Every now and then I find myself scratching my head, wondering if I’m missing a crucial detail that everyone else is keen on except me….with regards to a question like this….
Why in the world, with the very obvious demand, simple construction, and proven and long lasting track record, has no one started manufacturing bunny boots?

The US Army lost it's way with regards to Arctic Warfare but a recent exercise at Ft Greely revealed the lack of preparedness. There were more than 100 cases of frostbite on a miserable day. The folks at CRTC [cold regions test center] tell me that bunny boots are back on the buy list.

Dumbasses! I’d also be careful they NOT purchase them from China.

I was up there for, I think it was a BRIMFROST exercise in 86. There was a lot of frostbite then from the Army guys over on the Tanana Flats. When they pulled the plug we had troops in every facility on base (Eielson).

I don't have 100th of the experience that you guys do...but I gave the old , 1952?,Bunny boots the toss after finding a pair of Canadian Army mukluks with liners. But, I can see where the muks might be a disaster if you somehow got into a little water. On the other hand they let a lot of perspiration out, whereas my feet always felt clammy in the bunnys.

Fk bunny boots an fk the azzclowns who think they're legit!

I trained in those garbage boots from 2002-2009 here in Alaska. I have scars on my shins from them. No tread,you fkn slip n slide everywhere, might was well be wearing ice skates.

Be careful buying surplus. US Army Alaska Supply would weigh them, once they detected moisture permanently trapped in the insulation (inside of the rubber layers), they were off-loaded to DRMO. Those worthless gubmint workers would sell them to all these surplus companies.

An Iditarod musher back in the 2017 race lost a bunch of toes to frostbite wearing this surplus garbage.

I've got a set of never worn Bata brand in size 11 that I don't need.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of Azzclowns who believe they are legit. I am one. A lot. 1986-1993. Yes, there are alternatives, but.

So carry on. You know what they say about one man's opinion.

I froze a big toe about '69 in them. Not impressed when it actually gets cold. Worked in Pruhoe for 23 years.

Keep your feet dry... antiperspirant works.

Haha yea dang the mainer in ak is out for blood !
Joking aside I can see where there are surely negative aspects to the boots, and wouldn’t be perfect for all applications. I can’t speak to anything regarding use in the military, but could see how they’d be uncomfortable for long marches or hikes. I’ve always worn them loose with the top not even laced, to alleviate the mentioned shin chaffing.
But anyways, yes, I’m also one who sees a very unique niche that these fill, and obviously have for a while in AK. Don’t think anyone can argue that. They’re cheap, tough, and work for a wide variety of outdoor and recreational activities up here in the winter.
Possibly the biggest positive I’ve experienced in these over other boots is the aforementioned defense against water. I’ve sunk my feet in overflow, negative temps, simply wrang out my sock, dumped the water out of the boot, put back on and been totally warm for hours more of a snow machine ride.
Just this past week I sat on the ground in a village outside Bethel awaiting airplane mechanics to arrive and do their work, in -30 windchill for seven hours and again was totally fine and happy I had the boots on.
Anyways, as said, to each their own, but there seems to be a demand for them which brings me back to my original curiosity of why they haven’t been reproduced

OK will do, I'll keep opining away, with a smidgen of experience. Thanks for permission.

Intermediate cold:

Baffin Apex: Chinese garbage. Single rivet roller barrels pull out of leather. Rubber lower is 1/16th inch thick near flex point. They crack open in less than one season of snowshoeing/mushing then your feet get wet. Decent down to 25-30 below ambient. Good traction on slippery stuff.

Cabelas goretex mukluks:
Better intermediates, as the leather lower stays pliable and doesn't crack. Triple stitched, double riveted lace rollers don't pull out. Will last at least two seasons. Good to 25-30 below ambient. Goretex good in overflow. Being mukluk style, harder on ankles in first week. Will be sore for days,if week ankles, may need braces.

Extreme cold:
Northern Outfitters. Insane foot bed height. Extreme insulation. Good for sedentary stuff in 50 below zero or colder: standing on dog sled runners, snowmachine or ice fishing for sheefish. Hard as fk to walk in. No longer made, so rubber lower are wearing out. Dry quick after overflow. Extreme cold parkas like apocalypse, northern outfitters or poshouse designed to carry second set of inner insulation + spare socks for emergencies.

Good alternative:
What many smart mushers do nowadays:
Pull the guts from northern outfitter shells, put into neos overshoes.. easier to walk in, just as quick to dry after over flow.

The End!

They show-up at gunshows now & then. They rot/decompose after years. I went through four pair in 54 years. I now use BAFFIN "Extreme" boots. They are better for cold and traction.

What do you want for them?

I am a huge fan of mickey mouse boots, and to a lesser extent bunny boots. That said, I am rarely out and about in much colder than - 30. And mostly not hiking more than 2-3 miles at a time. I wear a Costco smartwool knock off sock under carhartt's heaviest calf length boot sock so the rubber never has a chance to touch my skin. Failing that will remove hide and hair.

Just did 2 miles in MM boots today at lunch and then moved snow for another couple hours this afternoon. Some of the most comfortable footwear I own as long as it isn't too hot out.

Which one of those boots would be your best pick if you knew you were going to be at high risk of putting it underwater in subzero temperatures?

What are these Canadian Mukluks of which you speak? And where do I get a pair?

the slip and slide thing is why we resole them with vibram. Works a lot better. Suppose got lucky and don't have the wet ones at least. They work well.
And I know the trail breaker crew guys on the Iditarod wear or wore them. ITs how I found I can have em resoled as I work for the lead guy there.

Good info. Hope I can recall to store the info one day if we ever end up around in lower than -30 temps. Thanks.

so the white rubber military air valve boots no one uses them anymore ? i still do they work very will when its 20 some below zero but these boots can be clumsy to walk in.

I found mine at a surplus store in Seattle, paid through the nose, but they worked with my sweaty feet. I just googled, '[email protected]' came up. 93 bucks a pair...AND, they sell spare bootie liners. I used mine riding snow machine to repair generators at remote mountaintop radio repeater sites. Not as cold as AK or Maine.

Bunny boots vs Mukluts? Owned and worn both when stationed at Eielson back in the 1970's. The only way I would ever put on a pair of bunny boots again is if I was forced to.
Bunny boots are clumsy, heavy, awkward, and clammy. I never understood the attraction to them.

I like bunny boots. For some reason they fit my feet. I can walk for miles in them without a problem. Also, my feet don't swest much. It is essential to put felt insoles in the bottom and a vapor barrier on between your foot and the insole. I use a piece of cork gasket material reinforced with duct tape. When out and about I always have a spare pair of socks and insoles, which have come in handy a few times. I have both the black and white pairs. BATA is the preferred brand. Buy only new old stock. Mainer is spot on about water in the insulation of the boots. If there is any doubt about moisture in the boots put them in the freezer. When you take them out flex them and listen for crunching as the ice breaks.

Driving smaller vehicles with my big feet in Bunny Boots doesn't work.....not enough pedal room.

Bunny boots were the only boots that would keep my feet warm when I worked in the artic.

I pretty much lived in them for 18 months. I only had cold feet once. I was standing outside watching a building that had a nuclear warhead in it. Not walking, standing and watching. I did that for most of 10 hours. As I recall the high for the day was like -17. Someone else said it, they have no tread. They really sucked walking up and down hills in the snow. Add some tread and make them a bit taller and they would of been perfect for extreme cold weather.

kwg

Trappers and pilots in the cold interior of Alaska still love them, for good reason. So long as their felt interior has not been compromised by water by someone not shutting the pressure valve, they remain warm even with damp feet.
Having worn them for over 40 years, and travelled many miles on snowshoes in temperatures 30-40 below and camped on spruce beds by camp fires, I have found nothing as durable and warm as white Bata bunny boots

You can walk a lot farther in clumsy warm boots than you will in comfortable frozen boots. The end. Edk

https://www.amazon.com/Wellco-Force-Extreme-Weather-Mukluks/dp/B00IAVJDJU man just get a pair of these use two felt pads in the bottoms and a pair of sorrel boot liners nice and light just don`t get them wet I have used them for years in super cold weather and dry snow. For bunnies I use to have a pair of the black ones with no air valve and put the wool pads in bottoms if you go in through the ice which I did one time up to my waist just pull them off and dry them out and make sure your bud makes a fire quick so you can get warm and get dry clothes on .

I don’t understand why some people just have to look for an argument for the sake of arguing.

It seems that most of the utility linemen up in the interior wear white bunny boots. I read meters back in the '70's wearing them. I took them to the tire shop and had them studded and that helped with the sliding around a lot. Very true about if you get water in the inner liner they are throw aways. Lately I have a pair of Baffins for riding snowmachines.

Very educational thread and wish I saw this before I bought a pair at a rural army surplus store.
So far they have worked for deer hunting and ice fishing.

A couple questions to the experienced users:
1. How/where do you identify they are BATA brand?
2. If I test mine for moisture and find some, is it a matter of heating them for a long time and making sure I close the air valve?
3. Do you add the white wool liners to yours? (you can buy them on amazon)
4 What are people using for a vapor barrier in them and how/where do you apply?
5. I was told the white ones are better than the black. what's the difference?

I bought mine in size 10 and they are comfortable with a insole and 1 or 2 wool socks. No room for a wool liner that I tried from Amazon and maybe I should have got size 11 for that. My feet sweat so I don't even were nylon liner socks anymore in any boot and it keeps my feet less "clammy". I've heard you only need socks and insoles at most in bunny boots and they are not meant to use liners.

Thanks in advance for the insight. My brother is looking for some and it may save him from making a mistake. I may get the next size bigger if I made a mistake.

HD

5. Black = -20, white = -65 (let the debate begin)

I just wear good socks, no additional liners.

If they become wet between internal layers due to a puncture there's no drying them out, they're junk. (So I've been told)

These boots work like a 'wet suit' for your feet. They preform when wet.

For me this thread is rather skewed, there is no debate of there being warmer more comfortable boots, it's not the point of the design. Of course there are warmer more comfortable boots, duh.

But I'm not aware of another boot that preforms when wet.

Having extra dry liners for the best pak boot going isn't going to take you no where in -30 to -50 temps if you fill it with water, the boot freezes to your foot in minutes and you're unable to remove it.

Been there and done this, 10 minutes away from my piping warm cabin with the wood stove roaring.
Took a good 20 painful minutes to thaw the boot before I was able to remove it.

Put a foot under while ice fishing with the black military style boots on at about -40.
Couldn't easily remove it either due to frozen laces.
My foot was cold due to the small amount of water in rush, sock was soaked.
I propped up my boot/foot to allow water to drain, maybe got a shot glass full out mostly due to the soaked sock.

With in just a few minutes my foot was warming due to my body heat tempering the soaked sock. Even though I had dry socks with me I never put them on, within 10 minuets I was back to fishing, my foot was fine, wet but warm.

Too bad 100 below comfy pak boots don't work like a dry suit the way these military style boots work like a wet suit, they both allow water to fill the boot if submerged.

For the obvious reasons stated above, I wouldn't add anything but a good sock to the military style boots and I wouldn't buy oversized ones. The thinner the layer of water inside, the quicker it'll warm from your body temperature.

This is like debating over a hat that's warmer than a motorcycle helmet for winter riding, there's warmer, more comfortable hats.

But only one will save your skull if put to the test.

There's one boot that will save your feet if filled with water.

I have a pair of black ones. My feet are never cold!!

Black one are not "bunny boots" they are Mickey Mouse boots and are not as warm as the White ones which are "Bunny Boots"

Zactly!

Thanks.
I've heard the wet issue is why beaver trappers like these if they dunk... change socks and go.

Dang.. frozen laces.. scissor on your multi tool and spare laces may be a good idea

My thoughts are they were fine for guard duty but a hinderance involving travel of any sort. Osan Korea was the only duty station where I saw them issued. Being there for only a couple of months on temporary Navy duty, we were not issued any, and in ignorance labeled them Lil Abner boots. Traveling to Korea from Guam in mid-winter, us Navy boys just wore everything we owned.

Slightly oversized packs with a couple pairs of wool socks and inch thick liners have been my route for extended elk outings. No suffering on hikes or stands.

Lil Abner Boots Link

https://www.bullmoosepatrol.com/bmp/2014/11/14/bunny-boots-my-go-to-winter-footwear

https://www.herooutdoors.com/canadian-armed-forces-arctic-mukluks/

I've used these alot in Alberta.
Late season deer hunting.
You tighten the laces as much as possible for walking.
Not the best for walking but doable.
Once on stand pop the laces ..loosen them and there like blankets on you feet.
These things have kept me out in nutty cold temps

Dave

The Arctic Wolves are still using them in Ft. Wainwright, Alaska ...

maybe not the best for walking hundred miles but worth every money you put when it is starting to be cold and risk of overflow ... never heard of frosbites with them unless the felt has been compromised ...

I've got a pair of new size 11 Batas if anyone is interested.......$150.

I have a short toe from freezing in a bunny boot...