Help with cold feet!

[huntncoach]

No, I am not thinking of leaving my bride at the altar and I am not having trouble pulling the trigger on a big buck - wish I had that opportunity. My dilemma really is cold feet. This weekend - aside from not seeing many deer - my biggest problem was my feet were freezing! I have insulated boots (not sure how many grams) and I wear good socks - wool, etc. I actually wore two pair this morning and my feet almost got numb while I was in my stand. HELP!!!!!!

 

[Diehard Hunter]

Make sure your boots are loose fitting. You are probably cutting circulation to your feet causing them to get cold easily. Also, are your feet sweating before you get to your stand? That will make you cold quick as well.

 

[Appleman]

Change socks when you get to your stand. Works every time

 

[rem270]

If your wearing wool socks and insulated boots your problem is your feet sweating. Are you wearing the wool socks while walking or changing them out when you get in the stand?

I have problems with my feet sweating and getting cold. Tried the wigwam socks that absorb the sweat away from your feet. They work but just absorb the sweat to the boot so my feet still get cold with them.

My best thing i've done is change socks. I wear a pair from the house (regular cotton socks) and the ride to my hunting spot. Then before i put my rubber boots on i swap socks out. I always carry an extra pair in my bag with me in case i need to change out a few hours after i get in the stand. On all day sits i usually go through 3 pairs. Thats the only way i've been able to stay any kind of comfortable on the cold mornings.

It don't matter what kind of socks you wear. Wool, cotton, or whatever, if your feet sweat and you keep the sweaty socks on you will freeze out.

 

[X-Tennessean]

Experimented with this over the weekend and pleased with my results.
Saturday morning wore my normal two pair socks (underarmor liner + wool) and my muck woody elites.....feet cold by 9 toe's froze by 11 but I was in ankle deep water the entire time.
This morning I wore my normal plus an extra pair of regular socks in between the liner and wool BUT I wore my fathers muck woody elites which are two sizes bigger than what I wear !! No cold feet all day and I sat till noon and back at 2:30 till dark.
His boots fit perfect with the extra layers but not so tight to cut circulation off as mine would have. I will have same setup on the rest of the week so by the weekend I may have me a new pair of cold weather huntn boots that are 2-2.5 sizes to big for me !! Lol
Give it a shot

 

[WestTn Huntin man]

Toastie Toes the little stick on foot warmers put on a a liner sock or (2) to wick away moisture then warm socks and boots. and you'll have no problems. Give the foot warmers a minite or 2 to warm up before covering with socks and boots. They are ait activated.

 

[280longshot]

I only wear a 600 gram boot and 1 pair of good socks. Make sure your boot fits loosely.
You may try putting something on your feet to keep them from sweating.
It that doesn't work, try the boot blankets for when it's really cold.
The Arctic Shield boot blanket works great from what I hear.

 

[deerhunter10]

take the wool socks off. biggest reason why peoples feet get cold is because they over layer on there socks. your feet need room to breath. I wear just regular socks and just regular mucks. never have a problem with cold feet. ditch the wool socks and definitely don't wear two pairs of them you're setting yourself up for some cold cold feet.

 

[Kritter Gitter]

Here is how I fixed my problem. I always wear Rocky's Bear claw boots (have for years) but my feet always got cold too. I still use the boots but I started using Alpaca wool socks instead of regular sheeps wool, along with moisture wicking liners. Adding the tosti-toes sticky insole or toe warmers. Works GREAT! Even works in my waders in iced over water while duck hunting. Give it a try. Alpaca wool is the way to go!! 1 pair is plenty.

 

[smyrnagc]

1200 gram thinsulate Rocky Buckstalkers (knee high rubber boots), one pair of Under Armour thick sox and Toastie Toes on top of toes...Never fails and have had warm feet/toes even when the temps are in the teens.

 

[catman529]

I wore muck fieldblazers and two layers of thermal socks and my feet froze this morning. I blame it on being too snug and will have to try the changing socks trick to get rid of the sweat, and only wear one pair so they are more loose

 

[LanceS4803]

I'll have to go with looser boots. I used to hunt at 10,000 feet in the snow and never had much of a problem.
But since I got frostbite (military misadventure), it doesn't take much on one foot to start hurting.

 

[scn]

One other thing that will help more than you think is to start with a DRY pair of boots. After a day or so of hunting, there is significant moisture trapped in your boots. Part of your heat will be going towards heating that moisture so it can evaporate out.

The PEET boot and wader dryers will solve the problem. You can normally find them for less than $35. They produce warm, but not hot air, and don't hurt the boots or waders in the drying process.

I use at least one size larger than my normal boot size for my cold weather boots and I have notices a major difference since I went that direction. If your feet are tight and cramped in the boots, your circulation will be impacted and it is almost a guarantee for cold feet.

If you are having a real problem, the boot blankets do work. They are something extra to carry in and are cumbersome on the stand, but they work. Add a handwarmer to each boot blanket on top of your toes and your feet won't be your weak link.

And, one more item that isn't on your feet that will make a major difference is a neck gaiter. I use one by Buff that has polar fleece covered by one of their camo buffs. It is amazing how warm the thing is. One of the factors for cold feet is that the body "steals" blood/heat from the extremities to keep the core organs warm. If the rest of you is warm, the extremeties don't lose out as quick.

I just bought another Polar Buff this week to have a spare in case one got wet or lost after wearing one on some cold IL days.

 

[Copes]

I bought a set of the thermacell remote controlled heated insoles. best 100.00+ I spent , with a pair of mucks no cold feet with normal socks

 

[WestTn Huntin man]

Ditto on the Fleece neck Gaiter. The one I have is camo on one side and Blaze orange on the .I'm always losing something, at least it's one thing I'll find.

 

[diamond hunter]

Just go buy a pair of mickey mouse military boots and your problem is solved,get a full size bigger and switch socks if you sweat going in.I had cold feet for years duck hunting but not anymore.I even bought a pair in size 10 for my newborn son to use when he gets older.

 

[Solo Hunter]

Like SCN said "peet boot dryer". That's the best thing I've used for cold feet. Even if your changing out socks but your boots are still wet from sweating then you not accomplishing anything. Dry socks and dry boots make the most difference. As long as you do of course have a good pair of boots for cold weather.

 

[redblood]

Toastie Toes the little stick on foot warmers put on a a liner sock or (2) to wick away moisture then warm socks and boots. and you'll have no problems. Give the foot warmers a minite or 2 to warm up before covering with socks and boots. They are ait activated.

toasty toes and u will be set

 

[Wrangler]

I read an article one time that said the key to keeping your feet warm is to keep your head covered good because your body heat escapees from the top of your head. If your keep your head warm it will help keep the rest of your body warm. It does make a difference.

 

[vonhogslayer]

I use articshield boot covers with a couple of toasty toes ,field blazers with reg socks works good I just throw the warmers in before I head to the stand and good to go,a little pita to put on in stand but waaaay worth it plus a neck gaiter and good warm hat,I also use the handwarmer thangy with chem. Warmers inside,and don't need gloves!

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

rocky artic bear claws is the answer

 

[Brogden]

I read an article one time that said the key to keeping your feet warm is to keep your head covered good because your body heat escapees from the top of your head. If your keep your head warm it will help keep the rest of your body warm. It does make a difference.

That's a myth. It's all about surface area exposed. We all wear pants and shirts when it's cold but we all don't wear hats, so it feels warmer when covering your head. Cut a chunk out of your clothes the same size as your head and expose it to the weather while wearing some head covering and you'll be just as cold.

 

[Big Dawg]

Altera socks and thermacell heated insoles

 

[UTGrad]

1) Don't wear boots that are too tight.

2) wool socks

3) Toastie toes are excellent

 

[Model70Man]

This past weekend I wore Under Armour Cold Gear socks and uninsulated Gore Tex boots. My feet never got cold. Those socks are amazing.

 

[broncohunter]

I've always had this problem. I bought those battery heated socks. Cut them on when cold and off when the chill is gone. I really want the insoles or a pair of boots that are heated. I think they are Columbia brand and expensive. My wife makes fun of me but cold feet ruins hunting.