Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How do You Keep Your Feet Warm

I'm not being a ninny when I say that y'all need to be very careful with heat packs in your boots. My buddy SuperCore decided when he first went deer hunting with me to try those toe-warmer packs in his boots. His feet were nice and toasty, and he did not have any discomfort. However, when he took his socks off at the end of the day, the packs had produced 2nd degree burns. The blisters caused all kinds of hell, and he nearly lost his toes. You can still see the scars on his feet after a decade.

The problem is like this: If you put your feet on a hot griddle, you'd feel pain immediately. However, a low-level heat source left for hours on the same bit of skin cooks the skin and underlying flesh same way putting a steak into an oven at 125F and leaving it for 4 hours does a pretty good job of cooking it.

Have wondered about this. Good to know
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I used Toe Warmers last week in the Catskills. It was 10 above one day and they worked fine. I put one set on the tops of my socks and another set on the bottoms. They lasted for about five hours. I was wearing polypro liner socks under medium weight wool socks. One of my hunting buddies had electric socks. He said they were great. He had a wireless controller for them, so he could turn them off if he got too hot.

The expiration date on my Toe Warmers is 2/2020, so they may have lost some potency. The last time I used them was in 2016, when I bought them. I remember they were hotter then, and I only used one set, on the bottoms of my feet.

My boots are Cabela's insulated leather which I bought for last year's hunt in Colorado. They worked fine without Toe Warmers in Colorado as I wasn't sitting on a stand all day, I was walking.

I spent 60hrs in a blind in Saskatchewan 3 year ago, and never had cold feet

Here's the deal...

Wore pack boots with a good felt liner.

Then, taped a hand warmers over the toe area, then put a boot cover over them

Tape the hand warmers on the boot so it stays over the toes area

Promise your feet will stay warm

Let me give you my read on what produced the injury. First off, he was diagnosed with diabetes a few years after this incident, so I wonder if he had full feeling in his toes at the time. That's just conjecture. It's a chicken/egg issue: did neuropathy contribute to the loss of feeling, or did the burns cause the neuropathy. Either way, he's got no feeling in his toes today.

Second, He used these toe warmers in mid-level temps. It was in the high-20's to low-30's. A colder temp might have offset the heat produced by the chemical packs.

Third, He left them in there all day. He probably had quite a bit of sweat building up, and he didn't remove them when he came indoors. The sweat would have conducted heat better. Wearing them around in the cabin when he came out for lunch probably wasn't a good idea either.


My point is this: just be careful.

I would prefer to NOT use chemical warmers for the reason stated by Shaman. However, I have used Sorel pac boots in the past and my feet were cold. That was when I ran heavy equipment and sat on a bulldozer or a loader all day in the cold. My sweaty feet soaked my socks and the wool boot liners and got cold. The boots folks mentioned above are really expensive, too.

This sounds like a smartazz answer but wear a warmer hat. It will keep your hands and feet warmer. Most of heat loss is in head and neck area but you feel it in your hands and feet first.

i wear used army white rubber bunny boots my feet never get cold .i live and hunt in Northern Minnesota during the December archery season. these old bunny boots are warm but clumsy in the woods and climbing in my stand. and the post above me about a hat is true ,also i wear a light pr. of socks tell i get to bow stand then i put on another pair of wool socks with the light socks.good luck,Pete53

In Maine they say "If your feet are cold, put your hat on". I can't say that is true, but my head is rarely cold and my feet are often cold, hat or no hat. I might shop around for a good pair of pac boots. They may have improved them since I bought my Sorels back in the 1980s. Having a second pair of liners to swap out would surely help. In Colorado and in NY State I used a boot dryer when I took off my boots. There's nothing worse than putting your foot into a wet boot.

That's truth right there.

You reminded me of another trick I've learned. I know y'all know about the chemical handwarmers. I learned a long time ago to put one in the center pocket of my bibs under all the outer layers. The heat generated warms your chest which in turn warms the blood flowing through the heart and lungs. That in turn warms your feet and hands. I told Angus about this, and he told his bagpiping friends-- a lot of parades and exhibitions are conducted in cold wet weather, and it's hard to play bagpipes with cold fingers.

OK, so I took this idea and took it up a notch. Now, they've got electronic handwarmers that pump out 5200 mah. Do a search on Amazon for USB handwarmer. If you keep an eye out, you can find them for under $10. These are the schizz.

Spray my feet with aerosol anti-perspirant so they sweat less. Wool socks, toe warmers, boot blankets. And dry boots nightly for the next morning hunt.

Have had a pair for over 20yrs. Work like a charm.

Most times I dress lightly for the walk into a stand, with heavier/warmer clothes in a small duffel. Once on stand, I layer up.

Most cold extremities are caused by not getting enough warm blood circulated to and through them.

If sitting on stand in a tree or ground blind, you must stand up periodically and move your legs/feet to make more blood flow.

Any restrictions caused by either tight clothing or bent elbows/knees will result in "mechanically" cold extremities.

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I use these stick on feet warmers extensively with great success in my boots. The key for me is to have ade ent thickniss 1st sock on, i like merino wool. Then stick the pads below the ends of my toes and under the insoles. A 2nd looser pair of fluffy socks to hold in all the generated heat. Feet were 100% in hardest duck weather last year.

This being sid I did find out what not todo. I took one each of the big insole pads and stuck one directly on skin at my kidney on each side. I was comfortable for 4 hours before it started to really sting. By the time I removed pads i had 2nd degree burnson my middle back. Will not be doing that again! I will if there is a decent thickness shirt on first.

Bunny boots when stand hunting. Or a MR Buddy heater in a pop up blind.

Antiperspirant and toe warmers. The antiperspirant seems to help. Mucks in the goose blind. Adhesive body warmers taped on each kidney helps when it is really cold.

A buddy heater sure helps!

The only time I use foot warmers, is when sitting on stand for long periods. Full length foot warmers, in an insulated boot works for me.

The key is to pull your foot bed insert out, and apply it to the bottom of the insert. No worries about burns, and it makes a warm "barrier" between your feet and the cold.

Andy3

Bunny boots. Anything with liners get wet. There is a reason the military used them. Ed k

Don't sit much, but Lacrosse pac boots and big wool socks keep me plenty warm, here or out West on an Elk mountain.