Do You Find That Rubber Boots Just Don't Work Well In Winter

[2Blade]

Never had a problem in my Lacrosse and I wear them spring fall and winter. My only complaint is lack of traction but besides that no cold feet here.

[damascusdave]

Not sure if you can get them in the States...where I live we work outside a lot in sub-zero temperatures...rubber boots with no liners have pretty much become the standard for that work...not your average rubber though...very thick open cell material...check out Baffin Ice Bears on-line as just one example

DDave

[Kelly]

Never wear cotton next to your skin-always wool or polypro. If you are forced to have to wear all rubber then go with different socks. I have had very good results from boot liner socks as the first layer next to the skin-then a good quality wool sock.

There is nothing wrong with wearing leather boots/shoes-lots of game has been killed with that type of footwear. I can't stand rubber boots in any temps below 60 degrees. Sweat is a way of the body cooling and rubber just traps that cold sweat inside and with cotton socks your feet will be wet and cold.

I have worn lots of tennis shoes while hunting-even with wool socks my feet stay warm down in the 40's.

[Kelly]

Oh and forgot one very important item when wearing any boot on stands-make sure it is oversized for very freedom of movement inside.

[Greyfox54]

I must being lucky with cold feet , I wear Northern Boots , zip up model , insulated . They are relatively cheap and last a few years . I walk at the leastr 1/2 mile and many times  further to my stands and it's been in the teens the past week or so . I do put a felt insole in the boots and only wear 1 pair of cotton-wool blend socks and my feet are fine . I never see anyone wearing these but they work great for me , Fred

[cloudbaseracer]

Originally posted by 2Blade:
Never had a problem in my Lacrosse and I wear them spring fall and winter. My only complaint is lack of traction but besides that no cold feet here.

You sir are tough as nails if you can wear those un-insulated straight rubber Lacrosse boots in the winter!!

I am envious!

[JamesV]

I hunt Panther Swamp and Delta National in the Mississippi Delta and rubber boots are the only way to go. During the winter we are walking/hunting if water 75% of the time for the most part.

[koger]

I am a convert to Muck boots, have been using the wetlands model. I got mine  a size big, can add a cushion insole in warm weather and thin socks, a pair of thin wicking socks and wool over that without the insole in cold weather. Hunted this year when it was 18 degrees one morning, daylight until 11am, feet were toasty! I love mine more every time I pull them on!

[Burnsie]

Originally posted by cloudbaseracer:
Redshaft,

I did not try the overboots with insulated boots as I only have the un-insulated Lacrosse.  I think the rubber is just really cold and zaps any heat from my feet.

Burnsie,

Do you have to change socks after you walk in with the 1200 gram boots?

Thanks,
James

No,  have never had to change socks.  I wear one pair of good merino wool socks, and I'm good to go. I've been fortunate that I have never really had a problem with my feet getting cold and I've been in some cold stuff.

[Shooty1]

Another Sorel with felts and wool socks here, though I've been known to shove a small handwarmer on top of my toes on each side. You've got to let them get activated and hot before you shove them in there.
And yes, a cheap pair of Mickey Mouse boots at the Army/Navy store is always an option. They're basically just rubber boots with double felts.

[Orion's Quiver]

Hello...I'm new to the forum and archery, so don't have much to contribute just yet just lurking around learning. But boots is one thing I have some experience with and thought you might benefit from my experience.

First off, I have very large feet. Well more wide than long. So I have to hunt for the widest boots that a store carries. Before I got my rubber boots, I was using a very nice pair of insulated leather workboots. Well, after slipping, sliding and falling more times than I cared to remember, and getting my feet soaked in ice cold water walking through bog, I bought the rubbers.

What I got was a pretty cheap pair that was rated down to -40 degrees Celcius. I think it was just $49.90. The main thing to me was that this meant the material will not harden in the cold and give me good traction on snow, ice and frozen grass/bush.

The key to warm feet though, lay in these little things called Bama Sockettes. I heard about these from tree planters in the BC wilderness. They frequently need to work in wet and cold conditions high up the mountains and apparently, they swear by these Bamas.

Well gents, I have to say they do. At my last hunting trip, every other guy around me was complaining of cold feet. We were hunting Moose and were very high up the mountains with strong cold winds and wet soggy terrain (well you know what Moose likes). I wore wool blend socks next to my skin, the Bamas and then the insert of the boot.

My sockettes were always wet on the outside only. Don't know how they work, but I guess those tree planters know what they're doing!  Inside, my feet were always dry. Hope this helps!