GOOSEFEET down socks and booties

Recently I bought GooseFEET down socks for part of my winter sleep system. I ordered 50% overfill and I think, after receiving the socks, that is a good % to choose.

Then I ordered the GOOSEFEET over-booties for “trips outside the tent”. I ordered the lighter of the two versions. They are well made and have two elasticized (“elasticated” for our Brit friends) draw cords, one in the top cuff and one for the ankle.  This makes for a secure fit.  But I would ask GOOSEFEET to add a tiny loop in the front seam at ankle level as they did at the heel so the ankle drawcord STAYS in the correct place instead of flopping around as it now does. The booties come with  1/4″ closed cell foam insoles and the outsole is of a Cordura type waterproof fabric.

MODS: I switched out the insoles for 1/2″ thick closed cell foam. To increase sole traction on snow I applied 8 wavy lines of SHOE GOO. Hey, it actually works!

The beauty of this sock/bootie combo is that you can much more easily sleep with these socks than an all-in-one mukluk type down bootie and, with the over-bootie you can still roam outside or in a cold hut or cabin and be comfortable and warm. Yeah, my mods maybe seem a bit too unnecessary for some but they work well for me.

I reviewed these two items together because, IMHO, they BELONG together. Plus, as anyone on BPL who knows me knows I can’t resist modding my gear to better suit my needs. I’m in a 35 step program to quit  this urge. So far it’s not working.

My wife and I both own a pair. I’m not going to take down booties for most 3-season trips – only in the winter. She’s going to take them on almost every trip, regardless of season, if temps are in the 40s or lower.

Where I go (Rocky Mtns), low temps are going to be well below freezing and often below zero F. So, I’m reviewing these booties in that context.

The warmth they provide for the weight is very high. But for winter use for me, they’re a bit light-duty. I want a bootie I can wear outside my shelter. I know you can pair these with bootie covers, but I don’t want the hassle of taking on/off a bootie cover.

For in-sleeping bag use, they’re great. For lounging around inside the tent, they’re fine for temperatures down to a little bit below freezing. For lounging around outside the tent or walking around camp, they are inadequate if the temps are below freezing.

I wish Goosefeet made a higher-cuff bootie that could be stuffed with enough down for the above use cases.

Until then, I’m going to continue using them because they are super light and warm enough, and when my feet get cold, I’ll stuff them in my bag – with the booties on.