Cold Feet?

[bobthebowhunter]

Hey yall I'm sure it's been talked about at length on here, but I've always struggled keeping my little piggies warm while on stand. Looking at Saturday morning temps I'm already dreading the numb toes. That being said I was thinking of running out and picking up some of the heavily insulated muck boots and maybe getting a size bigger to throw in some hand warmers.

What do yall do or wear to keep feet warm. If it gets too bad I do squats to get the blood flowing, but I hate to move that much.

Good luck to everyone this weekend. It's gonna be a good one.

 

[CharlieTN]

Make sure you boots fit loosely. Tight fitting boots WILL constrict blood flow adding to the problem. No cotton for socks, it's horrible. Get a good sock that will remove moisture from your foot or at least insulate while damp such as wool or synthetic.

For me, I wound up getting a pair of the boot blankets. Love them. IF my boots are too heavily insulated my feet sweet by the time I get on stand. This way I can add the blankets once I'm on the stand. I put one of the larger stick on "body warmers" that the Hot Hands people make and they sell at Wal mart. Works great to keep my toes warm and me happy on stand.

 

[Remington700]

I have some Lacrosse 1200's and love them. I use to put on big wool socks with them and feet froze. I found out I was over doing it and feet were sweating. Now I just wear plain cotton socks with the 1200's and am fine. I think a lot of time people do too much and the sweat makes their feet cold.

 

[scn]

The key to keeping your feet warm is to make sure they are loose fitting and are not constricting the blood flow to the feet. Having a pair of boots a size larger than what you normally wear will help a lot. In addition, starting the day with a dry boot goes a long way for warmth as your body is not using its heat to dry out the moisture in the boot. I use two pair of mucks to help with that. I wear a size larger in the morning when it is normally the coldest, and change to a normal size pair for the evening. That allows some drying to go on as well. With one pair, one of the boot dryers can make a big difference.

As far as handwarmers go, you will need the "toe warmers". They are designed to be used in a more oxygen restricted environment that regular handwarmers. Regular handwarmers lose their reaction pretty quickly in boots. And, the toe warmers can get extremely hot outside of the oxygen restricted area of a boot.

 

[ruger7mag]

Arctic shield boot covers, problem solved. Make sure to put them on as soon as you sit down and get set up.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Arctic shield boot covers, problem solved. Make sure to put them on as soon as you sit down and get set up.

I have often wondered if these actually work. How much confidence do you have in them?

 

[Dakota10]

A Alaskan company makes a lamalite sock that I wear by itself in a Muck boot has helped me a lot with cold feet. It also wicks moisture away. Their website is http://www.wiggys.com and they have them discounted on the site now.

 

[Lost Lake]

Luckily, I've not had too many issues with my feet getting cold easily. As has been said, loose fitting boots help a lot, and smart wool instead of cotton socks.

When I know it'll be that frigid, and I'll be doing all day sits, I'll wear light boots or even tennis shoes and
carry a pack with my boots and an extra pair of socks. If my feet get sweaty, I just take off my boots and change into dry socks and let the wet ones air dry. Not the best idea for scent control I'm sure, but being able to stay out there hunting instead of back in a warm truck sounds better to me.

Dry socks and feet, and loose boots for the air pocket insulation effect. That's the key for me.

 

[gobblesandgrunts]

I have some Lacrosse 1200's and love them. I use to put on big wool socks with them and feet froze. I found out I was over doing it and feet were sweating. Now I just wear plain cotton socks with the 1200's and am fine. I think a lot of time people do too much and the sweat makes their feet cold.

I have the same boots and always my feet get cold. I took it town to two pair of socks last year and it helped, one wool and one kinda thin synthetic sock. But I've always been afraid to just do the one wool sock because afraid my toes will fall off lol guess I'll try it this weekend

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[Boll Weevil]

Thermacell rechargeable insoles. You'll have to experiment to see what works for you but I don't run'em at all until my toes are juuuuust start to get cold then turn on low for a bit as I'm usually comfortable for awhile from the walk in. Batteries will last much longer this way.

 

[gobblesandgrunts]

Thermacell rechargeable insoles. You'll have to experiment to see what works for you but I don't run'em at all until my toes are juuuuust start to get cold then turn on low for a bit as I'm usually comfortable for awhile from the walk in. Batteries will last much longer this way.

I had some of these and they were great but went to turn them on first of last year and they wouldnt work. Just haven't got another pair

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[Frayser]

Boots that fit more loosely along with a liner sock inside a smart wool sock does the trick for me. The liner sock really helps with my feet sweating. Can't reiterate enough what others have already said about the boots not being too tight.

 

[tellico4x4]

Boots that fit more loosely along with a liner sock inside a smart wool sock does the trick for me. The liner sock really helps with my feet sweating. Can't reiterate enough what others have already said about the boots not being too tight.

X2 on the liner to pull moisture away from feet & transfer it to wool. Mucks are not great cold weather boots, if you have cold feet problems add a pair of boots with felt inserts. I use Schnee's, but don't usually wear them until the teens.

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[WTM]

sock liners, thin wool socks and correct size shoes for one. if you dont keep your core warm, your feet and hands are gonna freeze. the blood draws out of the extremities to the core to keep the organs warm. i dress in layers and add on or take off as need be AND i always keep my woobie in my pack.

 

[String Music]

I haven't had any luck keeping my feet warm in rubber boots. I think my feet sweat too much walking to the stand. I'm going with 600 gr Danners this year with Arctic Shield boot covers.


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[ruger7mag]

Arctic shield boot covers, problem solved. Make sure to put them on as soon as you sit down and get set up.

I have often wondered if these actually work. How much confidence do you have in them?

I am 100% confident in them. I tried expensive socks, heated insoles, multiple different kinds of boots, but the covers are the only thing that always keep my feet warm. Put them on as soon as I sit down, and if it's really cold like single digits, I'll put a hot hand on the toe of boot with the cover over it. My feet will not get cold with them on.

 

[Chief44]

Here's a trick I learned a few years ago that actually works pretty good. I bought 2 cheap $3.00 knit beanie type hats. When I get in the stand, I put a hand warmer on the outside of my boot over the toe area and secure it with a rubber band. Then I Slip the hat over the end of my boot/warmer and secure it with another rubber band. The warmer radiates enough heat through my boot to keep my toes plenty warm and being it's on the outside of the boot there's enough oxygen to keep it going. Works great over my muck boots. Also, if the hand warmers are still working when I get down, I seal them up in a ziplock sandwich bag and squeeze all the air out. This will cause them to shut off. When you take them back out they will reactivate again.

 

[TheLBLman]

Arctic shield boot covers, problem solved. Make sure to put them on as soon as you sit down and get set up.

x 2

Bobby, here's my "trick" for really cold weather:

Place a large-size (18-24 hr) hand warmer in the toe area of each Arctic Shield boot cover,
BEFORE you head out.
Carry these boot covers in your pack.
Once you arrive, the hand warmers will have the inside of the boot covers "hot".
Simply put the boot covers on your boots AFTER you arrive.

If you have to walk later, take the boot covers off, replace in your pack,
as they are not designed for walking,
although walking a short distance on dry terrain can be ok.

If you don't have the Arctic Shield boot covers,
you can accomplish a similar result by using a couple of full-size head/face coverings
over your boots instead of the more for the purpose boot covers.
The trick is to "pre-warm" them by placing the hand warmers inside at least 30 minutes before you cover your boots.

One other thing, the Arctic Shield boot covers are highly water resistant, and will work in a cold rain.
A typical lofty head covering quickly gets soaked in a little rain.

 

[UTGrad]

Arctic shield boot covers, problem solved. Make sure to put them on as soon as you sit down and get set up.

This ^^^ I have a pair and tie them to my pack and slip them on as soon as I get settled.

Also if it hasn't been mentioned keeping the core of the body as warm as possible goes a long way to keep the feet warm. The body will shunt blood away from the extremities to keep the vital organs warm. I've got a warm base layer and Arctic Shield bibs and parka. Combine this with Arctic Shield boot covers and I'm good.




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[WTM]

if all else fails get a pair of never issued batam ECWB, aka mickey mouse boots. about 60-70 bucks in the various sizes. your feet will sweat if laced all the way up but they wont get cold. i wouldnt want to hike 10 miles in them but for stand hunting theyd be fine. really good for sauger fishing or winter bank fishing.