Time for drying feet and putting on the camp booties.
Keeping the feet warm and dry during an expedition is key (so is the post-expedition pedicure). Gavin Hess has some suggestions for those planning Alaskan-style trips this spring.
Before my first winter overnight trip, I went into the local mountaineering store and bought myself a set of Western Mountaineering down booties. At the time, this seemed the only sensible choice for camp footwear in the snow.
Fast forward some years and many nights camping in the snow, and I’m the proud owner of a somewhat bloated quiver of winter camping footwear options. Given the snowy conditions in most of the west right now, it seems like a good time to start considering the options as many of them serve dual use as day-to-day boots for pre/apres skiing and errands around town. Below, I’ve compiled some thoughts and ideas on some different options that work well in different contexts.
Down Booties and Down Socks
The ultralight option. A fabric sole down or synthetic bootie is lightweight and bears the distinct advantage of being able to be worn inside a sleeping bag for a little extra foot insulation at night. I have both the Western Mountaineering booties and a pair of Goosefeet Gear down socks. Over the past few years, my setup on Denali has been the WM booties with a sherpa-lined Intuition insole, and the Goosefeet down socks layered inside. This setup is enough to be actually warm hanging in camp on cold evenings with my feet on the snow, the extra insoles are critical here.
The biggest struggle with all fabric booties is that they are challenging to keep dry when it’s warm and wet outside. Additionally, things like shoveling/digging and post-holing around camp (or to neighboring camps in busy areas) is a bittreacherous. One solution I’ve used on more minimalist trips or to get around a little better on Denali is putting the down socks (or the booties) inside a dry(ish) boot shell.
Overall, these options are a worthwhile weight and space-saving compromise, but when weight isn’t an issue (basecamping, flat approach with sleds, etc.), I’m opting for a more plush option.
A low-cut version of the Thermoball. The low-top costs $70.00. Photo: TNF
Rubber Sole Booties – The North Face Thermoball
I don’t have personal experience here, but I have seen enough of these on trips to form an opinion. The TNF Thermoball is sort of an in-between of the above and below options, which I could see being great for a “medium weight” bootie for something like a Denali expedition. They solve the tenuous shoveling and walking issues of all-fabric booties but still struggle with water resistance. These are a good off-the-shelf option for folks not interested in tracking down insoles, layering booties, etc.
Loon’r Low Top Rubber Boots
An evolution of what I am calling “the Fubuki Phenomenon.” Over the last few years, Fubuki’s bright, light, and warm rubber boots have increasingly popped up in my Alaska Range travels. They make a ton of sense with their thick foam soles, fuzzy lining, and shockingly light weight. The major downside to the Fubuki is the fixed-in-place liner, similar to Muck boots below—over the course of a trip, they end up sort of damp and swampy without an easy solution for drying them out efficiently. Easily mistaken for Fubuki boots, the Loon’r boots are a nice iteration of the Fubiki and solve the dampness issue with a removable liner.
For normal winter use and basecamping, the knee height model seems like the move. When space is an issue, whether that is duffel space on a trip or pack/duffel space on Denali, the low top works great on the premise that we mostly wear pants with a powder cuff in these snowy locales. Hang the liners in your tent while out skiing for a warm and dry cocoon for the post-ski apres.
Nice and tidy with the liner inserted: the Loon’r Lo Rider boot.
Loon’r Lo Rider boots and their functional removable liner. The boots costs $130.00. You can purchase a replacement liner.
Muck Boots, Bogs, Etc.
The short section covers the old standbys for base camp footwear. Neoprene/rubber boots are warm-ish and waterproof but suffer over time from damp/wetness from sweaty feet. Certainly manageable if that’s what you already own, plenty of people have had warm and happy trips with muck boots in camp. I wouldn’t want to carry these boots very far, that’s for sure.
Sorel Pack Boots w/ Intuition Mukluk Liners
Full credit to my hardy Alaskan companion, Logan DeMarcus, for this pro tip: Intuition makes a Mukluk liner for Iditarod Mushers. It is softer and a little thicker than an Intuition ski boot liner. With a little effort (no more than getting a normalliner into a gaitered ski boot), the Mukluk liner fits nicely into a Sorel Caribou pack boot, replacing the felt liner. This setup is the pinnacle of warmth and comfort. These boots aren’t likely to come to Alaska with me this year as it’s always an issue with luggage weight and volume, but they sure are warm and comfortable.
Sorels with an Intuition MUKLUK liner. The liners cost $185.00.
A different view: same boot, same liner.
Conclusion
I’m excited to hear other’s thoughts on the camp footwear topic. Warm and comfortable feet in camp are among the best quality of life improvements I’ve experienced while learning to thrive rather than just survive in cold and remote areas.
No shame getting a little TLC after a Denali trip. Gavin Hess showing off his finely pedicured feet.
It seems like there might be an unmet niche for a vbl down bootie. You’d lose the versatility of using them as sleep socks, but could 100% guarantee a dry bootie. Essentially an ultralight rubber boot.
VBL on the inside or outside? There are some options for silnylon over-booties for down socks that are designed to keep down socks dry, Goosefeet gear comes to mind as a maker of such things.
I was thinking full waterproof shell, inside and out. The waterproof overbooties seem like they solve the problem of external moisture but exacerbate the problem of internal moisture. Full waterproof would be stinky, clammy, etc, but it’d be lightweight and moisture-proof. Probably more applicable in scenarios where you only expect to use them for low-exertion activities, and scenarios where you are on the move for extended portions of a trip and have fewer opportunities to dry out gear.
Could of course create the same setup with a vbl sock and waterproof overbootie – more weight but more versatility with that setup. Something roughly in the style of the thermoball with waterproof fabrics and a cinchable roll-up collar could essentially be an “ultralight winter boot” – rubber sole, waterproof, but compressible and light.
Ah, a topic and dear to me as a cold footed person in a cold part of the world (N-Minnesota). I need extra foot insulation at night.
Here are a few additions to your list:
I have the Goosefeet “Mukluks”. They are Superlight fabric overboots to keep your down booties/slippers dry. Still no real sole (I add seam grip dots to the sole). I also got them custom made at knee height, so I can walk around in deep snow without issue.
Very light option to combine with the socks/booties you brought for sleeping.
https://goosefeetgear.com/products/waterproof-over-booties/
Instead of Packboots, I use Neos overboots with intuition (or Palau, they are often cheaper) liners. Mostly is use these for non skiing outings like fat biking. Quite warm, fully waterproof, and if I do punch through the ice they don’t absorb much water.
quite bit lighter than the Sorels, don’t absorb moisture, and the extra height means no gaiters are needed:
https://www.neosovershoescanada.com/products/non-insulated-adventurer-black
And finally, I prefer synthetic to down for this stuff these days. There is so little fill there in an absolute sense, that the extra ~20% for synthetic is barely measurable. A\in the other hand, feet sweat, they can’t be vented like a jacket, socks/booties are harder to dry than a shirt or jacket, etc.
https://enlightenedequipment.com/torrid-booties-cus/
Synthetic insulated camp socks
Would love the name of that polish color!
The options that I use, which seem to be pretty unknown in the states, are Norwegian army surplus Fotposer (foot bags). They have a rubber sole and are waterproof to about 5 inches above your ankle, with non waterproof fabric going to just below your knee. The cinch top keeps snow out when it’s really deep and they can be rolled all the way down to let the feet breath if you’re on supportive snow and it’s hot out. I combine mine with a thick felted wool liner and a wool insole, but I bet the intuition Mukluk liner would work great as well. I’ve found them to be quite packable, and they have kept my feet warm and dry in some truly heinous conditions.
https://olav-teigen.no/produkt/fotposer-ubrukte-forsvarets/