what do you guys wear in 20 degree weather?

[Ron Haines]

I have the same problem.  Mine stems from sweaty feet.  My socks would get wet from sweat on the drive to the woods and the walk into the stand.  So now I do not put on my hunting boots until just walking to the stand.  I only wear socks that have proven to be excellent at wicking mousture.  As long as I can keep my feet dry, I can keep them warm.

The socks I wear are UnderArmour or SmartWool.  Plus it helps that they are Made in the USA.

[Curveman]

Sock liner, thermal socks then Caribou boots or boot blankies over Woody Mucks, same deal on the hands, glove liner then gloves with the fingers that flip open. I will put them in one of those muffs. Layers on the chest area of course.

[VTer]

Bill, I checked out that link you provided. It must be wrong. I sure would hate to put that stuff in my boots.

[riot1013]

Originally posted by Bakes168:
Mickey Mouse boots....best 50 bucks I ever spent.

They are all rubber, with a sealed wool insulated layer between your feet and the outside. They work by trapping your body heat inside and circulating it. My feet havn't gotten cold yet this year. They are big but you get used to them. I wore them for 3 hours on stand a while back, it was 25 degrees, I had on one pair of wool socks and my feet had just started to get chilly.
That is totally impossible with my Rocky 800 gram insulation leather boots and THREE pairs of wool socks.
They are army surplus and when you order them in your size they will feel too big but thats ok, I've found that the more space for your body heat to flow around in inside the better, cause they're pretty much air tight.

PM me if you want to know where to get them, trust me they're worth it    

Bakes

I can't agree with you on the Mickey Mouse boots.  If you didn't catch in the first post, I am in the military and got frostbite in those things going through SERE/CWEST school.  Every student had to wear those boots.  The intersting thing is not one instructor had them on.  They all had civilian boots.

Riot

[bentpole]

Haha that was last Saturday here in Jersey. BUT with 20 MPH winds to boot. If you want to see how me and the TRI-STATE TERRORS were dressed check out Joe Skipps thread bentpoles birthday. I had on LaCrosse 1200 Gram ins.rubber  boots with wool socks, smart wool ,wool pants , camo cotton pants on top of those, 50/50 turtle neck poly/cotton,,wool shirt and a carhardt vest on top with a fleece face mask and wool hat.

[riot1013]

Originally posted by talkingcabbage:
last friday i was out in 10 degree weather with -1 windchill.  call me redneck, but i just had on my work boots with a pair of hunting socks and a pair of wool socks on top.  regular long johns top and bottom, jeans, carhart bibs, t-shirt, flannel, hooded sweatshirt, carhart coat, stocking type mask with grandma-made stocking cap, and wal-mart special thinsulate gloves.  I got kinda cold in the stand, but i stayed from sunup till about 9:00 (2 1/2 hours).  I can't say I'll do it too much, but it's pretty normal here in Iowa.

You, my friend, are nuts.

Riot

[John3]

Above 20 degrees I wear reg. street jeans, t shirt and sweatshirt, under a pair of insulated bibs. Then comes another heavy sweatshirt and a quilted insulated medium heavy coat. Good stocking cap and gloves.. Most important are boot blankets,,, the best $45 I ever spent. With this I am good at least 3+hours..
Any colder or with wind I break out my Heater Body Suit.. You will NOT get cold wearing one..Guaranteed or a full refund. These suits are pricey at over $300 but worth every penny!!
I can sit all day at Zero temps wearing mine. There is no excuse to get cold. At least thats what I tell myself.

[Bakes168]

riot1013- I understand that, but they work fine for sitting a few hours in the woods. I'm guessing you had to wear them for a week or so in really cold temps? I saw a thing on the military channel about the Marine Corp's mountain survival school, not saying I know what you went through, but thats what I'm basing my guess off of.

As said before, for how I use them, they work better than any of my other boots.    

Bakes

[adkmountainken]

LOTS of layers of wool! wool bibs are a MUST around here as well as a good wool coat. i also highly reccomend a longhunter shirt from Ron Leclair, i wear one over top of all my other clothes.

[John Scifres]

I wear synthetic sock liners and some nice heavy synthetic or wool socks.  I wear Sorel Caribou boots.  The key is to have boots and socks that are big enough to allow good circulation and air enough to maximize insulation.  Keep the top tight to keep the heat in.

[lodestar]

Expidition weight Polypro top and bottoms with old canadian hand made wool socks leave all traces of cotton out of the dressing process. Sleeping indian ridgeline pants pullover top and goathunter vest or the extreme parka. As far as foot wear Lacross 1500 thinsulate rubber with wool pants inside boot. Depending on my walking I will change socks when I get on stand or leave them on as long as I am active.

[pronghorn23]

Speaking of 20 degrees I think thats the forecast overnight. So tomorrow morning I'll be wearing:
Polypropylene sock liners under wool socks
1200 gram thinsulate rubber boots
polyproprylene long underwear top and bottom
chamois pants
chamois shirt
wool bibs
wool coat
facemask
stormy kromer hat

I carry most of this in with me so as not to work up a sweat. I get dressed near my tree.

I started spraying my feet with unscented antiperspirant spray last year. It made a big difference. My feet probably sweat like crazy on the way in and this helps. I spray them before I get dressed.

I do know that resting me boots on a cold metal tree stand doesn't help and thats hard to find a solution to.

These things work for me and I'm usually somewhat of a lightweight when it comes to the cold.

[Recurve50 LBS]

This is the set up I wear when I am sitting on stand in cold weather.

Layers of thermal long johns, insulated jeans, wool bibs, one of Ron LeClair's wool hunting shirts, a vest and my hooded wool coat. For my feet I spray anti persperant on my feet to keep them from sweating, then sock liners and wool socks with ROcky 400 Gram Thinsulate. I carry extra wool socks and liners so I can change them during the day.Once my feet get cold I'm DONE! I also have a watch cap for my head and a hand muff with a chemical warmer or 2 inside. I wear wool fingerless gloves on my hands.

On days where I am doing drives I wear a lot less clothing.

[selfbowyer]

It seems like everybody has a good idea on how to stay warm. The use of wool and layering will take care of your upper and lower body. Keeping the head warm is critical due to the amount of body heat lost through the head. For your feet a wicking type sock under a wool sock is important. Keeping your feet dry is also important. Your feet will sweat as you drive in your warm truck and as you walk to your stand. Most of you wouldn't wear all of your clothes in the truck or on your walk to the stand so why do it with your feet. A couple of people mentioned changing socks when you get to your stand. A very good idea as long as odor isn't a concern. You might do this 50 or 100 yard from the stand. The other thing I find important in warm feet is the footwear you choose. Rubber boots will most certainly make your feet sweat. A good breathable boot such as a pair of Rocky Bruts,with 1200 grams of insulation and because they are Gortex they breath.

[riot1013]

Originally posted by Bakes168:
riot1013- I understand that, but they work fine for sitting a few hours in the woods. I'm guessing you had to wear them for a week or so in really cold temps? I saw a thing on the military channel about the Marine Corp's mountain survival school, not saying I know what you went through, but thats what I'm basing my guess off of.

As said before, for how I use them, they work better than any of my other boots.    

Bakes

I had them on for 6 days with heavyweight wool socks and thermax liners in temps ranging from -10 to a low of -36 without windchill. I had three pairs of each socks so I always had dry socks on but the boots just couldn't keep up. We were moving the whole time but we also ate twice in those 6 days.  For stand hunting above 5-10 degrees they would probably suffice by my personal vendetta with them will not allow them on my feet ever again.  The boots that I own now are far superior I just didn't wear them this morning.  I thought my 600g boots would do.  But from everyone's response I think my thinking was flawed.

Riot

[riot1013]

Just FYI, the military cold weather survival instructors do not like sock liners.  They say that they restrict blood flow to the feet with the amount of elastic that those thin socks usually have.  They rather you have one pair of heavy wool socks and change them throughout the day.

Riot

[Baffinland Archer]

Riot1013 wrote:

I am in the military and got frostbite in those things going through SERE/CWEST school. Every student had to wear those boots. The intersting thing is not one instructor had them on. They all had civilian boots.
---------
Robert responds:

Clearly this may be a case of to each his own. I have spent the better part of the last 30 years living and working in the Canadian Arctic and under all kinds of conditions. I have found the Mickey Mouse boots to be the best cold weather boot I've ever worn. I should add that in my experience, no boot that I have ever seen or heard of, will keep your feet warm indefinately while you are standing still.

For walking in cold weather, you cannot beat Schnees Hunter II.

[blind one]

I just bought a pair of the Guide Gear 1600 gram boots. Best 82.00 Ive ever spent. My feet felt like I was sitting at home watching t.v.. I have a pair of the fold back mittens that you can put the heat packs in also. As long as my feet are warm I'm warm..Roy

[Paul WA]

IMO thinsulate sucks! I have never owned a pair of boots with thinsulate that kept my feet warm. I even ordered the "NEW" type of Schnee liners for my 30+ yr old Sorels and my feet froze. Im going back to felt liners with a good pair of wool socks...PR

[riot1013]

Originally posted by Baffinland Archer:
Riot1013 wrote:

I am in the military and got frostbite in those things going through SERE/CWEST school. Every student had to wear those boots. The intersting thing is not one instructor had them on. They all had civilian boots.
---------
Robert responds:

Clearly this may be a case of to each his own. I have spent the better part of the last 30 years living and working in the Canadian Arctic and under all kinds of conditions. I have found the Mickey Mouse boots to be the best cold weather boot I've ever worn. I should add that in my experience, no boot that I have ever seen or heard of, will keep your feet warm indefinately while you are standing still.

For walking in cold weather, you cannot beat Schnees Hunter II.

I completely agree with you on the fact that no boot will keep you warm while motionless.  Like I said though, not a single instructor who taught the classes while I was there wore those boots. They all spent their own money on different boots. The boots will keep you warm.  But again there are better boots out there.  Keep in mind that the Mickey Mouse boots are 1950's technology.  That in itself is not a bad thing, do not get me wrong, I mean we are on a  Traditional Bowhunting  forum. Heck my Filson Cruiser was put on the market in 1914.  But there are better products out there.

Riot