Warmest socks for always cold feet

[Eric Falk]

Looking for extra warm socks. I always have cold feet so I'm looking for a pair of ultra-warm camping socks. Can be for active use as well but mainly looking for sitting around the campfire type. Thanks, Eric

[Jaiden .]

Be sure you're not wearing anything too tight. Reduced circulation will make your feet cold. I would consider down booties, as they are VERY warm. My wife has TNF ones which are the ONLY thing that keeps her feet warm. Ever.

[Franco Darioli]

You may want to try a vapor barrier type solution. Wear a thin Coolmax type sock, a plastic bread bag on top (to protect the bag as well as retain the warmth) , and another pair of socks on top of that to try it out. Just for fun I have put a bread bag over one foot (my gear is stored next to my computer) and the difference between one foot and the other is noticeable within a few minutes. One of those maligned thin shopping plastic bags will also do.
Franco

[Tom Clark]

You might want to try some thick Smartwool along with down booties. I actually cut some 1/8" ThinLight inserts for my booties to give me some extra insulation from the ground.

[Michael Martin]

Not a sock exactly, but take a look at Toasty Feet Aerogel footbeds. They add considerable warmth in your hiking shoes. Plus, they work great inside camp booties if the weather is (or your feet are) cold enough to warrant booties for camp and sleeping. This year's model has been improved by maintaining full thickness to the edges of the insole, improving durability and comfort.

Cheers,

-Mike

[David Wills]

I do the bread bag thing whenever necessary. It works great, but my buddies like to comment on how I look like a homeless man. It's fair though, I get to rag on them when they are sweating up mountains with heavy loads :)

[Tim Heckel]

Hi Eric,
I found that keeping my legs warm with a second layer helps keep my feet warm.

[Eric Falk]

shopping bag idea is really cool that it actually works like that. I ordered some smartwool sock liners with then some heavier weight socks. Hopefully that will help. I have to explore and see if their mountaineering socks or ski socks are of an even heavier weight. I think I'm going to order a set of down booties too. I forgot which ones had a hard sole for around camp and then an inner lining for sleeping or whatnot but I'll find them again. Thanks again. Eric

[Philip Wszolek]

Mountain Gear has these TNF down booties on sale.

Here is the link:

http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/product.asp/imanf/The+North+Face/idesc/NSE+Tent+Bootie+%2D+Men%27s/Store/MG/item/208214/N/4294967274%20640

I bought a pair for wearing around the house as slippers.

[Anonymous]

Hi Eric,
I've found Integral Designs Hot Socks, worn over Possum Down socks to be a great "around camp" combo. They provide warmth and mobility and weigh ~6.75 oz total. The Hot Socks have Primaloft insulation and are, therefore, not as vulnerable to moisture as down.

[Steven Evans]

Eric,
If you are like me, my entire body can be toasty warm but my feet will be freezing. It also seems that no matter what I do, I can't generate heat from my feet so no matter what type of insulation I have on, they stay cold. Assuming you ar talking very low temps, my FF down booties around camp are great, but when I go to bed there is nothing better then a water bladder full of boiled water at the bottom of my bag. It makes a world of difference. I sit my feet on them all night…when you wake up, it'll still be hot!
One thing I noticed Jaiden mentioned and is very true for me, even slightly overtight socks will keep your feet from heating up.

[Franco Darioli]

Steve
If you don't have a medical condition, maybe you could try some Ginkgo
Franco

[Steven Evans]

"If you don't have a medical condition, maybe you could try some Ginkgo"

No medical condition, always thought it was because I was so tall. :)
I'll look into it. Thanks Franco.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

As a Nordic Ski Patroller I discovered that if I wore TWO layers of thin Poly pro or polyester socks under my regular socks (Thorlo) my feet were much warmer than I'd have ever guessed. The extra thin layer did not make for a tight fit in my relatively light NNN Alpina boots.

Oh, yeah, wearing gaiters usually adds at least 10 F to foot warmth.

Eric

[Monty Montana]

In addition to the insightful comments above (wool socks, VBL), what I have done to maintain warm, happy toesies in Montana's 40 below winters is to sprinkle some cayenne in the bottom of my socks. This causes the capillaries to dialate and thus maintain maximum blood flow. If I feel a foot start to chill, then I swing that foot vigorously for a couple of minutes; you can actually feel the toes come back to life. If you smoke, don't, and if you drink, don't, as these cause the capillaries to constrict.

[Elliott Wolin]

It is common for people to wear thick socks, hats, mittens, and jackets, but wear next to nothing on their legs. I guess we just don't feel the cold as much on our legs as in other places, but you lose heat from your legs just the same.

So, to warm your feet, be sure to insulate your legs. I wear thermal undies and knee-length thick wool socks (note…I found these way too warm when I was young so I put them into long-term storage…now they are just the thing!). Friends have worn thermal "leggings" that insulate from ankle to a little below the knee.

And don't forget to wear something on your legs to cut the wind if the wind picks up.

Finally, three more things: down booties, down booties, down booties!

[Anthony Weston]

My feet are often freezing. I tried smartwool but to me it's cold wool. I found llbean (also acorn and other brands) makes a fleece sock and now my feet are warm. I wear the smartwool for hiking but when I get to camp the smartwool comes off and the fleece socks go on and it makes all the difference in the world.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

AHA! I always wondered about fleece sox. Now I'm going to pick up some sale fleece sox at REI.
(Don't care if the patterns DO make me look like I'm "light in my loafers".)

Eric

[john Tier]

Another vote for down….Nothing beats down booties or socks for cold feet….even a jacket or sleeves is a great plus when used for cold feet.

Pan

[Jeff Boone]

featheredfriends.com

AWESOME!

[Martin Pomije]

The warmest socks that I've encountered are RBH vapor barrier socks.
http://www.rbhdesigns.com/product/34/vaprthrm-insulated-sock.htm
Since the vapor barrier is bonded together with the other layers, it provides much more secure footing relative to using slick plastic bags, as it should considering the cost. And of course they are also vastly more durable.

[Linda Voll]

I have trouble with cold feet. I have solved this with this combination…when winter camping I wear thin, wool liner socks that are not tight, thick, ragg wool socks inside Sierra Down booties that have Toasty Feet Aerogel inserts. I also make sure my legs are well insulated and protected with windproof pants…Smartwool base layer, Montbell Inner down pants, either REI Element pants or Pre-cips on the outside…hat to keep my feet warm…

heated water bottle inside the bag…it's a good thing…

[S. Steele]

I've used the vapor barrier principle since the early 70's. It's fine with two exceptions: Potential "fungus feet" if used for prolonged periods and foot rotation within footwear when perpendicular to a slope.

I use a polypropylene inner sock, then a plastic bag and then Acorn fleece socks. In very cold weather, particularly when snow would cause heat loss through conduction I put chemical heaters, (140 deg. F)under my toes in the toe box of my hiking shoes. I store chemical heaters as a survival backup as well.

[Barry P]

A lot of good info here. I use combinations of what is mentioned.
I especially appreciate the point of not constricting the feet. This can happen when you start putting thicker and more layers of socks in your shoes.
I do 99% of my backpacking in sandals all 4 seasons. This is what I appreciate about Tevas (TerraFI2, 10oz ea). I have enough extra Velcro strap that I can don a coolmax sock, thin wool sock, and then a Sierra Design Bootie (3.1oz each) w/o compressing the bootie. It is very comfy and warm. The sandal insulates everything from the cold earth.

I tried a fleece sock layer but went back to wool since it’s warmer (for me).

May everyone spoil their feet :)

-Barry

[Christopher Chupka]

Again the Feathered Friends Down Booties.

I bought a pair of the Nunatak Chugach booties here on the gear exchange. The may be a little lighter and possibly a little warmer than the FF Booties but not as versatile. The FF booties has the inner bootie and an outer Epic shell. I could tromp around outside in the snow and then remove the outer shell and wear the inners in the tent. I could sit in the snow cooking with the FF booties on in 20 temps and my feet were cozy, wearing only liner socks.

I live in Texas so I don't need to pairs of down booties so if anyone needs XL Chugach booties IM me.

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