Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cold weather boots/mukluks

Ken is on target here and you young fellas need to respect our generation gap.

The original "bunny boot" was a WWII felt boot used by ski troopers etc. The leather heel had a ski binding groove. There was no waterproof covering. Soles were slippery as heck!

Along came the Korean War and our guys were freezing in the Frozen Chosin and the Korean Boot came about and was the black rubber vapor barrier boot [micky mouse boot] of felt sandwiched between inner and outer layers of rubber. Then the military came along with the white version which is rated for colder temperatures than the black and was eventually also named "bunny boot" by the younger generation.

Some claim the black version is more petroleum resistant. Both the white and black versions have air valves on the side for equalizing air pressure when flying at high altitudes.

I live near the US Army Cold Weather Test site and I still see the troops wearing the white vapor barrier boot. I wear the Steger Mukluk for daily wear outside and use the vapor barrier boot when riding a snowmobile. I wear sandals for winter fishing on the Baja.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Wow, lot's of good replies here. I'm really too late to add anything new. I also wore the white bunny boots while stationed at Ft Wainwright. They DO work, but the 'trench foot' problem is also real. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Didn't care much for the canvas mukluks personally, and rarely wore them.

I can tell you, I always felt colder on the flightline in Kodiak (and here too) that I ever did in Fairbanks. There's some truth to the old 'but it's a dry cold' addage. Like Art, when it gets cold, and my buddies are starting to complain, I like to tell them that there's no such thing as cold, just an absence of heat. Some of those super cold nights in Fairbanks, I'd swear there was no atmosphere to protect me from the pure cold of space iteself. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

While working outdoors in severely cold weather( -10 and lower ), I've yet to find a substitute for the vapor barrier boot. But, as mentioned by others, you absolutely must change socks as often as needed to keep your feet dry.

For hunting/snowshoeing when it's above -10 or so( I'm not particularly interested in hunting in temps much lower. If I'm outside when it's colder than that, I prefer to be paid to be doing so! ), I like Schnee pack boots, and always have a spare pair of dry liners in my pack.

The old Air Force "mukluks" I was issued were quite warm, but they wear out quickly, and worse, have absolutely no ankle support, and are useless for any serious activity IMO.

Art,

The cold/less warm thing was my high school Physics teachers pet peeve as well, and I still find myself correcting people(and myself) when the wrong terminology is used.

Jeff

Art,

Yeah, but cold feels like it radiates up...

I guess I shouldn't have taken that particular shortcut. You're right of course, and I bet your pet peeve gets fired up when folks start discussing windchill and its effect on a car starting.

I just checked my hide - not even scratched <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Jog,

Being your from Minnesota I'm sure you understand all about extreme cold. And, your right about wind chill and it's effect on machinery as compared to heat producing mammals. Even some folks in Alaska need to be reminded that wind chill doesn't effect inanimate objects, except maybe to cool them off faster.

I recall the winter of '89 when all then rubber on my lil'Chevy S-10 Blazers serpentine belt decided to part company with the 'kevlar like' backing. Thank goodness the rest of the belt managed to turn the power steering pump, altenator, etc. The CV boot's cracked open nearly every year up there. One trick I remember, if you had a 4 wheel drive tranfer case with a true neutral position, is to leave the tranny in gear, when warming up the engine. That would warm up the tranny as well as the engine. If not. it was darn near impossible to shift a manual tranny when it was that cold. It also worked with automatic trannys. But, if I didn't engage 4 wheel drive, the sealed front wheel bearings would freeze up and the front tires would drag for the first couple hundered feet until friction and heat freed them up. That's because the roads were so frozen with ice, that there wasn't enough traction at first (until you hit a major traffic area) to make the front wheels turn with the stiff bearings.

Reminds me why I moved a bit south! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You northern boys just keep on talking. I am setting here thinking day-um! there ain't a way in this world I could put on enough clothes to stay warm. I ain't ever going to complain about 100 degree days again. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


BCR

Boggy: Yeah where I'm at is nothin like those Alaska boys. I've had the temps like 6 degrees in the morning here and the wind chill around zero and I swear it didnt feel that bad and I had just jeans, shirt, sweater and leather jacket and hunting boots on. No long underwear etc.. But man my toes are freezing in cowboy boots up here for sure. (grin) Sheesh.

I have bad circulation and my feet get cold as hell. Seems worse after the accident a couple years back. When I lived in Colorado before I was in the country and I only shoveled snow to get vehicles out of the driveway. Now I'm in a subdivision and they want ya to have the dad gum sidewalk shoveled off every morning. Crap.

I used to wear Sorel snowbears with the tall gaitor things to keep snow out. Thats the tall all black or all white suckers.

Was just curious if there was a better option these days.

Tex

Tex I know what you mean. I remember once I was quail hunting out on the South Plains around Quanah with a bud of mine. Some weather had blown throuh during the night and when we went out next morning it was clear and, wonder of wonders, still. Didn't feel bad at all. Until I looked at the thermometer. It was 4. Durn near all my joints froze up before I could get back to the fire. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

BCR

He may have been describing conductivity.

While I am on here I am using Rocky boots with 1000 grams of insulation. So far they seem warmer than the traditional Sorrel pacs. These are a leather-Cordura boot for New England use. It's 23 F right now.

Nice and snowy here this morning, -25c.
The sled heads are jumping for joy as it is snowing up a storm here lately! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

We run synthetic oil in our vehicles.
it really makes a difference in the differential and gear boxes.
As far as footwear goes, for extreme cold stuff, Sorrels pretty well rule around here, but in the bush at-35c, Gortex -thinsultae boots work well.
catnthehat

I've never been able to keep my feet warm <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />.This past sept my feet got cold sitting in a ladder stand,morning temps were low 40's to 50 degrees F.As long as I'm moving I'm alright,but stop for longer than half an hour and my toes start getting cold.

I wear Sorels when there's snow on the ground and like a few have said,there's zero support in those things.They are warm though.The current pair has three layes of felt,a frost pad,the main bootie and then another felt pad inside the bootie,they have rubber bottoms and cordura uppers.I just have to make sure I pull them apart at the end of the day to let the sweat dry,man my feet sweat.Buddy of mine welded up an awesome drying rack that goes over the wood burner in the tent,and a pair of boots and felts dry out in an hour.

Cat,it's a balmy -2 here this morning with just a skiff of snow on the truck.Hope to get some thicker ice on the lakes so we can start fishing.

Only three commercial choices I know of for extreme cold weather (-40)
I hunted and lived for 9 years on baffin island and saw and experienced a lot of suffering:

1) The Canadian Military Mukluck or commercial variant by ACTON. This is a big shapeless synthetic upper with a rubber bottom . The rubber bottom is not high but only on the bottom so the whole upper breathes and body heat drives most moisture/sweat out of the boot.
The insulation is a double wool duffle booty that is extremely warm. they have an incredible double insulation bottom and keep even my wifes feet warm all day at -40.
The only disdavantage of this boot is that the bottom traction nibs wear quickly and they are slippery.

2) Better yet.... Malakhov/Webber boots by Sorel. These are no longer made but were designed as an improvement on the Canadian Mukluk above by two arctic explorers Webber and Malakhov. They used these boots in the first unsupported dash to and back from the pole. They have great traction/insulation and the incredible bottom insulation of above with more comfort and support than #1. I have two pairs left and they are the best.

3) The Steiger double wide mukluk. These look very good with enough room for insulation (good old duffle) and a breathable top and bottom for vapour transmission. Moose hide bottoms have a nifty rubber bottom for traction. These will get the nod when my beloved Webbers wear out.

What won't work at -40 is any design that holds water vapour. Even the Inuit leave the waterproof seal kamiks at home at -40 and take out the caribou mukluks. Rubber bottom designs or worse yet the Mickey Mouse boots are an abomination in really cold weather.

I do wear Mickey Mouse Boots in milder spring weather when I might get wet or go through the ice. NEVER saw ANYONE using these successfully in really cold Baffin weather.

Trust me on this we had lots of southerners from southern Canada come up to the Baffin with a stubborn insistence on the quality their wonder boots or other gear. They were a lot more humble after 12 hours on the trail when they were crying from the pain of the cold.

Don
"He may have been describing conductivity."

HUH? He used two terms with generally known meanings and did not use them technically correctly. You do not conduct cold, and heat lost through the soles of your feet while standing on ice is not radiated... I fail to follow your point.

Boggy
You ought to see real cold... spit freezes in mid-air... Iron pipe wrenches held by the eye cast in the handle and dinged gently together will shatter like glass... diesel gels... And then there is the dreaded Arctic Panic!







Two inches of talleywhacker and four inches of clothes!
art

Secret weapon for real cold sitting... take a niacin tablet when your feet get cold. The veins will dilate and your skin will itch for a brief time, but you will be warm for quite a while. The worse the reaction the more you need to get some in your diet.
art

typos#$%^

Nuthin' beats the natural stuff, for sure!
Catnthehat

"Two inches of talleywhacker and 4 inches of clothes"

I hate those thighsicles.

Not enough hose to clear the clothes.

A nip of 80 proof works too...without the itching... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Guaranteed to bring you back with all your toes from -50F and 29,000'

art my friend, as much as I like you and respect your knowledge and experience, NO I do not need to see real cold. I will take your word for it and its effects on the human body. You would have to drag me kicking and screaming away from the fire and as mighty a man as even you are it would be a full time job for the immediate future.

Long ago I gave up careing about the macho side of outdoor experiences. I been cold (enough) and wet (enough) and dirty (enough) for me to know that I don't particularly enjoy those conditions and certainly not in any combination.

So, you all just go right ahead on imitating Frosty the Snowman and I will hide and watch. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

BCR