What does everyone do to keep your feet warm when it feel like its -40 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius since it equals on the thermometer. Or even when it's around freezing?

-40F is cold no doubt, hell -20F is cold!

Really 'cold' days here I wear a newish pair of heavyweight Swartwool socks along with pac boots. The newer the sock the warmer it will be. They get thinner/colder with age.

A real good hat, double layers works best. The head will always draw heat from the extremities - hands and feet first. You'll never know your head is cold because it continues to draw heat from everywhere else. In the old days men and women wore stocking hats and kerchiefs - not to keep their head warm but to keep their feet warm.

Remember the "Night Before Christmas" - And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled down for a long winters nap". It was to keep their feet warm, not their head.

Whatever happened to the old moon boots? Haven't seen any in years.

KC

if I"m thinking right on what moon boots are, they were really simple and kept the feet really warm.

The best for very cold endurance: VBs [vapor barrier]..often called "bunny boots" in the white version or "mickey mouse boots" in the black version.

Some of the Iditarod mushers are switching to felt boots inside NEOs......

Both of the above are very warm and will handle some wet conditions as in overflow.

^ what he said


or the other thing that works well sans the overflow/wet is fur mukluks

it has to be -30 or better for me to wear mine and I'd best not plan on going inside with them on to warm up.


fur really is one of the best insulators ime

Moon boots are still on the market. Color selections are big. They're too soft for serious hiking but there's no doubt that they're warm.
I don't know about the new ones, but the old ones wrapped the feet in soft foam.

Very interesting.

Always seems like the trickiest part is balancing activity level, not getting too hot and sweating versus being too cold. You really have to pace yourself when it's cold outside, just like when it's hot outside.

If you've got the $$$ you can go with a good pair of mountaineering boots like these.


http://www.rei.com/product/798038/scarpa-mont-blanc-gtx-mountaineering-boots-mens

When I was learning about winter outdoor activities, I was taught that if your feet get cold, put on a hat. That's because 75% of your blood and warmth and oxygen that goes with it, is pumped through your neck to your brain. So if you keep your head and neck warm, there's more warmth to be shared with the rest of your body.

KC

I always keep my down vest or down jacket in my pack on my way out to the stand, and put it on when I arrive. If I have a lot of layers on, besides having my jacket open, I'll reach up and pull my hat off until I get to the stand or blind - even in single digits. My head doesn't get cold because it's keeping itself warm but it keeps me from overheating.

Arid Spray deodorant antiperspirant helps too. If your feet sweat a bunch, the moisture will quickly cool them. If you're planning on. Living a bit, don't go over-insulated. Too much will cause sweat, and cold feet. I like 200 gram boots with Merino wool socks of at least 65% wool content.

Wools socks and LaCross Icemans when it's below 0* F. I have Kamiks for warmer temps and deep snow. But always wools socks.

Plenty of room and lots of fabric inside the boot. Slightly oversize pacs with felt liners and a couple of pairs of wool socks. Sorels and Whites are in my closet at the moment. The Whites can be rebuilt if the bottoms wear out.

Pull the liners and dry both the boots interior surfaces and liners each night. If one can't leave the liners and socks by a fire/stove, bring them into ones sleeping bag each evening. Also pull the liners at the end of ones trip to prevent any mold/mildew issues. Ones feet should stay dry and warm, but there is condensation on the interior surfaces of ones pacs.

I've not looked them up, but remember seeing what we called Lil Abner boots at guard stations during the Korean winters. Seems they were rubber and inflatable. I don't suspect they'd do well for hiking, but the MP's doing gate duty near always had them on. We were temporary duty and simply had to tough it out with layers of our regular Navy duds. Anyone here ever pull duty over there that could enlighten us?

I've got three pairs of boots to cover between freezing and coldr'n hell. I get cold feet faster than most so they are all rated for colder than the actual conditions. Choice of which pair depends on conditions and activity level. Pac boots for the coldest, don't know about -40 but no cold feet sitting on ice for a couple hours at -20F waiting for a fish to swim by.

I've tried getting by with fewer and supplementing with socks or booties but that's not worked out very well. Either the boots end up too tight which is uncomfortable, constricts blood flow, or compacts the insulation which kills its effectiveness; or the extra insulation is so little it doesn't help much anyway.

Pulling the liners for the night is necessary, moisture kills insulation value. If your feet get sweaty changing socks during the day can work wonders.

A good pair of DRY boots and some Hot Hands they last 10 to 12 hours.I lived in northern minnesota all 64 years of my life and these really work.They make a sock with a little pocket in the toes for holding a hotty.I have run skidders at 20 below or colder with and with out hottys ,I won't go without hottys any more.When I come from work the wife likes to put them in her slippers,just to keep her toes warm.I buy large boxes in the spring on clearance for the next winter. I keep some in my pickup and car just in case I need them.O.I.Dabble

Disposable air activated heated insoles for cold weather stand hunting.

I can't stand them to do any lengthy walking with them in my boots.......too dang hot!!

If I hunted in Missouri in stead of northern Minnesota I would ware sandals...

we have a guy in our hunt club in va. that never wears shoes. he hunts bare foot.

I installed radiant heat in the concrete slab.

Depending on your activity, you could try Steger Mukluks. http://www.mukluks.com/ This is what a lot of dog mushers wear, and Inuit have worn something very similar for thousands of years. These mukluks are made to move it, but IMHO they are not great for steep terrain. I'm on my second pair. I bought my first pair in the mid 90's running sled dog in northern MN. When the mercury drops below zero this is my go-to if I'm going to be out for any length of time.

Two things make your feet not stay warm: wetness, and restricted blood flow.

Get bigger than normal boots than in no way restrict your feet (yeah, it makes for harder walking), and wear a liner sock with a wool outer sock. Keep the socks changed and the boots dried everyday to get the wet out.

And wear hat, ear coverings, a neck gaiter, and a facemask as needed.

All this talk about Winter hats is about enough to make me go out and buy one.....grin


I bought lightweight, slick finished hoody to wear under a heavy work coat. Doesn't bind up in the sleeves when you're working and on the really cold and windy days I flip the hoody over my hat.


I'm too lazy to take the liners out everyday after work, Peet boot dryer rules!

Below zero, NOTHING works as well as the GI Vapor Barrier Boot (Bunny boot). You can step through the ice, have the boot fill up with 32F water, pour the water out of it, take a drive-on rag and dry the inside of the boot out, put it back on and keep moving without issue. Try that with a mukluk. I've walked many miles WAY below zero wearing them with no socks. I'd dry the inside of the boots with a cravat when I stopped, don dry socks (safety pinned inside my OG wool shirt) and enjoy toasty toes, in WAY below zero temps.

About all the farm kids do the hoody thing for chores. Works too.

I have gone through the ice in mukluks. If they are secured around the calf properly (kind of like a gaiter) your feet will come out the other side dry like mine. No need to wipe them out. As for my other garments, they needed to be removed, and right quick! If the issue is warmth, and you are not standing in water for any length of time, mukluks are the only way to go. I have worn pack boots and bunny boots, none of them are as warm, or as comfortable as mukluks. Don't knock the mukluk until you have tried them. (my guess is that you will never go back) This is just my preference, and everyone should try things themselves, and go with what works for you.

You can pour icewater inside the mukluk and dump the water out, don the mukluks and drive on at -20F? Also, what about snowshoe bindings? I've seen frostbite across the top of a guys instep from snowshoe bindings worn over the GI aviators mukluk.

I'm not talking about the USAF Mukluks. I'm talking about Steger Mukluks out of Ely, MN. http://www.mukluks.com/ Sorry, I can't get this to run as a link. (copy and paste)

+1. Most of the time my feet get cold, they got hot first.

we are better off without a bunch of soders

I agree. I was first introduced to mukluks while station in Iceland. Spent a lot of time outside on the tarmac wearing the USAF issued mukluks. I continued to use them when stationed in Alaska. In the winter, they were my footwear of choice if I was going to be outside. Whether it was for work or play. I will say this - it was pretty much a 'standard practice' among the guys I worked and played hard with to 1) get the mukluks a size larger than normal, and 2) replace the issued white felt booty with a pac boot liner like those used in Sorel's or LaCrosse's. The aftermarket boot liner was more comfortable, and didn't wad up. The 'oversize' mukluk allowed the pack boot liner to fit inside easier, AND gave a little more room for air circulation.

To this day, I still wear the same style mukluk. That said, the next time I'm in Ely, MN (next summer) I'm going to stop in the Steger store and get 'fitted' for either their Yukon or CamukXtreme mukluks since I'm not sure how the fit will be with the recommended liners, and both felt and contour insoles. I've seen comments elsewhere, where Steger customers were fitted at the store and ended up with mukluks basically one size up from what they would have selected themselves.

Depends if you are moving or sitting still. I wear Bogs Bozeman boots. They say they are good down to -72. Thats a load of crap. If I am moving, I wear them with a good pair of heavy wool socks with maybe a liner sock. If I am sitting still, I wear them with a heavy pair of wool socks and drop 2 hand warmers in each boot and when I get to my stand, I thrown on some boot blankets. Its the only thing that keeps me from being in extreme pain when its really cold.