cold weather work boots???

[agsolder]

Brrrr!-- anybody know about anything user-proven wonderful in insulated leathern boots (not Sorels, they are indeed wonderful but are rubber bottomed and will melt) that will keep my tootsies warm whilst (love them Brit words, love 'em!) welding, smiting, outdoors in c. zero F. weather but won't cause the dread foot-sweat chill? I've tried two layers of woollen socks and Ensolite insoles inside my Red Wings. Lasted a few miserable hours but had to stop for fear of frostbite and gangrene. Steel toes and built-in metatarsal guards would be nice, too. Any such around? Many thanks!

[Rich Hale]

Cold tootsies are plum miserable, They are also a sign of a low core body temperature. A favorite thing for me to do is to wear a woolen snug fitting knit cap. Your head is like a radiator in a vehicle it radiates heat from you blood stream even if you do not want it to.
Cover the head and ears. A wrap on the neck will also help. The old miltary style watch caps are great but have not seen any for a long time Avoid synthetics,,If they pick up a spark they will melt to your head. Works for me, good luck.

[Glenn]

There is a "hot pack" called hot hands for keeping the fingers warm. It consists of iron powder and some other stuff so when mixed it produced heat for 8 hours or so. They came out with one last year called tostie toes for the feet. Check with your sporting goods or hunting store.

[keykeeper]

A lot of people around here swear by the Rocky boots insulated with Thinsulate. They have rubber soles, don't know how that would hold up, though. Usually of pretty good quality.

Just my .02 worth.

[Finnr]

I have a sweet pair of insulated Georgia boots that keep my feet nise and warm without a lot of bulk.
Finnr

[Dale Russell]

ag , youse could move ta OZ , this time of year i wear my " special " safety " thongs " in the shop ....

Dale Russell

[jimmy seale]

i wear redwings have for 27 yrs. and the only thing i can say is..keep em dry dance around a bit and don let the fire go out

[Hillbillysmith]

I don't get cold, but I suggest Georgia Boots. I have some and they have been the best boot I've ever worn. I haven't worn anything BUT work boots since the third grade and I'm graduating this spring. So I've had ALOT of boots. I usually go through about 2 pair a year, but these have lasted me almost 2 years now. Georgia Boots!

P.S.
Don't just get the Wal-Mart special. I, personally, hate those. :(

[irnsrgn]

most people buy their boots too small, steel toed boots are especially bad as the steel toe takes up room inside the boot. Feet get cold mainly thru the soles of your feet as that is where the most contact is. Buy your boots one size larger than your foot. Put felt insoles in them to insulate the bottom of your foot from the part of the boot that gets the coldest. Wear only one pair of socks, but make sure they are Boot Socks, a wool synthetic blend. When you are standing for long periods of time wiggle your toes around inside your boots. Also if you are going to be standing on cold concrete or ground, stand on some wood, its a good insulation material. A piece of 3/4 plywood 2foot square with a cotton rope attached so you can drag it around is good as it lets you move around a bit. A lot of people that wear Rubber overshoes or insulated boots complain of their feet getting hot when they go out in the cold, and then when they come in their feet get cold. This phenomenon is caused because inside the boots are warm and when going out into the cold, the cold has a tendency to push the heat in, same when going from cold to a warm environment, the heat pushes the cold in. Wearing several pairs of socks you would think would keep your feet warmer, but in reality it makes your feet sweat as there is no space for air to circulate, dead air is a very good insulate. I have had all my fingers, toes and my ears frostbitten from working in extreme cold when I was younger. Also remember if you wear insulated coveralls or other clothing, buy them larger so you have an air space inside. If you wear long underwear in the winter, you know it fits rather tight, this is fine if your outerwear has enough air space to provide an air barrier, I have found that ordinary sweat pants keep me warmer as they are a sort of fleece and you have an inside and an outside air space, kind of double insulation. If you are going to be moving between inside and outside temps frequently don't wear coveralls, instead wear insulated bib overalls with a vest and an outer jacket, make sure they fit loosely as you can shed the coat if you use your arms a lot and can slip in and out of the insulated bibs easy. During Cold Weather survival training in preperation for wintering over at Antarctica we were taught to dress in layers, the worst thing you can do is dress in a heavy single layer and in times of exertion or strenuous activity you can get to sweating, eventually if you are inactive for awhile the sweat will have a tendency to freeze, next thing is chilling, getting sleepy and when you go to sleep in this condition, they will find you stiff and cold. If you dress in layers you can shed a layer if you start getting hot. Same with gloves wear a pair that have some air space inside, and they make glove liners that are just a space age concoction that has a tendency to reflect your own body heat, you can also slip a glove off without the liner coming off too for the delicate jobs. As my fingers get numb very quickly, the only way I have found of keeping them warm is to wear the mittens that have all the fingers in the same space. They are unhandy until you learn how to pick things up with them.

When buying insulated footwear look for a soft supple outer layer and a structured airmesh lining which has thousands of tiny vertical fibers allowing air to circulate throughout the internal lining surfaces providing a comfort range of 75

[Mills]

Strange that somebody else was asking the same question on a different forum.

If you missed it I looked at Hoffman boots and may try what they have. Gonna look at the Georgia boot right now.

[the_sandy_creek_forge]

Pretty much everything Jr. (irnsrgn) said except that I usually go with two pair of socks, a thinner cotton jersey type inside of a wool type. Just personal preference that the cotton jersey type feels better on my feet. I've always wanted to try a pair of those battery operated thermal socks.... but somehow I have a feeling I'd end up getting shocked.
-Aaron @ the SCF

[Paragon]

I was working cleaning out the garage at the old house and my hands were freezing with a single pair of brown jersey gloves. I put a pait of white cotton ones over them and the hands stayed warm!

I like the idea of the felt in inside the boot. Also read about standing on wood on another thread. Never throught of that. The winter boots I have are horrible for cold weather (got them for college so I was never outside that much)

The hand warmers.. picked up a pair at Home Depot yesterday to see how they are. Also picked up a pack of foot warmers. They are wider to fit the toe area of the boot better. Both at Home Depot in the seasonal section. Feet ones were around .90 and the hand ones were a tad over a buck I think.

One thing that might be good is I have seen at places 2'x2' sections of a ply/particle board with plastic bottom that holds the wood off the concrete. They are supposed to snap together. A tad pricey @ $6 or so for a section. Probably be better off getting a sheet of high density foam (the pink stuff for insulating the outside of basement walls) and laying a sheet of particle board over it

[fat pete]

Smart Wool are the best socks I have ever owned....they dont let your feet swet they keep em nice and cosy they dont ride down in your boots they stay up they are the ticket! best socks i have ever had....Smart Wool is the brand name...any other that looks like em are not as good ....my feet cause me alot of discomfort and I am really particular about footwear....

[agsolder]

SmartWool socks are worth every penny, no question.

[welder19]

Wolverine Durashocks, the only boot I buy, light weight, warm, comfortable and dry, feels more like wearing athletic shoes than work boots. They have ones with thicker thinsulate for colder weather. Wear one good pair of heavy socks and DO NOT wear boots that are too tight, if there is no air space then your feet WILL be cold.

welder19

[Dodge]

A trick I learned in Boy Scouts is to wear thin nylon socks inside thick cotton socks. The chief reason your feet get cold is sweat. The nylon sock don't absorb sweat like cotton will but if you just wear cotton socks there is no where for the sweat to go. The cotton over nylon wicks the moisture away from your feet. Doesn't seem like there's room inside your boots for all this physics to take place but that is why, as Jr said, you don't want boots that are too tight, which is another reason you feet get cold. No blood circulation = cold feet.

[Paragon]

One thing to check into would be cycling socks or similar. They are designed to breath and wick the moisture away while being comfortable. Some also have a little padding on the bottom. These are very nice for cycling. They can be pricey at around $10 a pair but should last a long time. For those of you doing forging every day (I wishi I was) it might get expensive just for some socks :(

[tbrforge]

Boots matter less to me than proper socks. I use hunting socks I buy from Cabella, that special wicking fabric. I always were military issue dessert boots. Although Georgia dosn't get too cold, I hale from Illinois and my feet still remember living there!

[cats pa]

I was going through Red Wings every year and a half working construction when they stopped making the kind I liked. I switched to Vibergs, a custom boot made in Victoria BC, that cost twice as much but fit, well, custom. That was in 1994, and I wore those boots today. In a couple years, I'll have to have them resoled.

Parker

[habu68]

I use a topical analgesic called Capzasin-HP the active ingredient is the acid that makes hot peppers hot. It increases blood flow and blocks muscle pain. A little on the hands and feet will keep them warm about 12hrs. I use it in construction, cross country skiing, and snow cave camping. I would warn that after you apply it be careful where you scratch. As Arlo Guthrie said in Alice's restaurant "and they was inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no part untouched."

[Mills]

Thin Nylon socks, Look in the womens section for panty hose and find the anklets sold for low cut shoes. Not only help wick away the moisture, they are low profile, no need to oversize boots. They also are great to keep blisters from forming during long nature walks I used to go on with a couple of hundred of my close friends. ;)

[irnsrgn]

hey Mills, do they come in size 14? LOL :(

[Ice Czar]

think that would make you a #4 Queen size :p