Vivo Barefoot Tundra ESC Review

[Nine Banger]

I will put an insulating insole in them before next week.

Which one are you looking at?

These came up in another thread about winter insoles.

Amazon.com

 

[Shraggs]

FWIW…

I’ve used nice insoles inside wool liners and have found in many pack boots they really don’t improve warmth - I believe it negates the warm heat trapping of the wool bottom below it.

Good traditional pack boots have often imbedded insulation in the sole itself often referred to as a frost plug. Basically a dense foam layer above the traction sole then a hard inner sole over it. The foam is non porous type. Then the inner wool bootie sits atop.

Thicker wool inner sole helps some but the heat is robbed from the ground up. Hence my thought was to replicate a frost plug from under the wool liner atop the flexible traction using the semi rigid non porous foam foot bed and liner atop that. This also maintains the flexible barefoot foundation of this boot.

In my tests it helped significantly. Noticeabley better than a 9 mm wool inner sole replacement. But as a fellow student, Form encourages testing yourself and you could try those and compare.

I stand firmly that this is a great boot and the only trade off is ground cold which I’ve solved for, for me. It’s still a superior option to a warmer pack boot that trap moisture.

 

[Formidilosus]

Which one are you looking at?

These came up in another thread about winter insoles.

Amazon.com

I don’t know yet, but it won’t be those. Those have arch support, I don’t want that.

 

[Speaks]

I ordered a larger set of the thermal insoles from vivo that I put under the liner in mine. Size 15 insoles fit nearly perfect under the liner of my size 45 tundras.

 

[ElPollo]

I don’t know yet, but it won’t be those. Those have arch support, I don’t want that.

Spenco makes flat insoles that are inexpensive and work well. I’ve transitioned over to using them from Superfeet.

 

[nephewjephew]

I've been pretty happy with these. They do a surprisingly good job in cold weather, not sure how they'd do as a dedicated insulator though.

 

[Nine Banger]

Those have arch support, I don’t want that.

Word.

I'm going to try these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D2RFF91G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=AFXUIKX4KBXGM&psc=1

And these:

Amazon.com

The winter trackers also need something for standing in a fiberglass boat all day. Water temp is in the 50s, but doesn't seem to transfer to beat the air temp. I wonder if it's just a circulation issue from being stationary-ish or if it will help.

 

[nephewjephew]

Word.

I'm going to try these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D2RFF91G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=AFXUIKX4KBXGM&psc=1

And these:

Amazon.com

The winter trackers also need something for standing in a fiberglass boat all day. Water temp is in the 50s, but doesn't seem to transfer to beat the air temp. I wonder if it's just a circulation issue from being stationary-ish or if it will help.

The bottom one looks good.

The other will have a bit of drop. Sounds crazy but 5mm of drop is quite noticeable. The 3mm drop in some Lems is enough to be annoyed by.