Source for Fabric Overboots?

[Will Rietveld]

I’m looking for some fabric overboots that are not insulated. I have searched the web, but so far have not found anything besides Tyvek overboots used for cleaning and chemical safety. I want to wear them over LW hiking shoes for snowshoeing and snow camping. The Tyvek ones are light but not durable enough. The lower section should be WP/B and the upper section highly breathable. Anyone know of such a critter?
Thanks, Will.

Note: OR and Mt Hardwear have insulated overboots, but they are heavy mountaineering overboots. Forty Below overboots are pretty light, but I would like to find some that are just fabric, no insulation.

[E. H. Clemmons]

Best idea I have is to use Integral Designs Vapor Barrier Socks. I have a pair that I wear over their Hot Socks for wet and snow. Not precisely what you describe but they do not cost much and may be worth a try.

[Bill Fornshell]

Hi Will,
It sounds like you are looking for a full boot (trail runner) gaiter. If you are just wearing these when snowshoeing and snow camping the fact that they attach with straps under the trail runner sole might work for you. You can buy these and they might work for what you want. I have seen then glued onto the sole edges of different boots and trail runners. I made a rather crude pair of full boot (trail runners) gaiters several years ago and have wanted to make an improved version ever since. They only covered the top of my trail runners. Mine were made out of scrap Gore-Tex and my sewing skills at the time were not very good.

There are 2 other options I can think of. One is a pair of Mukluks large enough to get your trail runner into. I have a nice pair of Steger’s but wear them alone. They are great for alot of things but they are not light and they are not very good for just hiking.

The second is an improved version of the MYOG Full-Boot Gaiter. I am waiting on an email reply for information on a sole material to see where it comes from and if I can buy it in small amounts. I am not real hopefull as I think it may come from China. If I can get some of it then I would make something more or less like a pair of Mukluks but much lighter. Something that would work when not wearing snowshoes. Walking around camp with them on I think will require you have some traction.

[Will Rietveld]

Hi all, thanks for your responses.

It appears that there is no commercially available simple, lightweight fabric (uninsulated) overboot on the market. I wanted to be able to wear lightweight trail runners for snowshoeing and keep my feet warm and dry. In response to my previous post about Gore-Tex shoes staying dry, several readers insisted that they do not leak, but I have yet to find GTX shoes that do not wet through in wet snow. I will keep looking.

I have tried Neos overboots, but they are heavy and accumulate a lot of condensation inside.

EH, I tried putting my trail runners into a pair of size XL ID vapor barrier socks, and they barely fit. With the VB socks, I’m concerned about my feet getting damp from sweat, then getting cold.

I tried Tyvek clean room overboots, and found that the Tyvek wets through, and the vinyl soles are not durable enough. I am going to try DuPont’s new “Gripper” overboots, which seem to have a tougher vinyl sole, and I could also put duct tape on the soles to make them more durable.

I have some old GTX full boot gaiters that date back to the late 70’s. I am thinking of sewing a sole into them and trying that. I would need to put something on the soles to give them more traction.

One problem with wearing LW trail runners for snowshoeing is that my feet get cold easily. I could wear neoprene overboots over my shoes for extra warmth. There are a lot of those around for bicyclers and snowshoers.

Thanks for all your ideas. If you have any more suggestions, let me know. Will

[Dondo .]

Will,

While you’re down in southwest Colorado experimenting with different options, I’m up in the northern part of the state doing the same thing. So far I haven’t found an ideal solution. I haven’t had a condensation problem with my NEOS but agree that they are too heavy. Bicyclists’ neoprene overbooties seem to work the best for me, at least when I know I’ll have my snowshoes on the whole time. The problem comes when I’m not using snowshoes and traveling through intermittent snow/ice and bare ground. I can use Yaktrax over the booties going through snow/ice but don’t like to use them on bare ground. The booties themselves don’t have enough traction to use on bare ground.
On a quick overnight trip this week I used Rocky GTX oversocks over Smartwool light hikers inside slightly oversized trail runners. Gaiters went on the outside. I strapped Yaktrax to the outside of my pack to use for very icy sections. This set up worked pretty well, at least for this trip. I’m not sure if the GTX socks would have wet out if I had been traveling through wet snow all day.

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