with handwarmers and layer starting with morino wool undies. I made myself a wool neck gater also, knitted and felted. Toasty!
biggest thing i learned from skiing was a lite pair of socks if your socks or boots fit to tight your feet will never be warm
Lots of good advice here on this topic by everyone. Even the guy that said to move to a warmer climate. All joking aside, make sure your dry before getting dressed. Reduce the exposed parts of your body such as wrists,neck, ears and head. Wear a hat to keep your feet warm.
Oh yes. I forgot about the hand warmer in the shirt pocket,left side over your heart. Pumps warm blood. Really
Like NBK said keep your core warm and your head. I think the head controls the rest of the body so I wear a knit military tanker hat that comes down to your shoulders so you can tuck it into your upper layers. Wear a turtle neck with a long neck that you can pull up on your face if needed or roll up to block the wind down your neck. When I get to hot I take off my hat.
layer to control moisture near your skin.
Wear wool as a outer layer.
The warmest think I use is a vest with pockets sewn into it for thoses walmart body hand warmers. I have a pocket on each kidney , one in the lower middle of my back and one on my upper back at my neck. The one in each pocket for my hands.
Smartwool socks with a wicking liner.
When it gets really cold, I use something i put together. The fabric store sells 12" x 12" blocks of felt. Buy two along with some flat ribbon type material. You fold the blocks over and sew them like a fold over sandwich, leaving the top open. Sew the flat heavy ribbon material on the outside of the folded over blocks to create a harness you slip over your neck. Put a chemical warmer in the pouches. It will keep your front warm (heart) and your back warm, (lungs and kidneys). You can slide them up and down your front and back to adjust while on the stand. It works great and costs nothing. You can reduce your bulk with the heat being produced.
Billy
Eating all day has made the most difference for me. I already have wool everything in multi layers and have found that a good breakfast and snacking on payday bars,string cheese,almonds or cashews and hot chicen and rice or tomato soup in a themos can really make a difference on long stands in the single digits........much easier for your body to heat itself from the inside than to add too many layers on the outside..........
Well, since there are those of us STUCK inside because of weather...and wind...Any other thoughts / idea....??
move to Florida.
I've had good luck so far with merino wool socks and woody max muck boots.
Don't wear cotton socks, cotton t-shirts next to the skin. Layer with silk, wool, or synthetics.