Cold Feet and Fingers

If it is minus 15F or lower, I wear Salomon Toundra boots, which are lined and extremely warm, and also have decent support for walking. If it’s minus 30 or colder and dry (it’s generally dry at that temp!) mukluks are the best. I can’t imagine wearing my mesh trail runners in the cold, even at 25F. I’ll wear my keen mids, or Bogs instead. I am now using Icebugs winter short boots for short walks, 3 miles or less. I love the studs on them!  Like all footwear, it’s very individual. I’m out daily walking no matter the temps, so I have lots of footwear options!

I’m an ice bug user . No studs the RB9X. They just work for my feet .
thom

John, interesting concept.  How does the Wiggy warmth compare to medium duty wool/poly blend socks?  How much extra space do you need in the the boot compared to mid socks?

I go down to -25F with a -25F rated boot + mid socks + an extra insole but stopping for long isn’t an option.

Tried to find the Toundras in town, no retailer carries them in Gorgo size.

Hi David,
Having previously used several outdoor brands of wool socks, I find the Wiggy’s socks to be equally warm. They’re surprisingly not too bulky and fit easily into your current boots. They feel “slippery,” at first, but you get used to it and they’ve never caused any blisters or issues for me. They’ve proven very durable, and I’m still using two pairs I bought about eight years ago. The BIG difference is they don’t absorb sweat/moisture, so your feet stay drier. Since they don’t absorb moisture, you can dry them in a sleeping bag over night and you don’t need multiple pairs of socks. The ideal situation I’ve found for extreme cold activities is to wear your regular winter boots/trail runners/whatever for when you’re moving. Wear Wiggy’s socks in that footwear. Buy a pair of Wiggy’s overboots that will fit over the footwear you use for moving. When you stop for any appreciable time, zip  on the overboots on top of the other footwear. With that combination you should be good for however long you’re taking a break, or are sedentary. When it’s time to move on, zip off the overboots and stow them.

I’m not a “representative” or paid spokeperson for Wiggys. I’ve just been using the stuff for years with great satisfaction. If there’s one negative about the Wiggy’s gear, it’s that it’s generally bulkier (due to the insulation) than many other brands. It is, however, warm and performs as advertised. It doesn’t compare to the non-performing “fashion” stuff that’s sold because it “looks good” not because it functions.

If I were you, invest in a pair of the lamilite socks (they’re not too costly) and try them for yourself. That may convince you to go for some of the other Wiggy’s stuff.

Hi John, thanks for the details! I’ll definitely consider them.

John I ordered the Wiggy’s socks. Im outside a few hours a day . Hopefully the 8” high socks will work out for me.
thanks thom

“In state shipping is not available”

+1 on Salomon Tundras!

I stopped playing with cold feet and decided to wear the boots! I can easily hike in them, get my micro spikes on and off and easily get my snow shoes on and off  with the Tundras.  My feet keep warm and dry in em too!

Hi Thom,

I hope you’ll enjoy the Wiggy’s socks. After you’ve given them a try, I’m sure the Backpacking Light audience would welcome your unbiased reaction and feedback, including a description of the weather conditions in which you tried them.

John Conley: your first post seemed to pre-emptively defend against “haters”, by which I assume you mean folks who have a different opinion from you.

I’ve never heard of Wiggy’s so thanks for bringing it to my attention. The bags are heavy for my use. I ain’t hatin’! I’m making an observation. Others posting above find Wiggy’s socks very good.

Peace and all good things,

–Jeff

I admit that John’s first post was TLDR for me. So I went back and read it! Glad I did, I can use this:

“If we let “Cancel Culture” stop us from using everything that is produced by companies whose philosophies don’t square with ours, we’d have very few choices in life.)”

…to cross Wiggy’s off my list permanently! Sometimes it’s ok to have fewer choices in life. And you don’t have to be a purist to prefer some choices over others.

I love Darn Toughs! Inside mukluks they’re too warm, at least the thick boot ones. But great in my Keens or in Bogs. The wool also helps with perspiration and avoiding funk.

Hi JScott,

You’re certainly not a hater to have an informed opinion about the suitability of something (Wiggy’s gear, in this case) for your purposes (But you already knew that!).

Indeed, Wiggy’s bags are heavier, and bulkier, than many of the bags sold for ultralight backpacking. (In the army, we had a saying: “Travel light – Freeze at night!”) Everyone has to make their own choices and be willing to accept the consequences.

My reference to “Haters,” stems from the fact that there are folks who lurk on this website with little to no first hand experience with Wiggy’s gear, but have a visceral hatred for the Wiggy’s owner Jerry Wigatow (akin to the “Trump Derangement Syndrome”). Their strident views seem to stem from some real or imagined slight that Wigatow gave them in the past during an encounter or phone call.

I guess my feet are plenty warm without having to deal with politics. I’ll pass. I thought we could get away from it here.

My car camping setup is an Exped Megamat with Wiggy’s sleeping bags.  They are huge and roomy and great for car camping.  I bought them before I knew that he was kind of “persona non grata” in some circles.  I get it…he is a curmudgeon, but when I washed those sleeping bags water just ran right through them..it was kind of amazing.

So I’d be interested in hearing more about those socks.

John, you keep mentioning “lurkers” and “haters” on this site who are out to get Wiggys. Hmmm…somehow I doubt that.

Who the heck is Wiggy? that’s my response anyway.

I just want to hear more about the socks!

Hi Rob,

Since you already have Wiggy’s bags, you pretty much know all that’s needed about the Lamilite socks. They’re the same fabric and insulation as the bags, but, of course the Lamilite insulation is much thinner.  If you like the way the bags perform, you should be pleased with the socks. I wear the socks instead of wool socks in my regular hiking/hunting boots (and occasionally in the winter in trail runners, although I’m not a big trail runner person). Wiggy’s also sells a heavier Lamilite liner for pack boots. They’re called “Sun Walker 2” and are intended to replace the usual felt liners in boots like Sorels, LL Bean, etc. I also have those as part of the rubber/nylon pack boots that Wiggy sold for years (Those are now discontinued, but you can still buy his liners and put them in some other brand of pack boots.).  The biggest feature of the Lamilite insulation (in my view) is that they don’t accumulate moisture and  dry out super fast if they get damp from perspiration or soaked from stepping in a creek, etc.

There are lots of testimonials on YouTube that tell the story of Wiggy’s stuff and how it performs better than I can, so Google Wiggy’s on YouTube if you want more info. (I’ll comment that knowing whether Wiggy’s stuff is right for you is just like deciding to get married. Others can tell you about it, but you’ll never know for sure, until you actually try it.)

John,

Do you wear a liner sock under the Wiggy’s sock?  Also what are your thoughts about fitting…would you say they are true to size, or do they run a little small or large?

To keep our feet warm for winter (snow) backpacking trips we use thin wool (injinji) liners, vapor barrier (plastic bag from a loaf of bread) , and thick wool socks. The vapor barrier is placed between the sock liners and the thick wool socks. This way, any perspiration stays in the liner, leaving the thick wool sock (and the boot lining) completely dry. We never get cold feet now. When it’s time to go to bed, we take off all the socks, and the vapor barrier liner, dry our feet and put on a pair of fresh socks (or the thick wool sock we hiked in, since they are completely dry).

Hi Rob,

No liners or anything else inside the Wiggy’s socks. Just the Wiggy’s socks against your skin.

They fit/feel “loose.” Buy the size that corresponds to your shoe size and they’ll be fine. They don’t feel intuitively “comfortable” when you first put them on and into your boots/shoes. Just go with it! Within five minutes, you won’t even notice the socks and your feet will be warm. I’ve never gotten a blister when wearing Wiggy’s socks.

Hi Paul,

In the past I’ve also used the method you describe with the impermeable liner inside the insulation layer. As long as you can keep your insulation layer and footwear dry from external sources of water (i.e., not wading in creeks, etc.) this system works fine (for awhile). For day hikes, and other short duration outings the impermeable liner works. (A variation on this approach is to wear a thin, neoprene dive booty next to your skin and under the insulation layer.) For extended periods, through hikes, long periods in the outdoors for hunting, etc., most people find that the moisture held against the skin by the impermeable liner results in their skin getting soft and damaged. You can see this same occurrence in warmer weather with Gore-Tex footwear. The Internet is full of horror stories of folks who went through-backpacking on the AT, etc, in summer wearing Gore-Tex footwear. After a week or so, their feet were ruined, and many end up ditching the Gore-tex footwear, taking a few “Zero Days” for their feet to air out and heal, and buying breathable, non-Gore-Tex footwear for the rest of the hike. (For those who aren’t aware of it, there’s a long-established company called Stevensons that pioneered the concept of the impermeable liner in socks, sleeping bags, etc. They call the concept “Vapor Barrier Technology.” Here’s the link to their website: https://www.warmlite.com/)

I’ve had good luck using bread bags over socks for a day to dry out goretex boots while walking.  Sacrifice the socks to hold the foot moisture so boots dry, but just for a day so feet don’t get wrecked.  Wear the socks to bed to dry.  Works OK but I only tried down to ~ 10C.