Looking for a remedy for frozen footwear in the morning

[Matthew Marasco]

So over the winter, I have broken myself in to cold-weather trips. My technique is coming along, I stay warm and dry for the most part, but there's still one thing I'd like to conquer- putting my feet into frozen boots in the morning!

I was thinking maybe bring a couple small Platys and fill them with boiling water to warm the boots? Anyone try this? Anyone have other suggestions?

I realize that within 10 minutes of hiking they will be warmed up at least to minor comfort, but for those mornings where I take time making breakfast, doing chores, etc… it is a real PIA!

[Jerry Adams]

This doesn't really address your issue but

Make sure and spread them open wide the night before

If they're frozen it can be difficult to get your foot into them in the morning.

[will sawyer]

If Roger or Mike! see this, I'm sure they will have some good advice for you.

You could put your footwear in a plastic bag, and put that in the foot of your sleeping bag.
Depending upon temps, just using them as a pillow(maybe with something soft on top) might do the trick. If it isn't too cold, maybe you could just stick them in your heated up sleeping bag in the morning, right after you get out, and the heat left in there might help.

But first, why are they getting wet in the first place? if from the inside, try using VBL socks. If from the outside, like snow sticking and melting, you might want to look into overboots (40below.com).

Also, the more breathable your footwear is, the more it will dry out overnight and the less it will freeze.

-Will

[Matthew Marasco]

The wetness is usually a combo of both sweat from the inside, and trudging through snow, semi-frozen muddy ground and such. I think VBLs might be a partial solution, but whatever damp residuals are still on the outside of them is what makes them turn into such ice blocks overnight. Overboots sound nice, I will look into them. Also that plastic bag inside the sleeping bag idea sounds great. Maybe stuff a couple shamwows inside the boots to collect the moisture that evaporates overnight?

[James holden]

sleep with em … easier if you use synth …or put em in a bag

or/and … use a hot nalgene in the morning and put the boots around it for a while

[Bob Gross]

At night, you pull off your boots before you crawl into the sleeping bag. The empty sleeping bag stuff sack is already there, and it has a clean side (the inside) and it has a dirty side (the outside). You turn the sack inside-out, then put your boots in it, and put that in the foot of your sleeping bag overnight. In the morning, you remove your boots, turn the sack back to normal, and re-stuff the sleeping bag after airing it.

Repeat every 24 hours.

–B.G.–

[Matthew Marasco]

Bob, I'm lovin it. Will try

[Douglas Ray]

I've had good luck using my boots as a pillow, often in the sleeping bag stuff sack, in between my sleeping pad and the hood of my pad. It's worked well down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and I haven't really tried it colder than that.

[Roger Caffin]

> If Roger or Mike! see this, I'm sure they will have some good advice for you.
> put your footwear in a plastic bag, and put that in the foot of your sleeping bag.
Chuckle! I feel your pain!

We carry 2 large plastic bags each for our ski boots. Before we go to sleep we put each boot in a bag, twist the opening up and tuck it into the inside, and stick them upright inside the foot of our quilts. You do not want them evaporating water off inside your quilt: the water will kill the quilt, so make sure the bags are sealed up. Elastic bands for sealing instead if you want.

Works very well for us.

Cheers

[Brian Hall]

I always carry a couple of hothands with me in the winter. You can throw a couple in the foot of your bag at night, or you can throw them in your shoes in the morning about 30min before you put them on.

[David Chenault]

Plenty of good tricks stated already. I'm in the "not a big deal" camp, just put 'em on and get over it.

If they're really frozen heat some water and pour it in/on the boots. Nice and comfy.

[Charles Henry]

I thought about this problem myself. I have access to a good stove, and my idea is to warm water, then put it in some kind of a small bag and stick the hot water bag in my boots. The problem is finding bags that are small/flexible yet durable enough for this purpose. Any ideas?

[Konrad .]

1L nalgene soft cantenes are perfect for this. Platypus soft bottles are okay, but their narrow mouths are just plain dangerous when you're handling boiling water

http://www.rei.com/product/670588

[Bob Gross]

When we go snow camping, despite the fact that snow is solid water and it is all around us, converting that solid water into liquid water is a thankless task. It requires a good stove, fuel, and personal time watching it. As a result, liquid water has a higher cost for snow campers as compared to summer campers. Some people may not want to spend that cost for boot warming, especially if there is warmth inside a sleeping bag that will go to waste. Waste Not, Want Not.

–B.G.–

[Charles Henry]

You should have liquid water anyways. I would keep about 0.5 L of liquid water with me anyways in the morning. This makes it much easier to melt snow for other tasks, like breakfast, tea, etc.

At the temperatures, ALL of your water can be frozen, which is very bad if you have altitude sickness.

The good stove I use is the MSR reactor. The thing is a beast and worth the weight penalty in snowy environments.

[josh wagner]

i have never done this but in theory you could put your boots in a bag and bury them under some snow. it should keep them insulated overnight. just don't forget where you put them :D

[Konrad .]

But Josh, what do you put on when it's time to dig em out? :p

I think its definitely possible if done right…e.g right in your vestibule. But man, frozen or not, those boots are still going to be very very cold.

I'm not very good about this problem, so i usually wear double boots for overnighters in the winter. I just sleep with my liners in my bag. My bag just isn't roomy enough to comfortably sleep with full on boots at the bottom.

[Andy F]

For really cold weather, I wear boots with removable liners. The liners go into the sleeping bag with me.

For not really cold weather, I don't notice. I'm probably wearing a light breathable trail runner which doesn't seem very frozen, and it's separated from my foot by a GoreTex sock, thick wool sock, and a liner sock.

[Brian Lewis]

Like David, I've used the "deal with it" approach, particularly on trips where it's not expected that I'll have to deal with it for more than a few days. On this sort of trip I find it helpful to do absolutely everything else before putting on the shoes (down booties really help here), then put the shoes on last and just get up and immediately start moving. Having to wear frozen footwear while in camp for any length of time would be IMO a bad thing.

Shoes vs. boots might help here too — or at least that's my theory — less thermal mass.

[Will Webster]

I pull the innersoles out in the evening and keep them in the drop pockets of my down jacket. In the morning I slip them into my goosefeet down socks when I get up to make breakfast. At least one part of my shoes are warm when it's time to start hiking.

[Matthew Marasco]

Dave C and Brian- I dream of the day when I'll be enough of a stoic to be in the "not a big deal" camp. This was my first winter taking such trips though. Maybe with some time, this princess will toughen up, haha!

Konrad- see now that's the kind of solution I was thinking. I actually own a Nalgene canteen (I think it even shows up in a picture or two in my TR from this weekend). Now I just need to get a second one for the other foot! If it's not a long trip (and I probably won't be taking any long winter trips til I get more experience), I wouldn't mind using the extra fuel to boil some water for that purpose.

Everyone else- I appreciate your input and enjoyed reading your ideas!! Thank you!

[Brad Groves]

Warm feet.

It does stink, but you get over the misery pretty quickly & get on with the day. I like to take along camp boots of some kind, & they stay on until I'm ready to hit the trail… so I can avoid the dreaded frozen boots as long as possible. Sometimes I use old Gore overboots I just stick my liners in. VBL socks are great, too. And down booties. Really, I try to wear my down booties as long as possible. Then the liners go into the overboots and start warming up for the day.

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