Author Topic: Keeping Your Feet Warm? (Read 9013 times)

GeneRector · « **on:** October 07, 2007, 07:56:33 AM »

Howdy! On a cold night just before dawn my feet seem to get really cold. How do you keep your feet warm short of using some kind of battery operated electric warming socks? What do you use that really works? Your views appreciated! Thanks!

GRIMJIM · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2007, 08:19:18 AM »

Do you mean in general or while hunting? When hunting I wear a polypropylene sock to wick away moisture, under a heavy thermal sock for insulation under a good pair of boots. I have a nice pair of insulated knee high irish setters. The feet are the hardest thing to keep warm in the field for me. If I am sitting in a ground blind I try to find a couple of small logs that I can rest them on so they're nor sitting on the frozen ground.

GeneRector · « **Reply #2 on:** October 07, 2007, 11:39:59 AM »

Howdy! Yes, it is during hunting in a tree stand near daylight that my feet get really cold. Sometimes I wear two pair socks, but it does not seem to help. I was wondering if they make some kind of socks or sock covers that really work. Years ago I used to see electric socks in catalogs, but I would rather have another solution. Thanks!

Graybeard · « **Reply #3 on:** October 07, 2007, 11:52:21 AM »

For me the answer is I don't. I've tried multiple socks, super insulated boots and even Boot Blankets over my well insualted boots. Bottom line is my feet are gonna be cold on cold mornings sitting still in the blind.

GRIMJIM · « **Reply #4 on:** October 07, 2007, 02:34:30 PM »

That's the whole thing, sitting still. It's funny that when your feet really hurt from the cold all you have to do is walk for a couple of minutes to help circulate blood through your feet and they're fine. Don't think from my earlier post that I've eliminated the cold foot problem. The different layers do help for me, the polypropylene keeps your feet dry, which helps with the cold but you still have to sit still and that's the problem.

I'm surprised the boot blankets didn't work. It seemed to me like they would work pretty well. I wonder if the full suit coverall thing works on your feet. I forget what they're called.

As for the electric socks I used to have a pair that were so hot I had to unplug the batteries after a couple of minutes or they would burn my feet. On the other hand I have had friends that used them and said they didn't work. I heard there was a pair for waders, they have a belt strap to hold the batteries and a knob to adjust the heat. I still have to look into that though.

I know those chemical packs for you hands are okay, I wear a muff when it's cold and put one in there, but the ones they sell for your feet have never worked for me.

EsoxLucius · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2007, 06:55:38 AM »

Using multiple pairs of socks is self defeating if it is constricting your circulation. As mentioned sitting for too long will always be a problem. However, one should make it half a day with the right gear without getting cold feet to distraction.

My recommendation is based on what works for me. You can try it as it may work for you too.

Liner socks - one pair thin polypropylene, CoolMax or Thermax to wick moisture away from your feet into your boot sock
Heavy boot socks - one pair Wigwam Ice Sock, FoxRiver Outdoorsox or Cabelas Wool Boot Socks
Insulated Boots - 1000 gram Thinsulate Ultra, must be properly sized so as not to constrict your circulation
Heat Packs - I have been using them under the toes for several years. You might want to try the ones that are shaped like an insole.
Wear a good hat, neck gaiter and gloves or shooting mitts, losing heat from other extremities can make your feet cold
Wear your socks for only one day. This means getting socks for everyday of your hunt. The buildup of sweat and body oils in the sock from just one day can reduce their thermal effectiveness.
Get a good boot dryer and use it every night.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #6 on:** October 12, 2007, 10:37:12 AM »

I appreciate your cold foot problem. I suffered from it years starting as a teen out duck and deer hunting. The killer when duck hunting in rubber boots. The polypropylene sock liners have turned my things around plus I have been buying socks designed for hiking/hunting. The low price polypropylene liners from K-Mart/Wal Mart have worked. But I have gone to Sport related stores for good boot socks or vendors who service outdoorsmen. I look for a wool blend sock that is size fitted. I find that socks that are sold to fit a span of three or four sizes bunch up. After hiking a few miles they bunch up and cause foot problems. They may not put you out of business on day one but day two will not be much fun.

I have worn Thorlo boot socks for years. They make a difference.

This outfit sells boot and equipment to firefighters and others whose lives depend on their foot ware. http://www.drewsboots.com/pac.htm#schnees_arctic

I have been doing a lot of hunting the last few weeks at high altitude in wet, snowy, and freezing conditions. When these conditions are put together my leather boots stay in the pickup and I put on my LaCrosse pacs. http://www.lacrossefootwear.com/category/cold+weather+boots.do

I have been making three to five mile hunts without any discomfort. My LaCrosse pacs are many years old. I have worn them in deep snow, on snowmobiles, and out on the deer trails. They have been a footwear bargain. Warm feet mean more hours of comfort in the field.

A lot of times I well wear Gaiters. Thirty years ago I bought a pair of low price Nylon Gaiters when hunting in the Rockies. They help keep the lower legs dry and warm. They also absorb the shock of banging into down logs, rocks, and thorns. But my favorite is a pair of GorTex combo Gaiters that go just above my knees. They are similar to these:

http://www.rei.com/product/725915

When it is sunny weather time out hunting I like wearing a wide brim hat. But I always have a knit Watch Cap in my daypack. And I will switch from the hat to foam like cap. I then pull the Watch Cap over the cap to protect my ears. We lose a large percentage of our body heat out of our head. It acts as the body radiator. A good head cover equals warmer feet.

While I was writing this you posted that you were setting in a tree stand. A insulated seat pad will also preserve some of your body heat.

tucoblue · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2007, 12:44:29 PM »

I have found that socks that do not fit tight around the ankle work for me. The tight fit cuts circulation and makes for cold feet. I use the Wigwam #632 wool socks. They are non restricting and don't fall down. If it's really cold I wear a nearly worn out pair of the 632's under a newer pair and my Sorel Glacier pacs. Wigwam also makes a heavier (Gray trimmed in red) wool sock that is non restrictive. I don't recall the number. I sometimes wear these over the nearly worn out wigwam 632's.

Also I wear bibs or coveralls rather than pants that require a belt. Again, minimizing restriction to the extremities.

This combo works pretty good but after 4 hours or so in teens type temperatures I'm ready for a short walk.

I hunt in a ground blind.

d_hiker · « **Reply #8 on:** October 23, 2007, 04:58:20 AM »

I agree with the previous comments. For many years I worked outside year round and at first it was hard to keep my feet warm. But investing in a good pair of pac-type boots helped (pull the liners and dry every night or get an extra set of liners and rotate them).

The best socks I have found to keep feet warm have a high content of merino wool. Cotton just traps moisture and it sucks the heat out of your feet. The merino wool is great year round as it wicks moisture away from your feet also, and it is very soft not what we used to think of as wool socks (itchy). I have even bought them at Wal-Mart. My wife and kids all wear them during the winter around the house instead of slippers because they keep their feet warm without being too hot. I have worn them during the summer backpacking in New Mexico. I love my merino wool socks. You can get them in different weights depending on what you are doing. I do also wear a polypropylene sock liner with them when I am concerned about moisture control.

flyboy · « **Reply #9 on:** October 25, 2007, 07:01:52 PM »

My problem is, I have size 15 feet, and am diabetic, with the attendant poor circulation and neuropathy of the feet. I thought my feet were somehow staying warmer as I got older, but I just can't feel them getting cold...not a good thing on a sub zero day!

I have tried liner socks under heavy wool, which did not do the job...ever, even in my X-county ski boots. They crowded my feet in my former boots, which I thought should be 13-14s.

I now have some Cabela's Iron Ridge boots,1000gr. insulation, and wear a heavy pair of wool socks with them. Plenty of room, and my feet seem to stay very warm. Maybe not the best, but they are what I can afford, and come in my size, which is no small thing. No pun intended.

I have a pair of Browning boot socks, and another pair of Smartwool socks, which are very heavy, and my size, that I will be trying out this winter.

GeneRector · « **Reply #10 on:** October 25, 2007, 07:30:23 PM »

Howdy! I bought a couple of pairs of socks with liners the other day at Gander Mtn. They are called SmartWool Hunting Socks. I wore them a couple of times hunting and they seem to be fine. Colder mornings are coming up and I will let you know how good they are afterwards. PS: Abraham Lincoln wore size 15 boot, if I remember correctly! Take care!

d_hiker · « **Reply #11 on:** October 26, 2007, 04:22:57 AM »

Yup, SmartWool is one of the brands with the merino wool. You do want to have your boots large enough to accommodate wearing thicker socks. Proper fitting liner socks also help in preventing blisters. Any rubbing now occurs between the liner sock and the heavier sock instead of between your skin and the sock.

Also, examine how you are sitting. Does the seat that you are sitting on have a hard support or edge along the front which presses against the back of your thighs restricting circulation? I have one fold-up chair that is fairly comfortable but if I sit in one position for a while I notice my legs and feet going to sleep. I now avoid using that chair.

EsoxLucius · « **Reply #12 on:** October 29, 2007, 05:34:42 AM »

I don't believe that if you are wearing a synthetic liner sock you have to be concerned with wearing merino wool socks. Regular wool socks work fine and I certainly wouldn't spend the money they want for Smartwool anything. Sportsmen's Warehouse has their own brand of merino wool socks that are inexpensive and work just as well. Cabelas, Wigwam and Fox River also. I wear high-content merino wool socks (light hikers from Wigwam, Cabelas and Ballston) against my skin for three seasons. But for warmth in the cold season a thin synthetic liner sock with heavy wool boot socks work the best and are the most cost effective. For a good heavy boot sock, the Wigwam IceSock (85% wool/15% nylon) can be bought for $8 a pair and they are one of the warmest socks on the market.

d_hiker · « **Reply #13 on:** October 29, 2007, 09:50:13 AM »

Just to protect my reputation...

I have never bought SmartWool socks (not that they aren't nice, just $$$). The merino wool socks I have bought at Wal-Mart were at the end of the season on clearance. I typically get them for $2.00 to $5.00 a pair. The last couple of years they have been marking them down just before Christmas. Some stores mark them down more than others. My kids think I know where every clearance isle is located in every Wal-Mart.. LOL

Sourdough · « **Reply #14 on:** November 16, 2007, 09:56:16 PM »

Someone mentioned Micky Mouse boots (Mil Surp) but you can't beat the old army Bunny Boot. That is the white ones, they keep my feet warm down to 65 below. Without them no way I would be able to sit on a stand and call at 15 or 20 below. Or run my trapline at 30 or 40 below. But then they are bulky and heavy, and when you take them off your feet look like a couple of prunes, from being wet. They don't breath and your feet do sweat in them, but even wet, your feet are still toasty warm.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #15 on:** November 22, 2007, 09:02:03 AM »

I have had a similar problem when I take a stand and my feet go cold. I do not like big heavy boots as I like to still hunt and the heavy boots make me tromp rather than glide through the woods. Besides my feet are not cold as long as I am moving. I invested in a pair of the Arctic shield over boot covers. They work well. I keep them in my pack. When I get on stand I pull them out and put them on over my boots and ta da warm feet. They fold up almost flat and are water proof and weigh almost nothing. The box they come in is heavier. If your feet are still cold then simply toss in a couple of the chemical shake type hand warmers.
The over boots are available from Cabala's or Bass Pro shops. Under $50.
When elk hunting I use them as slippers in the middle of the night when I have to water the local vegetation.

Ranger J · « **Reply #16 on:** December 18, 2007, 04:36:22 AM »

I have always had cold feet when I am setting in a stand on a cold day. On the other hand when I am walking it doesn't take much of a boot at all to keep my feet warm. Over the years I have tried just about everything. I have numerous pairs of highly insulated boots in my collection. I have used socks of just every kind of material and electric socks don't do a thing for me. Stuffing the hand warmer packs down in the toes of the boots or strapping the larger ones on the outside of the boot help a little. Years ago I stumbled on the only thing that truly keeps my feet warm in a stand on a cold day. I buy a cheap ($20) sleeping bag, step in it and pull it up to waist level and secure it by cinching it with a large (length wise) belt. If it gets really cold I pull it up under my arm pits. This works fine if you have a roomy stand preferably with a shooting rail around it. Most bags are roomy enough that you can safely move around in them.

RJ

montveil · « **Reply #17 on:** December 18, 2007, 07:38:45 AM »

I use those foot wrarmers that are one use and contain iron oxide and are activated by air. Granted they are one use, but they really work.
I use Sorrell packs-- 25 years old. rubber over the feet with leather uppers with felt liners along with thin poly socks and medium weight wool socks. I keep a couple of the "hot packs " in my ditty bag and use them when my feet get really cold.
This system would probably not be the best if one would have to hike miles but it works great for stand hunting.

RCBS · « **Reply #18 on:** December 24, 2007, 05:20:03 PM »

I know you gentlemen will laugh when I tell you how I keep my feet warm but it really works. I purchased everything that I could like toe warmers, heavy socks super insulated boots of all kinds but nothing worked. A friend of mine that deals with herbs told me to try something during my hunt in Illinois during the first of Dec. this year. I did the same thing that most of you guys will do but it works. He gave me a small pack of cayanne pepper and told me to sprinkle a pinch in each boot around my toes. He said not to use to much as this would make you pull you boots off.He said that he only wore one pair of sock with rubber boots while duck hunting in the swamp during winter using only a pinch of pepper. I told him I would try it but was laughing under my breath the whole time. My second morning in Illinois it was around 20 degrees that morning and I said what the heck. I did as he instructed and sprinkled some of the pepper on the toe and the ball of the foot areas of both boots I only wore one pair of heavy socks. We got into the stand around 5:30 that morning and I knew that my feet would freeze. Boy was I surprised. When the guide picked me up at 11:30 a.m. my feet were as warm as they were when I put my boot on at the lodge. I would have never thought that this would work but it did.The only problem that I have had is it leaves my socks a liitle red but that disappears as soon as I wash them. Laugh if you want, but if you try it you will not be laughing for long but singing its praise. Remember do not over do it.

GRIMJIM · « **Reply #19 on:** December 25, 2007, 03:19:22 AM »

I've got to try this just to see for myself.

I learned a long time ago not to laugh at what people say will work until I've tried it myself. I was installing some cabinets in a bank and they tarred over the grate in the parking lot. There was a guy walking around with two bent pieces of copper wire in his hands divining for it. I actually thought he was nuts until the two pieces of wire started moving toward each other and he said dig here and sure enough there was the grate. I tried it myself over an electrical trench in the floor and as soon as I stepped on that trench the wires started moving. Honestly I couldn't believe it but there was the proof.

My feet are the only thing that bother me in the cold still, so I will definitely try this.

Graybeard · « **Reply #20 on:** December 25, 2007, 04:22:29 AM »

I have to wonder if it actually makes your feet warmer (temperature wise) or if it only makes them feel warmer due to the burning sensation (actually an irritation) that pepper causes. In other words could you still get frost bite if the weather was cold enough without realizing it was coming on due to the sensation they were warm?

RCBS · « **Reply #21 on:** December 25, 2007, 01:02:48 PM »

Gentlemen ,
From what the Herbalist said was that the pepper was absorbed thru the pores of the skin and increase the blood flow. He stated that the pepper opened up the veins and arteries and increase the flow of blood resulting in warmer feet. If you read about this pepper on the web it is said to assit with the flow of blood to the heart and will help prevent blockages. Now that is what the web says not me as I am not a herbalist.

Rcbs
Merry Christmas

Chilachuck · « **Reply #22 on:** December 25, 2007, 02:45:48 PM »

My feet get pretty cold if I don't remember to keep flexing my leg muscles and curling my toes. Sort of isometrics.

Keeps the blood flowing.

no guns here · « **Reply #23 on:** December 27, 2007, 12:40:39 AM »

I picked up a pair of UnderArmour Heat Gear socks this weekend... I wore them yesterday in place of my regular "artic weight" combat boot socks that I sometimes wear with my civilian boots. The new socks were GREAT! My feet didn't get cold or wet from sweat. They are really long and come almost up to my knees and they STAY up! This is a big thing for me since I have big calves... no matter what I do, I usually find myself having to stop and pull up my socks several times a day. These stayed up all day... I intend to wear them under a pair of light weight boot socks when hunting this week. I'll see how they do but right now... I actually think my feet might stay warm...

Jal5 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 27, 2007, 05:10:56 PM »

Great ideas for the feet!
i looked at a pair of those
Arctic Shield boot covers yesterday at Cabelas. My only question for those of you who have tried it is do you get a size to match your boot size or one size larger for ease of getting them on and off? i would think the same size so that there isn't a huge gap all around the boot, defeating the purpose?

Joe

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #25 on:** December 28, 2007, 11:39:21 AM »

Joe,
I have three pair of Danner boots I wear. Un insulated, 200 gram and 400 gram depending on where and what I'm hunting. I got the shields to go over the largest pair.
It sounds like you went to the Cabelas store so try on a pair of the hunting boots you wear and see what works best for you.
They also have another pair that are thicker on sale as well. Insulated boot blanket and are just under $40.
Item number NJ-81-0623
Hope it's helpful.
Brian

montveil · « **Reply #26 on:** December 29, 2007, 06:24:01 AM »

The pepper thing is the same principle as most linenints-- pepper/ menthols etc actually go into the skin--(irratant ??) and they increase blood flow to the muscles. I don't see how they wouldn't work. I might try the trick one one foot and use the untreated foot as a control.

The Gamemaster · « **Reply #27 on:** January 04, 2008, 11:36:01 AM »

My X brother in law was a guide in Colorado for Elk.

He guided for two weeks and then he camped and hunted for 1 week of their Elk Season.

He would then come back East and go directly to West Virginia and hunt deer for the week of Thanksgiving and then he would drive to Pennsylvania and hunt deer for a week here.

3 to 4 weeks in a row in a old army tent with nothing to burn except rotten old aspen and very little heat would make any person miserable.

Lacross Ice Kings - is what you need.

What they did was wear a pair of boots like Rocky Bear Claws to their stand. Once at their stand, they took off the Rocky's and put on the Lacross Ice Kings. When they left their tent that morning or the day before, they put a couple of heat packs inside of their boots and wraped them in a plastic bag. Even better yet would be a Igloo cooler - that you could leave in the woods at your stand.

When you get there, your boots are toasty warm. Put them on and take the Rocky's off and put some heat packs in them and wrap them back up. The end of the day, take the Lacross Ice Kings off and put the Rocky's on and put new heat packs in the Lacross boots.

You can do it as many days as you want and it will keep them warm at your stand.

You shouldn't walk with sitting boots on and you shouldn't sit with walking boots on.

1 pair of clean, dry, warm socks per a day will keep your feet dry and warm better than a couple of pairs of socks that absorbs moisture and keeps your feet damp.

Jal5 · « **Reply #28 on:** January 14, 2008, 05:41:38 PM »

I ended up buying the arctic shield boot insulators at Cabelas and they fit over my boots comfortably for a reg. lg. size in the arctic shield. shouldn't be hard to put on once I get to my stand and they fold up rather small in a backpack. I will try them out this weekend, one of my last bowhunting days here and the weather looks like it will be cold with some snow, good deer hunting weather!

d_hiker · « **Reply #29 on:** January 15, 2008, 08:23:55 AM »

I was at a Cabela's a week or so ago and was going to buy the IceBreaker boot insulators. They only had XL and XXL, the XL did fit over my boots (size 12) with a little room to spare. But they were big and bulky, I chose the ArticShields also. They look like they'll get the job done. We have a late season deer this weekend and the forecast is calling for a low of 4° and a high of 14° on Saturday. It will be a good time to try them out and report back.