How do ya'll keep your feet warm in the bitter cold????

Steve McCullough

Steve McCullough

Active member
We've had quite a cold snap in KY and I am having trouble keeping my feet warm while in the tender boat (standing on aluminum).

I've tried thin cotton socks, and then wool over top, but after several hours I can't keep warm.

I tried a pair of battery powered electric sox, but they shorted out and zapped the shit out of my left foot!!

Just wondering what tricks folks use to keep the lower extremities warm.

Thanks in advance,
Steve
 
I buy a box of Heat Factory Disposable toe warmers each year at the beginning of hunting season. At a cost of about 50 cents each, I figure it's cheap and makes the day much more comfortable. Not sure if sport good stores would carry them down there.

Now how cold can it get in KY?

Up here we were 10 this morning with wind chill about 0, and it's going to get colder before spring get here.
 
didn't you red about the Iguana's getting so cold they were falling out of the trees?......how can you whine about cold toes when lizrds are freezing and bonking their little lizard headbones when they bounce off the frozen turf?.....have you know shame?

When lizard aren't falling out the trees from the cold causing me to stop whining and just accept cold toes I do the same thing as Andrew does except that I justuse the hand warmers...their bigger than the toe warmers and I think get hotter....throw on in the toe of your wader boot and your fragile little toes will be toasty all morning....

These things need air to work so every once in a while pull your foot halfway out of your boot before slipping it back in to refresh the air supply......might be a myth but it seems to ennace the heat for me.....

So call me sometime......note I'm still holding the decoy I owe you ransom until you call.....

Steve
 
I have 1200 and 1600 g of thinsulate in my waders... I only wear 1 pair of Cool-Max socks... never had a problem...

We made it up to zero degrees today...
 
I buy a box of Heat Factory Disposable toe warmers each year at the beginning of hunting season. At a cost of about 50 cents each, I figure it's cheap and makes the day much more comfortable. Not sure if sport good stores would carry them down there.

Now how cold can it get in KY?

Up here we were 10 this morning with wind chill about 0, and it's going to get colder before spring get here.
Click to expand...


I just knew all the northern guys were going to yell...... How cold does it get in KY?!?!?!?!

Welp, this AM, we hit a balmy -5F with wind chill. Busted through 200 yards of ice to get to open water, and spent the day in the boat...

It did pay off with some nice birds today......

Seriously, I do appreciate the advice. I got frost bite when I was in college, and have trouble in the "real" cold weather.

Steve,
Just thinking about you today. I was hunting over your Goldeneye, and was wondering, "I have a can coming..........."

I need your numbers again, because when I went to Canada in Sept, I lost my phone and all of my contacts.

Sorry about the lizards, but if this damn global warming gets any worse, I am going to freeze my ass off!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!
Steve
 
if you've "grown" like I have since the last time we saw each other you've got plenty of "ass" that can freeze off before your pants become lowriders...

Check you private messages......I sent you my numbers there....

OH....and your bird is complete....or complete minus the keel....sits right next to Ira's completed, (also minus keel), Old Sqauw and the belly preening Goldeneye that only needs a few brush strokes to be completed......yeah verily...I have become "slothful" in regards to decoy completion....

Steve
 
Steve,

Never wear cotton socks. Or cotton clothes for that matter. Cotton has no thermal value and takes a lot of heat energy to dry (that's why we all own clothes dryers). In the outdoors, cotton kills. Buy high quality hiking socks that wick away persipration and keep your feet dry. Look for full synthetic wicking and insulating socks. A polypropylene liner sock with a thick wool sock over top is the old-school way of staying warm. New materials like Thinsulate, CoolMax, and Smart Wool are the way to go since they wick and insulate at the same time. Don't buy cotton or cotton blends. You'll be cold and clamy. Also, leave some space for your toes to wiggle in your boots. This will help with the circulation of warm blood.

Good luck and keep warm. I'm going ice fishing tomorrow:)
 
"Welp, this AM, we hit a balmy -5F with wind chill. Busted through 200 yards of ice to get to open water, and spent the day in the boat... "

Come on, seriously?

I figured you southern boys hunted in T-shirts and shorts, LOL.

If you cann't find any down there, PM your address, I and I will send you a few.
 
What David said above is great advice along with everybody else. Like Andrew I use and most often have my clients put the chemical hand/toe warmers in. Cotton sucks. If you cramp your toes you'll get cold no matter what. Here's another little trick....put two or three of the really cheap super market plastic bags over your feet when you put the waders on. Sometimes you have to tape them on so they don't slide down but they work great. It sounds like something some hillbilly from Wabash, Indiana would do when he was a kid but our Special Ops guys in Afghanistan do it as well.

Make sure your waders are bone dry and stored in the house, activate the chemical warmers and put them in the boots prior to leaving the house and transport the waders in the passenger compartment, not in a bed or the boat. If you start behind the eight ball with cold or clammy waders you're in trouble. I still don't think you can beat good old fashioned rag wool as the outer sock. Stay away from acrylic blends in my opinion.
 
Steve,

Pac boots. Not the ones lined with wool. Cabela's has the ones that have an inner boot that is filled with a fluffy polyester material. They are also lined with thinsulate with a little extra on the soles. I have hunted standing on snow for hours on end and I don't get cold at all.

Bill
 
Get a small piece of thick carpet with a foam backing to put your feet on to insulate your boots from the bottom of the boat.
 
I layer my socks. I always have liner socks on -- coolmax, ultimax, etc. -- for moisture wicking. My second layer is either a polyester/acrylic/nylon blend or a wool blend -- something like a mid-weight hiking or hunting sock. My final layer is 100% wool -- a heavy hunting sock.

I only wear breathable waders so I'm limited to boots with 1000 grams of Thinsulate. I'm rarely cold with this set up.
 
My short answer is that I can't keep my feet warm from Sept till April. Froze them bad when I was young and live with it. I have tried most of the ideas and some work better than others. I will try all the new ideas and thanks in advance if one works.Wool is king though and try to keep them dry. Jay- the bread bags work, I remember doing that way back when.Seriously- Good Luck.
 
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I had cold feet the first 25 years I hunted. Then I got a pair of Hodgman Dura-Mag 1600's and have had warm feet since.
 
What is this about wind chill? If your feet are getting hit by the wind you are wearing your boots wrong. :)

For just sitting bunny boots are nice. They can be slick if there is ice so be careful of that, I have strap on cleats for icefishing. Most of the time I can get by with cotton socks but good thermal socks will keep you warmer in the real cold.

Tim
 
Doc,

Might be overkill for your typical hunting situations, but you can decide that. Before I had a proper boat I could only marsh hunt and typically stood in water up to my waist all season. That really sucked when you had to bust ice. My feet would freeze real quick and I wanted nothing more than to get the heck out of the water and get my feet warm. What worked for me was a synthetic liner, heavy wool sock and then the Cabela's 1600's. On the ice days I'd throw a heat toe warmer in the boot. I never had a miserable day after I found that combination. The 1600's are tough to walk in for any "death march" back to a marsh or field due to the big boot, but they work great.

Stay warm!
Ryan
 
David and Jay have covered the bases pretty good. I travel just about every weekend during hunting season and I am never without my boot drier and use it every night. Dry boots, polyprop liner sock and 100% wool oversock will usually do the trick. Absolutely never, ever cotton - socks or T-shirts. Haven't tried the toe warmers myself but I know other guys that use them all the time.

Also, there is an old adage that really works............if your feet are cold - put a hat on. In this case I'm sure you have a hat but is it warm enough? I wear a long neck wool long underwear top (Icebreaker), neck gaiter, Balaclava and either my Filson Waterfowler hat or my new favorite: http://www.grundens.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=27. If it gets really cold the only hat to have on is fur but it needs to be below 10 or it is too warm. Mine is Beaver, from an animal I trapped myself.

No fun being cold all the time. When ever I think it's too cold I am reminded of my buddy who has suffered from Reynauds Syndrome for years. He can walk a half a mile from his deer stand to camp and still won't be able to feel his feet.

I too got frost bit years ago (fingers) and it took over 15 years before the effects stopped being an issue when it got cold.
 
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