Socks for Cold Weather Stand Hunting

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Duster340

Duster340

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Hey Folks,

Going through my gear for the upcoming winter deer season and realized my socks are all like 15-20 years old...I know crazy lol. Most are wool and worked well when I did mostly still/stalking hunts, kept my feet warm even if they got wet, were comfortable and warm cause I was moving a good amount. However, since virtually all my hunting is now done sitting in tree stands around the property for extended periods of time, often in temps well below freezing, I'm finding my feet getting uncomfortably cold despite wearing well insulated boots. Which makes it hard to sit still! If I am moving to set up in another stand, no problem, feet warm right up nice and toasty.

I know there are many more options and new materials nowadays, so I figured my cheap ass would pop for some new socks.

Any recommendations (materials and/or brands) that you fellow cold weather tree stand hunters might recommend? Looked online and the options are so darned numerous, figured any real life feedback would help me narrow it down some.

Thanks as always folks!

Stay safe and happy hunting this season.
 
I like smartwool, I think the ones I get are called “mountaneering”. Theyre about $20 a pair, but my 3 pairs have lasted many years of working outside in the Alaskan winter. Once in a while Ill treat my self to some of those hand warmer boot inserts if I know ill be standing around welding in one place not moving much. Bunny boots help alot too.
 
The best way to keep your feet warm is to make sure your body's core stays warm. That means internal organs and the brain. If your core temperature drops your body reduces blood flow to the feet and hands. It is a natural process where your body starts to sacrifice the extremities in order to keep the more important organs functioning at full capacity. If the core is warm, your body increases blood flow to the feet and hands in order to keep the core from over heating. Once I figured that out and started wearing warmer clothing, especially on my head and neck my feet stopped getting cold.

I haven't owned insulated boots in years. I just wear hikers most of the time. It doesn't get terribly cold here and stay that way. But morning temps in the teens are common and I see single digits occasionally. Where insulated boots may be more helpful is when standing in snow. Or icy water. I've gotten cold feet duck hunting while wearing waders in knee deep water when temps were cold. Or standing in several inches of snow.

As far as socks go just about any decent quality wool sock works. The best I've found are Darn Tough socks. They are expensive though. Smartwool is never a bad choice. If you have access to a Costco their store brand wool socks are not far off Smartwool. You get 6 pair for $20. They won't last as long as the others, but you get 6 pairs for less than 1 pair of the high end socks. I tend to wear my Costco socks for everyday wear and save the more expensive ones for hunting. The Darn Tough socks offer more cushioning which helps for long days on your feet.

https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-mens-wool-crew-sock,-6-pair.product.100534948.html
 
The best thing I've found for keeping my feet warm is 5 buckle overboots (it's an extra layer).
Been well drilling since the late 80's, so if you've ever heard the expression 'colder than a well digger's ass' - it was my ass they were talking about.
Mostly ran all terrain equipment similar to the pic below.
CME550X_100_2973-300x200.jpg
Tried all kinds of socks and boots over the years but the 5 buckles work best. A distant #2 on the list is neoprene socks...
 
I spent two winters working construction in ND so I wore multilayers of silk and wool blends inside Sorel PacBoots. The issue became that sometimes, my feet were SO warm (even when it was -20) they would sweat a little and then the cold weather would actually freeze them a little so I wound up with a little frostbite. One thing you can do while seated is to curl your toes to help keep bloodflow to your toes.
 
Thanks for all the great input and first hand feedback. Much appreciated! Definitely gives me some options to explore. I do know for a fact that after hours in freezing temps, frozen feet are instantly warm and toasty upon sighting of a deer. So we got that going for us!
 
I like smartwool. We were issued these for afg. I still have some, and I retired in 2010. I also have some under armor socks that are excellent. No idea what they are actually made of, but I know they are what I got,.
 
What is your idea of cold? I wear silk socks under merino wool, in correspondingly heavier duty pac boots, I have a set of LaCrosse Iceman, LaCrosse Ice King, and for really cold weather, a size 16 pair of Guide Gear -100 pacs with a pair of size 12 LaCrosse Iceman liners in them. Great for outside ice fishing. I have Skellerup Quattro boots with a pair of LaCrosse thigh length socks for mucking about the swamps. I did pick up a pair of Hunter boot liners, (By appointment to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, ya know) haven't had a chance to try them yet. Got them NIB at goodwill for $5. At least I'll look swanky in the swamp.
A shameless plug: I work for Walmart, and my wife works for Bagman, LLC:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bagman-S...0=111830526&wl11=online&wl12=804788865&veh=se
 
Silk wigwam liner with a Smartwool midweight sock.

You don’t lose more heat from your feet or your head than any other part of your body. That’s a myth. What happens is that most people just don’t wear hats or good socks.

When it comes to cold, cotton kills and so does sweat. Moisture wicking material can help you a little bit if you are sweating lightly but once you break a heavy sweat it doesn’t matter how good your cold-weather gear is you’re going to be cold so try your best not to sweat.

If you’ve dressed so that you’re already warm before you start walking, you “done messed up”.
 
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JMR40's advice is right-on. The old saying is if your feet are cold, put a hat on. Still, I know if I'm not generating a lot of metabolic heat from movement, that just wool socks and uninsulated boots won't do. For this situation, I prefer thick wool socks and boots insulated with wool, felt, neoprene or Thinsulate (depending on the activity and boot style). For a treestand in non-arctic weather, some hunting boots insulated with Thinsulate would probably be the best. Pacs are warmer but they're stiffer and not so ideal for climbing. I like the polyurethane boots with neoprene (Muck, Bogs etc.) but again they're not very good for climbing. They're better for somewhat deeper mud or wet snow where I want to tuck my trouser legs into the boots.

For standard-weight wool socks, the best are Orvis Invincible Extra. They outlast the Costco wool socks by 4X. Unfortunately, the price is 6X.

For heavy-weight wool socks, I like the Carhartt Men's Arctic Wool Heavy Boot Socks. These are over-the-calf.

The similarly named "Carhartt Men's Arctic Wool Boot Crew" socks are no good. They completely different and they sag.

Carhartt Men's Steel-Toe Arctic Wool Boot Socks are also good. They're shorter than the Arctic Wool Heavy Boot Socks -- mid-calf.

With the heavy-weight socks, you will probably need half to one-size larger boot.
 
One thing I forgot to add.many guys working outside in minus temps also wore thermal socks with 9V battery heating elements in them. Again, if your feet got TOO hot, they would sweat, like mine did, and then you get a touch of frostbite. Even here in Florida, if the temps get a tad cold and "raw" as in high humidity, my feet start to get chilled, I know to get inside and just let them warm up
 
Yes, once a body part is frostbitten, it will be more sensitive to cold. Not chilblains, real frostbite. Or more correctly, frostnip, the first stage of frostbite, which may happen concurrently with chilblains.
 
ColtPythonElite said:
I learned to change my sweaty socks out for dry ones after walking into my stand. Depending on the length of the hike in and difficulty of terrain, I may even wear tennis/hiking shoes in and pack my boots.
Click to expand...
This is the truest way to stay warm in the stand. I carry most of my cold weather gear out to the stand and put it on when I get out there.
 
Dirtybob said:
The best thing I've found for keeping my feet warm is 5 buckle overboots (it's an extra layer).
Been well drilling since the late 80's, so if you've ever heard the expression 'colder than a well digger's ass'
Click to expand...

Its hard to beat wool!

I can remember hunting with one of my uncles many years ago when gear was way more primitive than today, i.e. pre gore-tex and thinsulate. He wore 5 buckle goulashes and street shoes and commented that his feet were never so warm.

Isn't the phrase "darker than a well diggers a$$"? I worked with drillers all of my career. Dude, you have a tough job!
 
I have always had trouble keeping my feet warm. Our Arkansas winters may not be that bad, but when it gets down around 20 degrees, I'm miserable.

I splurged on a pair of Muck Arctic boots. For socks I wear a pair of UnderArmour Cold Gear socks and a pair of thick wool over those. I can finally sit comfortably in cold weather now. That combination works great.

However if you're someone who doesn't struggle with this, it may be too much.
 
If you really want your feet to stay warm, these can't be beat: http://www.thunderboltsocks.com/

I wear exclusively wool socks and my feet stay warm, as long as I walk every couple of hours. My toes used to get cold when I would sit in a treestand from sunrise to sunset, even with good wool socks and 1000 gram insulated Lacrosse boots. The battery for Thunderbolt socks is big enough to last all day on low. The battery hooks onto your belt, so it is easy to change the setting. I typically leave it off until I first feel my toes getting a little cold, then put it on low. I'll sometimes put it on high briefly, or for the last hour of hunting.
 
I noticed a few people mentioned Muck Arctic boots (Arkansas Paul and Armored Farmer) as being very warm. I looked at a pair for my daughter and it doesn't appear there is any insulation (no Thinsulate or similar). Is the neoprene really that good of an insulator? I wear Lacrosse insulated boots and am happy with them, but the local store doesn't carry them in smaller sizes.
 
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