Dry feet thread

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I've run Crispi West Rivers (Scheels exclusive) for 2 seasons of big game and upland bird hunting. They've not leaked yet and are in amazing condition. I clean them and get them warmed up by my wood stove then apply protectant (Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP Leather Preservative) and let it absorb. Other than a barbed wire scrape here and there, they look and feel great. Extremely comfortable boots.

 

[doverpack12]

Schnee Beartooth are the only boot that hasn’t leaked on me. They are old and are still what I depend on when I know it’s going to be really wet.

Lofty socks help a ton. Darn Tough are the opposite of lofty. My feet sweat and I have been much happier, comfortable and drier in all conditions with a coolmax liner and lofty socks. Changed mid day if I’m super sweaty or the boots (Lathrop’s, but they fit great) leaked in the morning. And dry dedicated sleeping socks at night like MT Worden.

 

[mtwarden]

Not a keep your feet dry tip, but how to keep your boots from freezing over night in cold weather trips

Cnoc just came out with some 1/2 liter water bottles that fit into shoes/boots very nicely. Boil up a liter of water at night, fill each bottle and stick them in your boots— put the boots (with the heated bottles) in a dry sack and stick them in the bottom of your sleeping bag.

 

[dirtshooter]

My Thors brand new leak like I'm wearing cheesecloth boots. Definitely never wearing them in wet conditions again, even snow wets through. They breathe well in the hotter dry hunts though lol.

I'm gonna have to treat mine and stand in the tub. The only time I can recall that my feet actually got wet was an elk hunt with brutal muddy conditions

 

[575 ELK]

Every pair of hunting boots I buy I get them home and put boot wax on them, all over the boots. Let them dry then I spray them with silicone. It changes the color but they never leak.

 

[Mosby]

Gore tex boots don't breathe all that well, regardless of what they claim. Boot dryers are an under rated piece of gear IMO.

 

[JoeK]

dry feet are so clutch! I'm from the desert so wet feet are foreign territory for me. I'd be willing to pay or do a lot to keep'em dry. I'm looking for a good waterproof barefoot/minimalist style boot. I've got jungle boot style weep holes in my daily work wear (Belleville TR105) and I've picked up a pair of the sealskinz goretex sockslayered and they are legit when standing ankle deep in water but I still don't know how they will hold up doing miles in wet conditions. Wet conditions are so hard to come by in my area it's hard to test waterproofness of anything. We've only had .05" rain one time in the last few months...

 

[Honyock]

Spray your feet with antiperspirant and see if that helps. Sounds like your feet are sweating and creating the moisture.

 

[Smokey Bear]

Schnee Beartooth are the only boot that hasn’t leaked on me. They are old and are still what I depend on when I know it’s going to be really wet.

Lofty socks help a ton. Darn Tough are the opposite of lofty. My feet sweat and I have been much happier, comfortable and drier in all conditions with a coolmax liner and lofty socks. Changed mid day if I’m super sweaty or the boots (Lathrop’s, but they fit great) leaked in the morning. And dry dedicated sleeping socks at night like MT Worden.

Where do you get Lofty socks? I did a search and only come up with a Lofty Loops Yarn site.

 

[Sitkaspruce]

I get sweaty feet, the spray on antiperspirant works, but not on a whole day in the mountains. Changing socks works for me and I hang them to dry on my pack or when glassing/resting. Light mixed wool/synthetics socks work best and dry quickly.

A trick an old timer told me to help dry the boots out over night is to use newspaper. I pack 8-10 sheets and crinkle them up and stuff them into the boots overnight. They draw the moisture out of them and the paper becomes damp. I wake up with dry boots and I take the newspaper and flatten them out and they dry out quickly. I have gotten 6-7 days out the paper before they are crap, but they do work. Even tried them on my Dryshod rubber boots and they were dry overnight.

Cheers

SS

 

[JoeK]

Newspaper is a great tip. Exactly what we used to do at commercial fish camp with our rubber boots. Also can pull your insoles out and put them in your sleeping bag overnight so they'll be dry in the morning. If you don't wanna haul half a dozen sheets of newspaper into the mountains you can also use a spare pair of socks. if you have an hr before you go to sleep you can stuff dry socks in your boots to pull some moisture out then sleep them dry in your bag. The comfort of dry feet is worth the effort to me