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Posts: 608
| What is everyone's favorite cold weather footwear for winter? |
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Posts: 1618
Location: Brighton CO. | I'm a Sorel guy, I wear the Caribou model but it has the 4 eye laces witch is fine for ice fishing and shoveling snow but if you do any long walking something with more eyes on your boot for a tighter fit. |
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Posts: 608
| Thanks for that suggestion! |
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Posts: 2075
| Spend a ton of time hunting and fishing and own a dozen pairs of boots…For me high quality socks is as - maybe more important than the boots, when I was younger I thought it was crazy to wear $20+ pairs of merino wool socks now it’s all I wear in cold weather, I’m wearing some Rocky gore/tex boots now in the tree stand /late season in the boat, get them a size too big to further keep your feet warm, tight boots equal cold feet |
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Posts: 2075
| Darn tough socks are worth every penny, my 2 cents.  |
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| IAJustin - 12/3/2025 10:24 PM
Spend a ton of time hunting and fishing and own a dozen pairs of boots…For me high quality socks is as - maybe more important than the boots, when I was younger I thought it was crazy to wear $20+ pairs of merino wool socks now it’s all I wear in cold weather, I’m wearing some Rocky gore/tex boots now in the tree stand /late season in the boat, get them a size too big to further keep your feet warm, tight boots equal cold feet
Good socks are key. A few years ago, my sister bought me a pair of Alpaca socks. A retired veterinarian in the small town where she lives raises them and sells socks in a little store he owns. They are amazing. Light, soft and warm even when damp. |
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Posts: 429
Location: SW Ohio | Been thinking about getting some alpaca socks. All my old Cabelas wool sets are thin in the heels.
I have a pair of Rocky boots that I wear for fishing that I like a lot. Also, a heavier pair of Lacrosse (many years old, has the old logo) with 2000 gm thinsulate. Pretty warm although a bit bulky. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I'm Keen on Keen footware. They are good abt having my size.
Of course, you know what they say abt us guys with big hands and feet?
Dang hard to find shoes and gloves that fit! m |
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Location: PA Angler | Gore Tex boots with a good pair of thick socks. |
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Posts: 1618
Location: Brighton CO. | Justin is point on about buy a size larger in boot size, (a old trick for us old guys) tight books cut off your circulation and also if they are a size larger there will be a pocket of warm air by your toes. On my Sorels I have pair my dad got me years ago and I have a second pair a size larger I got from my nephew when he grew out of them. So on the real cold days I wear the larger pair with Norwegian military socks. For a cold day in town going to the store if there's snow on the ground I have a pair of Columbia hiking boots that are waterproof and are Thinsulate lined work well with wool socks and after ten minutes or less it's time to get outside my feet get too warm. But if your car breaks down your good to walk. |
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Posts: 1423
| It really depends on the situation. I'm a bit over the top sometimes, when it comes to footwear. I like good footwear that is specific to the need. How cold is it? Is it dry, or wet? Lots of walking, or no walking? I have light weight un-insulated waterproof Cabela's Axis boots for pheasant hunting when it's not very cold. I have an insulated pair of the same boot for colder weather. I have a similar pair of non-waterproof boots that have really high thinsulate for when it's really cold and I have to do a good amount of walking. I have Striker boots for ice fishing when there is a lot of slush and I need to walk more, as they are waterproof up almost to my knee, and are good to a very low temperature. I have Sorel Dominators when I won't be walking much, and it's super cold, and wet isn't much of an issue. I'm the same way with sports shoes and rod and reel combinations. |
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Posts: 608
| Thank you all for the responses, great help! I will be wearing them muskie fishing on the boat in cold to very cold weather. Thanks again! |
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| If wearing heavy, insulated boots in the boat, make sure you have your PFD on at all times. Many decades ago had a buddy almost drown after being thrown from a tiller when he hit a submerged log. He was wearing insulated, calf high rubber boots. They filled with water and acted like anchors. Fortunately, a floatation cushion flew out as well. He grabbed it and I swam out to pull him to shore. We were in Canada, late September and it was in the 30s. He never laced his boots again while in a boat.
His screams for help will stay with me forever. |
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Posts: 1618
Location: Brighton CO. | I like to fish in late October and it can get on the cold side, I've brought my Sorels along just in case but have never brought them in the boat. They seam to be a little on the clumsy side I've been in the water once. I fell out the back of the boat off the rear casting deck into 53 degree water and set the record for the 5 meter swim. I was 20 years younger and not wearing a life jacket. I landed on my butt and lower back (kinda a belly flop in reverse) my head didn't go under water and I didn't lose my hat. When I got back to the cabin took off my Goretex jacket my down vest was dry except a 2 inch ring around my neck were the water started to come in. I put my jeans on the resort clothesline and wear frozen solid in 5 minutes. I now wear a life jacket under my jacket but miss the warmth of the down vest (with the life jacket on the vest looses it's loft) I wear my hiking boots from my above post with warm socks. I looked at buying Alpacka this fall the but the forecast was on the mild side so I held off. I will buy some Alpackas this winter. |
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Posts: 8846
| A lot of the”waterproof” boots aren’t. Gore-Tex seems to be the better choice among them all. I’d add:
Metal eyes - no plastic or fabric loops
Loop on back to pull them on
Rubber over the toe - boat carpet will wear holes in the toes long before the rest of the boot wears out.
Socks: Neoprene liner under wool or alpaca. I always carry spare socks. Not much is worse than cold wet feet! |
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Posts: 430
Location: MN | I can't say that I've sampled a lot of options, but I have been very happy with insulated muck boots. I have the wetland boots - not even the warmest - and they've worked well for late season fishing. Easy on/off, you can walk in a couple feet of water to launch the boat, and they seem super durable.
This year I had a trip with multiple long (15+ hr) days in ~15 degree weather and they held up reasonably well. I've had the boots for 12 years or so - when they finally break I will probably replace them with the warmest version, the arctic boots. |
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