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How to keep your feet warm

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    • Super duper ultra thick REI hiking socks and good shoes/boots during the day. At night? A fresh pair of those thin ankle-socks, one of the little shake 'n bake style hand-warmer things, then a fresh pair of the REI hiking socks. When you put it on the bottom of your feet the thin sock keeps it from being against the skin and in place, the thick sock traps the heat and keeps it from getting too much air at once inside the sleeping bag so it stays warm without being too hot. It's so comfy you will forget they are there until you go to put your shoes on. :)
      _________________________________________________
      The trouble with reality stems from a lack of background music!

    • I need dry socks for camp. If I'm cold when going to sleep I'll put bread bags on my feet between socks. I carry one ankle pair and one soft pair for sleeping in. Well, the ankle pair is just backup. But if the feet are cold the baggies come out. The baggies will also increase you bags temp by around 10* or so.

    • Rasty, that sounds like some of the places I ride my dualsport on the way out to camp. Might be 10"+ of water for up to half a mile in head-sized rocks but the nice thing is you are pretty much assured you won't have intruders of the two legged kind.
      _________________________________________________
      The trouble with reality stems from a lack of background music!

    • How do I keep my feet warm? Truth be told I don't. I try to bring the right footwear for the expected conditions, but I just accept that they're going to become numb and deal with it. If they get to where more than a third of the length if my foot is numb (toes back to behind rhe ball of the foot =O )then I usually start to worry and try to do something about it.

      *Don't follow my example*
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Sarcasmtheelf ().

    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      Mags has one partial answer: pmags.com/quick-tip-bagtex-a-poor-mans-vbl


      I thought "Bagtex?!" I just use bread bags ....

      For sleeping, I loved the idea of "Sacred Socks." The pair that never gets worn hiking, and is packed with my sleeping bag and extra warm layers in the Inner Sanctum of my pack (Trash caompactor bag) Lately I've been packing Acorn fleece socks for the purpose. Lighter than my wool socks, and with a loose fit, they keep my feet warm at night.
      -
      L.Dog
      AT 2000 Mile LASHer '12-'15

      The post was edited 1 time, last by LDog ().

    • I too keep a couple of bread bags in my pack to go over my socks if its really nasty. I have a pair of thick REI brand wool socks just for sleeping and if its early spring or fall I carry a couple of disposable handwarmers to toss in the footbox of my quilt for those unexpected really cold nights.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      I too keep a couple of bread bags in my pack to go over my socks if its really nasty. I have a pair of thick REI brand wool socks just for sleeping and if its early spring or fall I carry a couple of disposable handwarmers to toss in the footbox of my quilt for those unexpected really cold nights.


      The point of the bags is that they go over your sock liiners, under your socks. They're to keep the moisture of your feet from condensing in your socks (and your inner boots, if you're wearing double boots). It's about having a vapor barrier to keep your insulating layer dry.

      Yeah, the sacred socks are important. I even resort to a sacred baselayer.

      If the weather is nearly as cold in Harriman this weekend as it is here today, I'll be beyond the rated limit of my sleeping bag. If I'm pushing that hard in subzero temps, I'll most likely wear a windshirt over my baselayer , and slide the bottom half of my body into a contractor bag inside my sleeping bag, again as a vapor barrier. It's noisy, and slick, and damp to sleep in, but at least you stay warm. My puffy jacket will get tossed on top of the bag, or worn outside the windshirt. (Or else the group consensus will be that if it's this cold, call the whole thing off. The forecast is that it won't be quite this bad.)
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      Yeah, the sacred socks are important. I even resort to a sacred baselayer.

      I too carry a sacred base layer. in cold days/cold nights wx, I'll have a light base layer to hike in, and a medium layer in my pack for sleeping. In cool-warm days/cool nights wx I'll carry a light layer to supplement a lighter quilt.

      If the weather is nearly as cold in Harriman this weekend as it is here today, I'll be beyond the rated limit of my sleeping bag. If I'm pushing that hard in subzero temps, I'll most likely wear a windshirt over my baselayer , and slide the bottom half of my body into a contractor bag inside my sleeping bag, again as a vapor barrier. It's noisy, and slick, and damp to sleep in, but at least you stay warm. My puffy jacket will get tossed on top of the bag, or worn outside the windshirt.

      Every night we sweat in a down bag, it's loft decreases, do that too many nights in a row, without the opportunity to air it out, and it'll loose it's ability to keep you warm. Vapor barriers help in that environment. But it's also a big reason that I believe that old saw about bringing your wet gloves and clothes into your pack to dry them overnight, is insane.
      -
      L.Dog
      AT 2000 Mile LASHer '12-'15

    • Wet gear is absolutely banned from a down bag. One thing I sometimes do is prewarm my bag with a chemical body warmer. One night last winter, I got too warm with the warmer in my bag. so I wrapped my wet socks around it, put my tuque and gloves around that, and plunked it at the head end of my bag between the two sleeping pads (kind of supplementing the stuff sack pillow). The stuff was pretty near dry in the morning thanks to the heat from the warmer. (This wouldn't work for a long-distance trek, I suppose, but it's nice on a clueless weekend.)
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      Wet gear is absolutely banned from a down bag. One thing I sometimes do is prewarm my bag with a chemical body warmer. One night last winter, I got too warm with the warmer in my bag. so I wrapped my wet socks around it, put my tuque and gloves around that, and plunked it at the head end of my bag between the two sleeping pads (kind of supplementing the stuff sack pillow). The stuff was pretty near dry in the morning thanks to the heat from the warmer. (This wouldn't work for a long-distance trek, I suppose, but it's nice on a clueless weekend.)


      ive worn my wet clothes dry inside my bag, ive put damp gloves in my bag, and never had an issue, I will dry out my bag first chance I get during the day, and air it out in the am while im taking my tent down. a vapor barrior inside the bag doesn't prevent the excess moisture getting into the bag unless it runs the full length of the bag and only vents at the opening.
      worst case, im in town within 5 days, and can completely dry it out then.
      its all good

    • hikerboy wrote:

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      Wet gear is absolutely banned from a down bag. One thing I sometimes do is prewarm my bag with a chemical body warmer. One night last winter, I got too warm with the warmer in my bag. so I wrapped my wet socks around it, put my tuque and gloves around that, and plunked it at the head end of my bag between the two sleeping pads (kind of supplementing the stuff sack pillow). The stuff was pretty near dry in the morning thanks to the heat from the warmer. (This wouldn't work for a long-distance trek, I suppose, but it's nice on a clueless weekend.)

      ive worn my clothes dry inside my bag, ive put damp gloves in my bag, and never had an issue, I will dry out my bag first chance I get during the day, and air it out in the am while im taking my tent down. a vapor barrior inside the bag doesn't prevent the excess moisture getting into the bag unless it runs the full length of the bag and only vents at the opening.
      worst case, im in town within 5 days, and can completely dry it out then.


      You are most indubitably doing it all wrong ...
      -
      L.Dog
      AT 2000 Mile LASHer '12-'15

    • LDog wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      Wet gear is absolutely banned from a down bag. One thing I sometimes do is prewarm my bag with a chemical body warmer. One night last winter, I got too warm with the warmer in my bag. so I wrapped my wet socks around it, put my tuque and gloves around that, and plunked it at the head end of my bag between the two sleeping pads (kind of supplementing the stuff sack pillow). The stuff was pretty near dry in the morning thanks to the heat from the warmer. (This wouldn't work for a long-distance trek, I suppose, but it's nice on a clueless weekend.)

      ive worn my clothes dry inside my bag, ive put damp gloves in my bag, and never had an issue, I will dry out my bag first chance I get during the day, and air it out in the am while im taking my tent down. a vapor barrior inside the bag doesn't prevent the excess moisture getting into the bag unless it runs the full length of the bag and only vents at the opening.
      worst case, im in town within 5 days, and can completely dry it out then.


      You are most indubitably doing it all wrong ...

      im pretty sure ive been doing it wrong for over 35 years!
      its all good

    • From the original article...am I reading that right, he wears liners over wool socks...I don't get it.

      Colder temperatures—the so-called dry-cold zone below 14 degrees Fahrenheit—pose greater challenges. Wool socks remain my final line of defense, but now I wear Servus polyester/acrylic liners over them, rather than running shoes. I also exchange the Trekkers for insulated NEOS Explorer overboots with 10 mm EVA foam insoles. Here’s what the Explorers look like:

    • hikerboy wrote
      yes wet clothes stay wet and outside the bag. it sucks when you have to put them back on in the morning but only for the first few minutes.


      On a few occasions, during spring when it's rainy and a high probability of being wet I bring an extra waterproof stuff sack along.
      I put my wet clothes in it and then bring the sack into my sleeping bag overnight. That way the clothes will at least be warm in the morning when you put them back on.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by LIhikers ().

    • I've done the vapor barrier/bread bag sock trick from when I first started winter camping. I was lucky to a a friend of my Grandmas, that worked in a local bread factory/bakery, I had stacks of verging bread bags. Use them ober liner socks & under your insulating layer. I even used to buy the "Legg" knee high ladies stocking against my skin first to help with the moisture. I figgured if Joe Nameth could do it, no big hit on my masculinity! lol. The trick with winter camping is to stay dry. More importantly keep your insulation dry. If you are getting hot vent: unzip or take off your coat, open pit zip, open your fly, whatever it takes to keep from sweating. VBL (Vapor Barrier Liners) are for below freezing temps. The therory is your body will only sweat to a certain humidity.

    • Mountain-Mike wrote:

      I've done the vapor barrier/bread bag sock trick from when I first started winter camping. I was lucky to a a friend of my Grandmas, that worked in a local bread factory/bakery, I had stacks of verging bread bags. Use them ober liner socks & under your insulating layer. I even used to buy the "Legg" knee high ladies stocking against my skin first to help with the moisture. I figgured if Joe Nameth could do it, no big hit on my masculinity! lol. The trick with winter camping is to stay dry. More importantly keep your insulation dry. If you are getting hot vent: unzip or take off your coat, open pit zip, open your fly, whatever it takes to keep from sweating. VBL (Vapor Barrier Liners) are for below freezing temps. The therory is your body will only sweat to a certain humidity.



      i used to wear leggs panty hose in the 80s for winter hiking
      its all good

    • hikerboy wrote:

      Mountain-Mike wrote:

      I've done the vapor barrier/bread bag sock trick from when I first started winter camping. I was lucky to a a friend of my Grandmas, that worked in a local bread factory/bakery, I had stacks of verging bread bags. Use them ober liner socks & under your insulating layer. I even used to buy the "Legg" knee high ladies stocking against my skin first to help with the moisture. I figgured if Joe Nameth could do it, no big hit on my masculinity! lol. The trick with winter camping is to stay dry. More importantly keep your insulation dry. If you are getting hot vent: unzip or take off your coat, open pit zip, open your fly, whatever it takes to keep from sweating. VBL (Vapor Barrier Liners) are for below freezing temps. The therory is your body will only sweat to a certain humidity.



      i used to wear leggs panty hose in the 80s for winter hiking


      Must have been that Joe Namath influence. :D
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