Goretex How cold and snowy does it need to be?

[Rick Cheehy]

Me and the Mrs are about to hit the trail. The high's will be in the 30's, lows in the 20's. One-two inches of snow. Do I need waterproof shoes? In the past I'd wear my old school goretex boots, but I'd rather wear my non waterproof inov8s. What do ya'll think?

[Jeff Jeff]

Boots are worth it for the traction alone. I don't use mesh trail runners below 40 degrees, but that is just me. If there is snow, it better be a 60 degree spring day :)

[BlackHatGuy]

I'm getting ready to hit the trail as well, in Dolly Sods, tomorrow. I'm wearing my eVent trail runners (with integrated neoprene over-bootie) with MLD gaiters. Bringing some heavy duty trashbags for deeper water crossings. We'll see how the plan works out!

[Greg Mihalik]

Douglas,
Who's trail runners, with an integrated overboot?

Thanks

[BlackHatGuy]

@Greg

Hi Greg,

I bought a pair of Saucony ProGrid Razor's. Had them out last weekend and intentionally walked through mud and puddles just below ankle high to test them out and stayed nice and dry. It's cold enough that my feet didn't sweat either, though the hike wasn't that long. This weekend will be a better test, as it'll be raining/snowing most of the day, nice and chilly, and plenty of water/mud on the trail. Might be some spots where the water is above the ankle bone, so I'm bringing the 3mil trash bags for that so I don't have to swap out shoes. Never tried that before, but I figured, what the heck!

Here's a link to the shoes: http://www.saucony.com/ShoeDetails.aspx?gen=m&use=Run&id=1161&rel=1118,1110,1107,1148,1109,1138,1104,1113,1041,1076,1102,1067,1064,1062,1146,1134,1161,1136,1155,1157,1159,1152,1150

Take care,

Doug

[Greg Mihalik]

Douglas,
Sweet.
Thanks.

g.

[Jack H.]

How many days are you going out for?

[Rick Cheehy]

Going out for six days, but its in SNP. so we hit civilization every other day. (Restrooms with hand driers!). Snow is only forecast for the first couple of days. I just hate wearing boots now that I've switched. My total pack weight is around 11lbs. Boots seem like such overkill.

[Roger Caffin]

It's not the snow that will give you problems, its the slush in the daytime. The slush is good at getting your socks wet, and that is bad news.

Suggestion: inov8s, but with largish GoreTex socks on the outside of your warmth socks, to keep them dry. Or just a handfull of breadbags.

Soles – you should crunch through 2" of snow. Sure, there will be a few slippery moments. Nothing is perfect.

Cheers

[Jason Elsworth]

There are a couple of very comprehensive BPL articles that go into this in great detail. Just search for footwear cold. From my memory of them I think the Goretex over sock should work well for the conditions you describe.

[Rick Cheehy]

Thanks everybody, the took the snow off of the forecast, so I gonna go trial runner/bread bag.
See yall on the other side.

[Ken Bennett]

I use goretex trail runners in winter, and mesh in the summer. In the shoulder seasons, it's more of a toss-up and depends on the weather forecast. If the forecast is for lows in the 20s and any sort of precip, I wear the w/b shoes and bring tall gaiters (because I always hike in shorts.)

In a fit of idiocy, I let both my mesh and my w/b trail runners get to the point where I HAVE to replace them. So I'm going to the REI sale and see what I can get.

[Diplomatic Mike]

I gave up on waterproof trail runners a while ago. As soon as water comes over the top, and it always does, they stay wet!
Much better to use Rocky goretex socks. That way, one pair of shoes can be adapted to suit the conditions. Leave the socks at home in warm weather, and carry them with you for marginal conditions. No need to have winter and summer shoes when the same pair can do both.

[Hendrik Morkel]

@ Mike, great minds think alike!

In case you can't get Rocky GoreTex socks, try the Trekmates Amphibian GoreTex socks.

The article mentioned is this one: Lightweight Footwear Systems for Snow Travel Part 1 – 3. Highly recommended reading.

[Frank Deland]

The waterproof socks will take the chill/cold shock of having your foot in slush.

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

Just to inform everybody who doesn't know: apparantly Rocky did stop making the gore-tex oversocks.

[Diplomatic Mike]

Are you sure? I'm sure i read on a UK forum that a new supplier was about to start importing them into the UK again.

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

Yes, I know. I read that same thread. But I have a short cut to someone inside Gore and I asked her wether the socks were still made anymore or not. I thought her answer would be quite clear since they deliver the stuff the socks are made off. Unfortunately she had to tell me that Rocky didn't make them anymore.

If you have any info that tells a different story, I'm always interested because socks from Rocky seemed the best with a wide margin.

[Diplomatic Mike]

In that case, i'm glad i bought a spare pair when they started getting difficult to find! :)

[Steven Inge]

just looked up the trekmates and they are $80!…and if they aren't making the rocky socks anymore can anyone recommend a pair a little cheaper? Thanks.

[Aaron Zuniga]

I like a liner sock+wool sock+insulated footbed in a non waterproof TR+ I'D eVENT shortie gaiter for cold weather snow travel. I'll also add a gortex sock or plastic grocery bag when really needed. Great versitile, Ul system in the 20 oz range.

[Jonathan Ryan]

for the shoulder season up here in New England I wear my standard TR (inov8 roclite 315) with a wool sock and Rocky GTX sock. Once winter is in full swing I switch to a GTX boot (Inov8 Roclite 395 GTX this year) with a 2 layer wool sock system and 40 below overboot for severe cold.

[J B]

just looked up the trekmates and they are $80!…and if they aren't making the rocky socks anymore can anyone recommend a pair a little cheaper?

Not sure but the Trekmates socks cost 29.99 GBP to me?

But they're worth it, I love them :-) They don't stay dry forever though but they're better than the alternatives.

[Mark Verber]

> apparently Rocky did stop making the gore-tex oversocks.

rocky goretex oversocks are still for sale at mec.ca in multiple sizes. Approx US$60 / pair.

–mark

[BlackHatGuy]

I'm seeing Rocky's available at a few places online.

Has anyone tried the SealSkinz socks? The water-blocker submersibles sound interesting, would love to know if anyone's tried them. Or the chill blockers.

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