Getting cold feet

[Woolley Bugger]

My Dad told me stories of hunters in his day wearing women's pantyhose for the same reason. Silk or polyester have great properties for staying dry and warm, but there's the obvious conundrum...

It’s fine. Just don’t pair them with the fishnet under layers being discussed in a separate thread.

 

[Sizthediz]

Cold feet suffer here. Have always worn rubber boots and thick socks. This year I bought some sitka ventlites and wore thin wicking socks from fox to the stand. Absolutely no cold feet in did bring "thicker socks with to the stand and only put on one day. I do put a hot hands foot warmers inside boots but im starting to believe it's the feet sweat causing the cold feet. Only other is is being able to remove boots put socks on w/o getting busted in the stand

 

[Sizthediz]

If I could figure out how to hang my boots in stand I've thought about removing them putting on thicker socks and boots blankets on my feet.

 

[Sinistram]

It’s fine. Just don’t pair them with the fishnet under layers being discussed in a separate thread.

Well the conundrum I meant is that you're hunting while wearing ladies' undergarments. I guess it depends how badly you want to stay warm!

But to get back on track, one of the best things I did to keep my feet warm was to stop wearing liner socks. I don't have sweaty feet at all and the liners were making my boots just a tad too tight, which didn't help circulation. Results in cold feet.

 

[Ehunter56]

SURE brand aerosol unscented Anti-Perspirant sprayed on your feet before you put on socks. Deodorant doesn't work at all. Anti-perspirant is what works. Dry feet are warm feet. Loosen the laces on your boots. Tight boots cut down on available air space to trap air for insulation, and reduce blood circulation. Throw on some heavy wool socks, insulated boots, and go hunting.

 

[loganwayne]

I have pretty bad circulation in my feet and hands but also sweat pretty easy. I got some vevor socks off Amazon during black Friday salesm they have been pretty awesome. I did a two mile loop looking for sign in the snow on Thursday. Setup and when I cooled down turned the socks on and was good with them on low for several hrs

 

[Nine Banger]

Get something with felt liners.

Vivobarefoot Tundras for the overachiever.

I had a guy at work tell me he has another brand with felt liners that he shovels snow with all the time.

 

[Macintosh]

No one ever mentions this, but its critical to having warm feet. If your core is chilled your body will restrict blood flow to your extremities, which is a fancy way of saying your feet will get cold. So the #1 thing you can do to keep your feet warm is to put on a warm hat and an extra layer on your torso.

 

[Creditman]

Just used the Gerbing heated insoles on a Kansas deer hunt. Upper teens in the morning. Wore 800 gram leather boots, thin liner socks, semi heavy wool socks with the heated insoles. Kept the insoles on medium and got around four hours of use and feet stayed warm.

 

[Woolley Bugger]

Based on this thread, I bought the ice breaker hand muff and boot blanket combo. I used it yesterday in 20 degree weather. I threw a couple of hand warmers into the muff and one into each blanket. I was toasty warm, wearing crocs and regular socks under the blankets. They will be a definite addition to my gear.

Don’t ask me why I was wearing crocs and not my normal hunting boots. But it was an inadvertent experiment which showed the effectiveness of the blankets.

 

[mmcdonough]

I've suffered for years with cold feet in the stand. I live and hunt in Northern MN. It doesn't get much colder for stand hunting. I've tried different combos of boots and socks. Some of them work better than others but in the end, my feet would always get cold after a few hours.

I upgraded to some heated socks this year and it was an absolute game changer for me. Was able to tough it out in single digits multiple times during muzzleloader. I still use a heavy wool sock over the top of them to trap heat, but I was pretty shocked at the difference.

I bought these. Brand is Field Scheer. They're still spendy but not nearly as much as the Lenz brand and I'm not willing to pay $300+ plus for socks. These seem pretty durable too. The app is a nice plus; there's 4 heat settings and the batteries seem to last a long time. Wish I had bought some years ago!

 

[markanderson12]

I live in Wisconsin and hunt alot of late season myself. I personally use a pair of Western Mountanieering down booties with a handwarmer in each one. They are dark blue but I never have had an issue with that. When its really cold like in the negatives ill toss 2 hand warmers in each bootie.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Whatever you do, don't buy the el-cheapo heated socks from Costco. They plain did not work. If stand hunting, the boot blanket things are great.

 

[Rat]

I live and hunt in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, struggled with cold feet for many years. I found a pair of Cabela's Inferno boots in their Bargain cave about 8 years ago. Those boots paired with high quality merino wool socks and it has been way more comfortable hunting in the cold.

 

[Beagle1]

I've suffered for years with cold feet in the stand. I live and hunt in Northern MN. It doesn't get much colder for stand hunting. I've tried different combos of boots and socks. Some of them work better than others but in the end, my feet would always get cold after a few hours.

I upgraded to some heated socks this year and it was an absolute game changer for me. Was able to tough it out in single digits multiple times during muzzleloader. I still use a heavy wool sock over the top of them to trap heat, but I was pretty shocked at the difference.

I bought these. Brand is Field Scheer. They're still spendy but not nearly as much as the Lenz brand and I'm not willing to pay $300+ plus for socks. These seem pretty durable too. The app is a nice plus; there's 4 heat settings and the batteries seem to last a long time. Wish I had bought some years ago!

If they last you have it all, warm feet at a reasonable cost. I bought the Lenz socks around eight years and for me it was money well spent. I pnever worry about cold feet and the socks and batteries have been bulletproof with zero problems.

 

[SMOKYMTN]

There's no one size fits all solution, unfortunately. Much of it depends on where you hunt, how you hunt and your genetic predisposition to get cold.

With that said, if you're a stand hunter with minimal walking, you can likely get by with an insulated boot and heavy socks.

If you're like me and do a lot of walking in the mountains especially, I go no insulation and light socks on my walk in to try and minimize sweating. After I go static, I'll put on a heavier sock. Lately I have been carrying a pair of NRS neoprene socks as they're lightweight and a closed cell foam insulator. Much like a dive suit in cold water, they are an excellent lightweight insulator.

NRS HydroSkin 0.5 Wetsocks

When your tootsies need just a little more, the NRS HydroSkin 0.5 Wetsocks provide the perfect amount of insulation under neoprene booties and wetshoes. Better yet, take your Chaco and sock game to the next level.

www.nrs.com

Timber Ninja also just came out with a packable insulated neoprene boot cover that is getting great reviews.

Frostline Insulated Boot Covers

Warmth When You Need It. Breathability When You Don’t. Designed for Mobile Hunters by Mobile Hunters. Late-season hunting brings a unique problem: long walks to the stand make insulated boots sweat-soaked, and once you stop moving, that moisture turns to freezing misery. For years, Timber...

timberninjaoutdoors.com

 

[mmcdonough]

If they last you have it all, warm feet at a reasonable cost. I bought the Lenz socks around eight years and for me it was money well spent. I pnever worry about cold feet and the socks and batteries have been bulletproof with zero problems.

I did seriously look at Lenz. I just couldn't justify it. Pretty sure my wife would have killed me lol. So far so good on these after using them 7-8 times. I've put some miles on them hiking and they are starting to pill a bit on the heal but that happens to a lot of my socks. I'll probably stop using them for that and just use them strictly for stand hunting in late season or the occasional snowboarding trip.