How do you keep your feet warm when sitting in a stand. It is a regular topic of discussion at deer camp. We have tried everything with the only found is the military mickey mouse boots. These are big/ heavy/ clumsy) It seems like your feet sweat when walking to the stand which causes moisture/ sweaty which make you feet cold. My buddy and I both bought Baffin's most extreme cold boot with the best wool socks available but yet they were cold in the stand. With todays technology there must be a pair of boots out there to keep your feet warm. This years hunt had temps around 10 to 20f temps. Not really that cold

https://www.baffin.com/collections/winter/products/40001305

The warmest boots I have are these Wiggy's that I use snowmobiling when it is below zero. They are overkill for deer hunting, but your feet stay warm: Wiggy Boots

These Welco boots with the wool liners (optional purchase) and wool socks will keep your feet warm. I wear them for most winter activities: N1-B boots

If Baffin didn't keep your feet warm nothing much will. I wear Sorel Glacier XT and use these.

https://www.amazon.com/Grabber-Foot...&hvtargid=pla-420357405114&psc=1

I'm a die hard ice fisherman and this combo works for me both for late season stand hunting, and ice fishing. YMMV

You have to keep your azz and legs warm. you cant send cold blood to your feet and expect them to be warm. get good underwear and socks, it will make a world of difference.. you are welcome..

Lacrosse Ice King

LaCrosse Iceman boots, polypropylene sock liners and Merino wool socks. Extra felt liners as needed.

Have the MM boots, but don't want go far in them for sure. A few years ago I bought some US-made 800-gram Danners off Amazon, about $240. They're repairable and half or less the weight of the MMs.. Haven't had cold feet since. I expect they'll last as long as I do. Very comfortable and good traction.

Avoid chainsoles at all costs. They're skis on slopes.

I use kenetrek grizzlies with the wool liner , at minimum a size larger , with good socks . The loose fit is key .

I think the best I have is La Crosse Ice Kings and La Crosse Iceman a close second. I would buy something warmer if I could. I bought Muck Icepro rubber boots rated to -60F. Ya right. I get about 2 hrs of warm feet @ 30 degrees on the stand. My next purchase is going to be The Cabelas Alaskan to the Saskatchewan from Cabelas and will be taking back the Muck Icepro rubber boots. I wonder if there is anything that will keep my feet warm all day.

jmdo25,



Same here.

Almost afraid to admit this.
Wear tennis shoes walking out to stand, with polyproplene inner socks, wool outer socks. Once at stand, take tennis shoes off, put on down slippers with a couple handwarmers inside. Put quilted fabric outer boots over it and you are good to go to about 0 for 6 to 10 hours.
Cheap and effective
If feet get cold add handwarmers.
Shoot deer. Take slippers off, put tennis shoes on and walk to deer.

Doesnt work well in snow or if you have to walk far.

Every other boot I had my feet would get clammy and cold.

This is for an outdoor ground blind.

This year may try to put something on the ground to put feet on. feet would get cold.

I have a heater in the stand. I wear rubber boots, take turns warming feet if they get cold. I have glass windows. The hell with being cold.

I have to admit that I have this fantasy of having a stand near a thermal spring, where I can hunt with my feet in bubbling warm water, but as yet I havent found the spot.

I bought a pair of these a couple of years ago. Really didn't start wearing them until this year. These with mid weight smartwool socks and a couple of toe warmers keep my feet and lower legs warm all morning down to the low teens sitting in a blind.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...r+Remarketing&utm_content=CriteoLFNP

I keep the porch set at 70* and crack open the door when I need to take the shot. But I wait for the commercials before I get up out of my recliner. I do feel the breeze sometimes through my cotton socks.

Chemical Toe Warmers and full chemical warming in soles by Grabber

Never hunt north of I-10 .

Keep your core , head and legs warm , then warm sox and insulated boots will keep you cozy . Never over dress for the hike to the stand and sweat into your layers of insulation .

I guess you mean an open stand like a climber or hang on stand . If i hunted out of a blind i'd figure out a way to insulate it and keep my feet off the ground .

[Linked Image]

Back about 2006, I was up in a stand in the low 20's and when it came time to come down, I couldn't feel my feet. I'd managed to tie my laces too tight. It took me over a half-hour to extricate myself from the mess, because I was too bundled up to reach my laces.

After that, I found Boot Blankets on sale and bought a pair. Boy! Did they do the trick. They just fit over you regular boots and zip up the back.

Keep an eye out. Usually someone drops the price on them in January and they're at a reasonable price.

Trying these for the first time this morning. Not real cold, truck says its 34sh as I sit here waiting to go to the stand.

Always thought it was sweat that was maki g my feet cold but I am starting to wonder. Been noticing they get cold even if they aren't sweating.

Need a pair of those zip up covers too see if just keeping the cold air from directly contacting my boots helps.

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
.

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.

[

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.

Kenetrek Grizzly's for me as well. I usually wear a pair of medium weight wool sock along with a sock liner. I'm just not a fan of heavy wool socks. Tested them again this year on a SD deer hunt. On the 3rd day of the hunt it was 8 degrees with 25 mph winds and 4 inches of snow. While I can't say me feet were warm and toasty, they never got too cold.

I use Hot Mocs, similar to boot blankets, but much smaller. Easy to throw in a pack, they slip over your boot and have a pocket on the inside top for a handwarmer, around $10 on Amazon. Your feet will never get cold with them or boot blankets.

The secret to warm feet is to keep your bodies core warm (internal organs and brain). If your core temperature drops your body naturally starts to reduce blood flow to the extremities in order to keep the core warmer. Once that happens no amount of insulation on your feet is going to help. If your core is warm then your body sends more blood to the extremities in order to cool down the core. If your feet are getting cold you need a warmer hat and coat.

Another tip is to increase your bodies metabolism while on stand. Eating high energy snacks while sitting still and doing isometric exercises which require no movement will really ramp up metabolism and blood flow. I admit, I don't see sub zero temps often, but I hunt quite often with temps in the teens and single digits are not uncommon. I haven't owned a pair of insulated boots in at least 20 years. One or 2 pairs of good quality wool socks in my boots have always been enough,

Much truth here.

I don't have cold feet problems. I do wear insulated boots though. However, if my ears get cold I am done for.

Honestly I think most people over insulate themselves in the boot Dept. Ive found that a pair of poly liner socks, heavy wool socks and a pair of boots that have between 200-400 grms of insulation in them and my feet stay warm. If I'm still hunting I wear uninsulated boots

Looks like this may be the fix I am looking for..

https://sectionhiker.com/vapor-barrier-socks/

Having hunted MN for the last 50 plus years. Keeping your feet warm can be an issue, Pac Boots work at the price of extra weight and bulk, if you are putting any miles on it matters. Pac boots are the best ice fishing boots on the planet.
Get the coldest rated sleeping bag you can find Mummy style best. Sit down and pull it up over your knees cut there. Sew in a seem and draw string get to your stand step in pull the draw string works perfect. Weighs nothing.

I use a discontinued product called Feeter Heaters. It is an insulated toe pouch with a pocket over the toe area for a small chemical heater. The heel is open but it has an elastic strap that slips over the heel to keep them on. You can wear regular boots while moving (instead of bulky pack boots) and then slip on the toe pouch when sitting. The pouches are way less bulky than the usual over boot. You could buy the Hot Mocs, cut off the heel portion and sew on elastic straps to reduce bulk. If the toe is warm the rest of the foot is not a problem.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXCTEC0

heat my feet socks

Get a pad of closed cell foam to put your feet on. Blocks the adsorption of cold from the ground or ice.
First thing I do in a duck blind is build a mat of cattails for my feet. Adds several hours of comfort.

Guys, I currently use the Icebreaker Boot Blankets. They work fine but are bulky and a pain to deal with. Has anyone had good luck with any of the battery heated insoles? I have been reading reviews and cannot find any consistency in them. Sounds like a great idea if they work and keep working. Thoughts?

Ha ha.
Did exactly that while late season duck hunting along the Portneuf River about 12 miles north of Lava Hot Springs in Idaho around 42 years ago.
Had a few decoys out in the river and sat next to the bank with waders on and could dangle your feet in a wonderful little hot spring pool.
Shot some nice feathered out mallards too.

I have spent the evening doing research on cold feet. I just hate cold feet in a stand.

Sweat causes cold feet = I walk to my stand and my feet sweat = I go up into my stand and the moisture from the sweat freezes when I sit still= thus my feet are cold.

Step 1- https://www.mycarpe.com/carpe-foot

Step 2- https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/83567?feat=502854-plalander&csp=f

Step 3- https://sectionhiker.com/vapor-barrier-socks/

Step 4- https://reactual.com/clothing/warmest-sock.html

Step 5- https://www.baffin.com/collections/winter/products/40001305

If this does not work I am staying home smile

For years I used thin polypropylene sock liners under thick winter (mostly acyrlic) socks.

This year I wore merino wool TOE SOCKS (yes) as liners under thick, high dollar merino wool socks. My feet were warmer, even when I was wearing 400 gram boots (as opposed to my usual 1200gr)

I admit it, I love toe socks. They're goofy looking, may have people questioning your masculinity/sexuality , relatiely expensive and a giant pain in the butt to put on. But if they weren't, I wouldn't wear anything else. As it is I usually only wear them hunting, hiking or working multi day shooting matches. My feet stay dry and blister free. Now I've started wearing wool ones as liners and my feet were warm, dry and blister free. Very happy with the results this hunting season. I just need to allow for a couple more minutes in the morning to put them on. lol


I tried toe warmers a couple days last week. At first I was disappointed they weren't what I was hoping for. But they were putting out heat, so they were helping.

A few posters have passed over sweaty feet a few times... but that is the number one killer. Why step beyond the cause to deal with sweat when you can stop the sweat before it starts?

In the lead up to cold weather I start applying antiperspirant to my feet at least once a day. I have used a bunch of different ones in an attempt to figure out which works better and never really found a real answer. But I do know that after about a week of regular applications my feet do not sweat and if I skip a few days they still do not sweat.

Light poly liner socks and DarnTough over top seem to be as good as I have found.

The other way I address cold extremities, which I virtually never get, is with niacin. A couple doses (2 grams total) and the next thing you know you are warm all over. I have them on hand with kids in the winter and it brings them right around.

Yes, some Arrid Extra Dry spray-on anti-perspirant to the feet each day before hunting makes your feet feel a lot warmer. That combined with a wicking synthetic sock liner and a wool oversock keeps my feet warm in most any below-zero weather.

And, I have, in general, cold feet and fingers.

Get the diabeetus, after a few years, you won’t feel the cold no more.

Have been using polypropylene sock liners since around 1990, give or take a couple years. Apparently didn't realize this was brand-new technology.

I’ve considered setting them on fire several times.

Change socks and liners when you get to your stand. Use boot blankets and a piece of foam under your feet. Key is keeping your feet dry and core temp up. I use hand warmers in my gloves and one in each shirt pocket.

Did a number of Alberta deer hunts.
The best I found.
https://www.herooutdoors.com/canadian-military-issue-arctic-mukluks-used/
Canadian Armed Forces Arctic Mukluks
Not that good for walking.
You tighten them up as much as you can for the walk in.Then pop the laces for your sit.
Everyones threshold for how much they can take is different.
We found that these would keep you on stand.
Kinda important when the hunt is expensive and you have limited time.
A light weight sleeping bag up to your arm pits.
Better yet.

dave

Find some bunny boots.

I've been the first guy to get cold feet since I was a kid. As was said above keep the rest of you warm, if core temp drops the blood flow to feet and fingers cuts off first to compensate.

Extra socks, special socks never worked for me. All they did with proper fitting boots was cramp my foot and diminish circulation. Only thing that worked was wearing boots one level of insulation greater than everyone else. Now I have several levels to choose from starting with 200 gram boots for upland to pacs that I use for ice fishing.

What I wear is always a balancing act. Morning sitting gets more insulation. But if I have to walk in a ways I'll pick a pair that I know will keep my feet warm til the planned break if no longer. Then as strategy changes I'll go to a lighter pair of boots. And keep a change of socks handy in case you misestimate and your feet sweat.

A bit of a juggling act and a PITA in general but that's the only thing that works for me.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong but chemical heaters in boots do nothing. They require air (oxygen) to work and rammed in a boot they don't get enough to make a difference.

(Have some bunny boots inherited from my mailman uncle, they were a favorite in the day among mailmen walking routes. They are horrendous compared to boots of modern construction.)

Have some other ideas like insulation under your feet while sitting, and a down vest or chemical heaters covering the kidney area. That's where I feel cold creeping in. But in eastern SD strategy changes as the day wears on and we're never more than a half-mile from a road. So the basic strategy works well.

You can go a lot farther in warm bunny boots than you can with two frozen lumps at the end of your feet. Break thru a layer of ice and fill your boot with water and get back to me on how good your pak boots are. Ed k

The great thing about bunny boots is they keep your feet warm even when wet. No boot with a exposed liner will do that. They are litteraly the only thing that will keep my feet warm when stand hunting in cold temps.

My feet are chronically cold when stand sitting, lack of circulation is the issue when sitting for long periods. I recommend boot blankets but carry to stand and remove hunting boots and wear boot blankets over socks with foot warmer added. Loose fit and air is the key. Also, standing up at least once an hour helps.

Loose fit is crucial, as is some kind of insulation not to place them directly on te frozen ground, and either a down or fur hat and neck gaitor.

Russian foot-wraps, under wool socks, and set your boots on some sort of insulator, even if it's just a pile of stick. However, that can be noisy if you move at all. Best to take a small foam pad for the job, and another one under your butt.

Another solution is not to sit still. Moving slowly helps considerably. But apparently that is less and less possible in today's hunting, due to too many humans cluttering up the landscape.

Age may have something to do with all this as well. We, well, some, simply don't get around in the field like we used to. Makes a difference. Guess that's why I like upland bird chasing now. Warmer, easier. Except for Chukar. Bastids!

Upland birds are easier to pack out, too!

In spades John! LOL!

What I enjoy most is sitting at ground level for as long as I can stay warm, then moving slowly uphill for a short period of time to a new vantage point, then doing it all again, in a cycle. Stay warmer and get to see some countryside, without really spooking deer all over.

Exactly--which was the method described in the classic book THE STILL HUNTER, by Theodore S. Van Dyke, published in the late 1800's. Today "still hunting" is often considered the same as sitting on a stand, especially in the South, where moving is often call "stalking," but Van Dyke described how to both move--and WAIT--very slowly, often while "stalking" cover where deer prefer to bed and feed. And he did not just hunt deer in the classic northeastern whitetail habitat, but across the country to California. Essentially it's a method of moving very slowly between "natural" stands.

But as I mentioned earlier, it's impossible to do this in much of the U.S. anymore, especially east of the Mississippi.

In the piney woods, it would be a good way to get shot. “ I thought it was a big pig”

Which is one reason why I suggested there are too many people for the method to work anymore--at least in MUCH of the U.S.

Sorry you live someplace where classic still-hunting is unsafe--and apparently many hunters shoot at something they can't positively identify.

Here in Montana it's one of the safer methods of hunting, even on public land, because of fewer people, which matters not only in numbers of hunters in the woods, but because even here relatively few get off their ass and actually hike around.

For the past couple years I've hunted a couple pieces of public land of around 2 square miles. Have only encountered one other set of boot-
prints, because most "hunters" never leave the adjoining roads. Which is part of why that's where I get my deer.
-

Post-opening weekend probably makes a lot of places have a lot more room for the solitary hunter as well, in my experience.

Fun in upstate NY (near Syracuse). My Italian buddy knew the Italians who hunted higher up the mountain and felt safe still hunting. But after hearing slugs (shotgun only) bounce around the treetops I stuck to watching trails with my back against the biggest tree handy. Incidentally I got a dandy case of frostbite doing that.

Good information

I have always suffered with cold feet. Here is what I have found works for me.

1. Keep the rest of your body warm. Especially lower body. Keeping the major muscle groups in your lower body helps tremendously.
I do this by making sure I have ample insulation with warm baselayer, midlayer and carry in heavy outer layer.

2. Mickey mouse boots are not for moving and too big/heavy to carry.
3. 1000gm boots are too warm for walking then sitting, feet sweat too much.
4. I bought a new pair of 400gm boots for hunting this year. Spent 8 days hiking in a ways and sitting. Liner socks with varying weights of wools socks worked very well. Temps ranged from ten to fifty degrees. After this I gave my 1000gm boots away to my son who can really use them.

5. I like handwarmers, depending on conditions chest pocket helps keep core warm, kangaroo pocket for hand/core warming. What I discovered this year is a handwarmer in each cargo pocket really helps keep lower body warm when sitting. So much so, that a few times I did not have to pull on my heavier outer layer.

6. When in a blind I have found something as simple as a small blanket over the lower body/feet really helps. I have used cheap fleece all the way to heavier wool blankets.

7. Another good thing to have is hot drinks, warms one up from the inside.

Ponderings for next year would be overboots, or something as simple as carrying a sleeping bag in to the blinds. I have used catalytic heaters in my pop blinds all the way done to -10, but am not completely sold on them. I think they would work better in a box type blind, which I will have in one spot next year.

I have spent lots of time in pop up blinds bowhunting the last 15 years or so and have tried everything, above is what has worked for me.

There is a lot of good advice here. I took notes. I was in the LL Bean store in Paramus, NJ today and happened to look at the boots on display.

A saleswoman came over to me and started to tell me about their pac boot - leather upper, rubber bottom, wool felt liner. I have used this type of boot in the past (Sorels) and am familiar with them. I have worn them hunting and when operating excavating equipment in winter. My feet would sweat, and they got cold when my socks and the boot liners got wet with sweat.

The saleswoman told me that they are almost too warm for "around here". I mentioned that they were warm until your sweat wicked into the liner. She countered with "you need to wear wool socks, they wick the moisture". I said no, when the boot liner is wet with sweat you are cold. She didn't like that, so I walked away.

I wonder what her cold weather outdoor experience might be.

take my flip flops off and put shoes on

When it's really cold,I wear a pair of Sorel boot pacs with rubber bottoms, leather uppers and felt liners. A good pair of wool socks rounds out the foot warming requirements. I've worn this same combination for the past 20+ years, including ice fishing trips and my feet have never been cold. One of the lakes I ice fish gets down to -25 degrees sometimes in January and February. My feet stay warm.

Start walking for a bit.

Sorel pac boots were standard ice-fishing footwear when I was a kid.

Chemical toe warmers & Arctic Shield boot covers.

I have a pair of Arctic Shield boot covers, but didn’t try them with chemical toe warmers. Maybe that’s the trick. Alone, they didn’t seem to make any difference.

A couple of buddies at deer camp have tried Thermacell rechargable electric heated insole with remote this year and really liked them. Thinking of givin'em a try next season.

I've had several pairs - they work for long sits in the cold, and light duty walking in. IME, the insoles are good for about two seasons before they lose enough charge to need replaced.

IMHO - spend the money and get the variable heat output, they keep my feet warm without as much overheating aka sweating in your boots.

Merino wool socks.

Finally ---- Just stay home in front of the fireplace, throw on a big chunk of oak, get some hot chocolate, some snacks, warm blanket, and wool lined slippers! Turn on the TV and watch outdoor channel hunting adventures. Nap is optional!

CJ

About the worst thing for an active hunter. They just dont wick away moisture fast enough. Feet get clammy and cold quick.
They are fine for stand hunting though .
Same story for merino underwear.
Some may disagree with the above, but that's what I have found to be true over the years.

And so BWalker, what socks do you recommend instead of merino wool for active hunting? I use poly liners under wool now.

Regardless of temps, moving around warms me more than my cold weather boots and clothing. I think I would quit hunting if I had to sit still for more than a couple of hours. Further, I can't imagine the disappointment of walking to my hunting spot before daylight and finding that I'm hunting in an orange grove after sunrise.

Easiest way to avoid cold feet is to shoot your critter early, spill the guts and head back to camp. But planning for the days when that don't happen is the trick. Just using simple stuff I'm better at keeping my piggies at least bearable than several years back. One thing I've learned if you're stand hunting is to walk in cold. Keep the coat or coveralls in the backpack till you get there. Then give a little time for the walking heat to wear off before dressing for the cold

Far as actual footwear I just use pacs with removable liners, thin poly base socks and a pair of wool/poly heavy socks. Above all don't over-sock and tighten everything up inside the boots. Follow with Toasty Toes chemical warmers designed for low oxygen environments. One or two of these same warmers can be added to the inside of your hat for a big difference add on. The kind I'm talking about have an adhesive side. Heat your head, warm your feet.

Body warmers that look like oversized hand warmers with adhesive back also help out. I like one stuck to the abdomen of my base layer long johns and if really cold one on my back. It ain't about just hearing the feet, it's beating the body so blood flow to the extremities isn't compromised.

A nap is not optional!

You guys have it all wrong. I hunt from a blind every year in temps as low as -20f...and ive seen colder.

The trick is a heater! I get the inside of my blind to about 60f and am comfortable in standard leather work boots, blue jeans and a flannel shirt.

My problem is i get sick every year at camp...i think its the poor eating, lack of sleep and binge drinking. Stress of dealing with family is also a problem for me to be honest

Quack, it takes 3 days of a relaxed setting just to chill out so you can enjoy the time left ahead. Sleep time, eating, and drinking are up to you. I say this having walked the walk. 1) Let the family get over it. If you're a man responsible to your family then none should question your desire for personal time with friends. 2) EAT. And carry quality food and drink with you for the day's needs. 3) Embibe in a healthy manner. Drinking adult beverages with friends is part of the loosening up that leads to reduced stress. And it's a known fact Scotch is good for the Soul. When you reach your limit admit it and go to bed. You're a man. Men can control the amount of liquor consumed AND, as part & parcel, the resulting dream time. All this is up to you.

Saw a sign once that said "Advice.......Free". "Good advise...... $20!" Hope this is at least somewhere in between. God bless and have fun.

And how. The first two, sometimes three days are the worst. One because I don't dare move around much, stalk/still hunt. And two, my body's just not used to the cold. (Generally 15 - 30 degrees colder where I hunt than at home). After a few days go by and I acclimate, I wear less clothes and lighter boots.

I just got a Gerry walk around sleeping bag for hanging out on the porch when it is cold. Looks like one of those as seen on TV lounger robes. I think this will be just the ticket for a box blind or pop up when it is cold. This and down booties over light clothes and I was comfortable in the upper 20's. It goes over your feet or can be rolled up. Size is about like a medium to light weight sleeping bag in it's stuff sack, I will strap it to the bottom of my pack.

I never could find the Bunny Boots, but I suspect that those wouldn't be much more fun to walk in than Sorel boots are. For just a boot, my Caribou Sorel's are as good as I've ever needed with a dry liner and one pair of Smartwool socks, but not for wet or walking. For that I went with Muck Arctic Pro boots and like what was written earlier, I got them one size too small that felt great in the store, but they went back the next day for one size larger after a one afternoon late season bow hunt. A thin felt pad in the bottom of the boot helps a lot too. The boots must be dried every night though and have a new dry liner the next day. For walking a long ways I like my unlined Danners and Boot Blankets out of my pack when I get to my stand. A chemical hand warmer in each of those has been a welcome addition on a long post. Not mentioned so far is getting yourself in better shape before the hunting season for better blood flow into your extremities. That sure helps with the hands too. The Niacin supplement was a novel idea.

Just flew to Detroit, drove to extreme NW Iowa, and hunted for several days for pressured pheasant. The nicest day was 2 degrees and 10mph wind. Hard to call that warmer! Roosters flushing at 200+ yards and lots of runners.

It was tough, but the birds were plentiful and we shot enough to feel good about the whole deal. No problem keeping warm, even on the really cold days.

I think I will give this a shot

She now has experienced a cold shoulder...

My brother in law and I used to hunt up near Gardiner the last days of season after Thanksgiving, It was usally very cold and lots of snow where we went. All I ever saw him wear for the 50+ years I hunted with him was his leather cowboy boots and a pair of buckle up hi-top rubber overshoes. He never once complained and no matter how I tried to educate him, he continued to wear the same combo.
Also, my son , an avid ice fisherman, fishes and spends several days and nights on Fort Peck and what he wears and his buddies wear also are the Rubber Muck Boots.
I think he gets them from Scheels or Big R. The good ones aren't cheap either.
Me, I get back in the pick up if my feet get cold.

I have no doubt this is true for you, but if so you need to work on the base problem of very sweaty feet. Lots of antiperspirant starting well before the season will reduce the amount you sweat and it will make a huge difference.

I plan to give it a try next year.

Probably could have found a better route.

This is interesting. I am hunting some big public land now and the baffins won't work because of the long hike in. Seems as though you would need a wide boot with this system to keep circulation going good in a hiking boot. I was just looking at the Danner powderhorns today as my lowa GTX's have left me cold the last month or so. I have anywhere from a mile to 3 walk in with a pack and climbing stand and then climb a tree to bow hunt an all day sit.

NEOS insulated overboots with uninsulated leather boots inside will take me from summer down to pretty cold. Used them in AK back in February and was quite impressed with them.

Those look pretty nice!

Worked a lot better than I expected and for what I do fit my uses at a better price point than more expensive pac boots. During our gun season in November, I hunted in tennis shoes under these things. Feet never got cold, though we only saw lows in the 20s. That said, a boot/shoe that fills the over boot more makes them a bit easier to walk in. The tennis shoes alone weren't bad, just not quite as good as my hikers that are a tighter fit.

I have a pair of Sorel Glacier boots. Kind of clumsy and heavy but warm. Dont walk fast or you will sweat.
I bought a pair or Mickey Mouse boots at a garage sale. It hasn't really been very cold since I bought them. Lol
whelennut

Truthfully, I don't keep my feet warm on stand. They always get cold. I think my boots were too tight. I've been wearing better socks, looser boots and stand up for some time to get the circulation going.

If I'm walking around at all, I don't need much insulation.

Try some deodorant/antiperspirant on your feet. They may be sweating and then getting cold.

On those cold 50* texas mornings?

With a few years behind me in deer stands in northern MN and northern WI, I think most people with cold feet are wearing too much boot and sock. Dump the cotton for sure, if you wear 2 layers of socks, wear light ones. Pack boots suck for walking at all and will get my feet sweated up in a hurry. Once that happens, there is no keeping them warm! I have also brought a change of socks with me. A change of socks at noon makes you feel like a new man!!

Y'all read this twice.

The best advice I can give is don't wear your heavy socks and boots in the vehicle on the drive to the hunting area. Your feet will sweat and be cold all day. I wear a smart wool sock they are a light sock and 400 gram boots. My hunting is mostly walking and some sitting. When I played hockey in unheated rinks my feet stayed warmer in my skates with no socks on.

HA!! I also played with no socks.

Minnesota big whitetail bucks with a few years of age get very smart so noise ,scent and even movement will send that old buck running, but in the cold weather after the rutt these old big bucks move better in the day-light hrs. to farm fields with some type of food. the best way in the cold /snow December days for bowhunting is stand hunting mostly from a tree but sometimes a warm ground blind can work too with the right wind. so warm boots are always needed i have now went to using winter one size too big Muck boots with those trow- away toe warmers ,they last about 5-6 hours . once i get to the stand i remove one muck boot at a time put clean dry light sock on,then another wool sock,then the stick-on toe warmer with my muck boot. i am good for 5-6 hrs. but i also put a big facemask type wool stocking hat on then my jacket hood over that.for my hands i use hand warmers on them too with light gloves inside a a big mitt. > i may hate hunting in the cold in some ways but i have shot some dandy old bucks in the cold-snow late December archery season on certain days and sometimes i never see anything too its a hit or mis,but the one thing i never see is humans anymore in the woods,unless my 30 year son goes too. cold frigid weather can be dangerous so always use caution and i do bring a shut off phone with,so be careful and let someone know where your kinda at too. Pete53

For all-day stand sits in really cold weather (below zero), I don't wear any boots.

The bulk of the below probably doesn't apply to the backcountry but I don't believe that was the intent by the OP.

I wear a light hiker (or non-insulated rubber boot) to/front stand and take them off @ stand/blind.
Remove socks I wore on the trek, then put on a light merino, followed by heavy merino sock, then slip feet into either original boot blankets or Western Mountaineering Down booties (the WM booties pack much easier). A handwarmer can get tossed in for additional comfort.

It's not without tradeoff though - if I need to bail in a hurry (say, a follow-up, trailing-type thing), I'm SOL. *grins*

If it's not cold enough to warrant the above shenanigans, the key is having dry feet when you reach your destination.
I won't get into boot choices because everyone has their favorites and I don't put as much stock in the boot itself as I do moisture management - a lot of insulated boots will work the key is having enough room so blood flow isn't restricted - and sometimes that means a larger size to accommodate an additional sock.

The Injinji liner socks are a bit goofy looking but holy hellz do they move moisture to the outside sock. If it's a long walk, I just change the layer next to the Injinji's (upon arrival) and I'm good to go - this even works well when wearing insulated rubber boots (which is normally what I'm wearing when archery hunting).

Often overlooked is the drying of boots each night. I dry mine via electric drier, propane drier or drier that utilizes the utility outlet in my truck.

For below zero hunts, I don't wear boots or socks because my ass is in the house.

Boy there is some great info here...and keeping feet warm in a stand is probably the hardest thing to do...
We dress for the stand then ride in the truck and walk to the stand sweating the whole way...
I think a guy needs to experiment and find out what work for him...I tried it all ...Mickey mouse boots back in the day were the best option but they had no tread and were hard to use. And if your feet sweat they still could get cold..
I really learned a lot from the guys in Alaska when I worked on the slope and for me the wool blend or silk sock liner was the trick...i actually never wore my schnees PAC boots that much .the whites leather insulated hunting boots were pretty good for most situations once I learned the sock thing...and keeping core and head warm was huge also..
I started wearing a filson wool vest as a layer and that was huge...as a welder I needed more freedom in arms and shoulder area...

Purchase some “boot blankets”. They work wonders! Slip them over your boots once you get to the stand. They can be cumbersome but they’re light and warm. Been using them for years and purchased some for my kids early on. Everyone has warm feet now.

I have a pair of Icebreaker Boot Blankets available for $25 plus shipping if anyone need a pair.

Funny, I always used "bama booties" inside waders and they work very well... had to stop using them when Riley started insisting on calling them Obama booties...