Wet Boots-Now What Do You Do?
Elk
If the inside of your boots get wet for whatever reason on a week long drop camp.
What's the best (ex: layered socks or best type of socks) way to handle wet boots for your feet?
Do you bring more then one pair of boots?
What's the best way to dry the boots out?
If you have some titanium tubing you can make a light weight boot drier. L shaped, long leg straddles the fire, short leg is up and the boot goes over the end. I've done it with steel tubing on a truck camp.
Stuff them with loosely wadded newspaper. Absorbs the moisture.
Stuff the inside with some of your dirty cloths like socks/t-shirts ect and it will help absorb some of the wet out
Don't get them to close to the fire though!! haha
Good luck, Robb
For drop camp, yes take 2 pair. Rotate as necessary.
I hope for a sunny day and take them off and get them in the sun! I bring multiple sets of socks to rotate them daily. Rain, snow, even dew will get your pants wet and wick water down into your boots. If the day is dry, just wearing them should generate some heat and help to dry them out.
For a packed in hunt, 2 pairs are way too much weight. Cold, damp, stiff boots really suck in the morning, but are a way of life in elk country when you backpack in!
>>>>--- Good Luck ----->
Newspaper works best. You can even reuse it after it dries out from absorbing the moisture
Less weight than taking 2 pair
Or wear Sealskinz socks in the wet boots
Or just wear gaitors every day. This prevents wicking from dew on your pants and lets you cross small streams without an issue of getting wet in the first place. And yes bring s couple pairs of socks to rotate out as needed for sweat and you will be set.
You can also pack along some gallon or bigger size plastic bags to put over your feet when wearing the wet boots. They also make a great insulator in cold weather over your socks. Ive used them before when stepped into a stream that was a bit higher than my boot. They will get you thru the day.
This was our daily routine in Montana in 2011. Seemed to rain/snow/sleet just about every day. Mid-day we would come back to camp and lay everything out in the sun to dry. Of course we were lucky that the bad weather tended to blow in and then out. We didn't have any 1-2 day(all day) soakers.
Take a box of rice for each boot poor rice in every night to absorb moisture. Buts will stay dry all week long.
Then you can have rice with dinner too...8^)
Changing to dry socks during the day helps.
Airing them when resting at lunch helps.
Warmth from a fire or the sun helps.
Stuffing them with newspaper at night helps.
Doing all of it will get them dried out. Keeping them dry is key.
Never done the rice thing - good idea.
Boots and fire are something you really want to be careful on. Most boots are made with heat activated glues, that's why they all say to never dry them close to a fire. The heat can damage the integrity of the glue and it starts coming apart on you.
I'm 99% sure I have hyperhydrosis in my feet so I'm forever rotating footwear to try and keep them dry.
Waterproof socks. On a drop camp I brought water proof socks. When the boots got soaked and they did not get dried out I would wear the waterproof socks.
Rice filled panty hose! Cut off at the ankles, fill with rice and tie a knot.
Good suggestions here above.
Only tip I have. . . DON'T leave your boots outside your tent overnight.
I did that my first night on my first trip in Colorado, and it frosted, and with my feet swollen, I could barely get them back on the next morning. I was in a bivy sack and didn't think to put them in with me. Last time I've ever done that
I have a propane boot dryer from Cabelas. The dryer doesn't weigh much if there are propane canisters available at the drop camp.
Good wool will still insulate and be somewhat comfortable even when wet. Consider quality merino wool socks. I have had great performance from Wigwam Merino Comfort Hikers.
If truck/cabin camping I absolutely take an extra pair. Can't imagine packing an extra into the deep.
Definitely wear gaiters to help minimize the wetness but wet boots just come with the territory sometimes.
My feet blister used to blister pretty easily until I learned to do two things:
Take my boots and socks off and let my feet air dry any chance I get, even just glassing or stopping to eat for 15 minutes. Even when it's cold, it's still worth it for long term comfort. Water logged skin blisters much, much more easily.
Second is to stop and tape hotspots at the very first sign of trouble to keep them from turning into blisters. I used to use duct tape and it works fine but trying leukotape this year as it comes highly recommended for staying adhered.
Make sure you take the insole out of the boot or its gonna take at least twice as long to dry the inside.
Half the trick is avoidance. If I'm crossing a stream I will go 1/2 mile looking for a dry crossing. If I can't get that I take them off and dangle them around my neck. Backcountry hunts should feature goretex toots that work. You find that out hiking in rainy season at home, not the first downpour on a hunt. If the boots can't deal with rain, moisture off wet meadows, etc, find a pair that does - they're out there. Waterproof the boots really well before going hiking. There are a bunch of good threads on this site about best waterproofing.
Having said all that, I have to admit I am in a bit of a conundrum because I have a pair of Goretex hikers that I love for everything but their waterproofness. So if it rains my boots and feet are going to get wet. I do have the option of taking a second pair, so I plan to do that and stuff clothing in them to dry the wets ones out while I am getting the dry ones wet (if it rains back to back). I always carry extra high quality wool socks (read smartwool) which keep your feet from getting too sucky quickly even if the boots get wet. This might be the year I go with Goretex socks also. Keeping your feet dry even if the boots are wet is very appealing.
A word on drying by the fire. I keep my socked feet next to and the same distance from the fire as my drying boots. If my feet get too hot it's time to move the boots further back also, or at least swap sides. It doesn't take a ton of heat to take a lot of moisture out of boots.
Haven't tried them in a camp, but the Peet battery powered boot dryers might be good to have. The plug-in ones work fabulously.
goretex socks in your pack and then keep that at camp till needed, use till boots are dry.
Wet boots are a given at some point. Nothing sucks more than to put on wet boots/socks before daylight. I have been rotating two pairs of gortex socks for years. I slip them over my dry wool socks every morning and then put on my soaked boots.. My feet are dry and comfy. Works great...
I've always used the crumpled newspaper trick, taking the insoles out. Ditto the gaiters and good wool socks. I've never worn Goretex socks.
Wet boots can lead to blisters. Look at RunGoo and there are other ointments that can protect feet from getting too soft and blistery.
Sealskin socks. Keep it simple.
I've never used SealSkinz socks but have looked at them online different times. Wear them with a thin liner sock? How is the fit and comfort compared to a good thick hunting sock?
rocky gore-tex socks= dry feet
"I've never used SealSkinz socks but have looked at them online different times. Wear them with a thin liner sock? How is the fit and comfort compared to a good thick hunting sock?"
Kevin, depends on if you get the insulated or uninsulated ones.
I have the insulated pair and love them. A light wool sock liner then the Sealskinz
But my feet tend to get cold
DO NOT force dry them. Unless you want to decrease your boots life by half.
When the weather gets down right nasty, forget the leather boots and break out the Mucks! I use what they call the Muck Chore. They are light weight and very comfortable enough to wear for days on end. I think they are rated to -20*. But in reality I'd guess 0 - 10* would be more accurate. Almost like wearing a pair of house slippers.
On all my hunts, I always have a pair in camp for when it gets nasty or when hunting boggy areas.
I typically wear a thin sock and a thicker boot sock. When my boots are saturated to the point where I go to Sealskin, I just wear the thin liner sock inside and can't tell the difference.
Lots of good ideas above.
That being said, this is the Elk Forum and the OP is talking about a drop camp so I think it's safe to assume that he'll be up in the mountains.
I agree that Muck Boots are awesome for whitetails and I have a couple pairs, but I would not recommend them for mountain hunting because they don't have nearly enough support and your feet would slide all over in them.
I always have two pair. One pair dries while I wear the other.
Zippo type (or even fuel stick type) handwarmers. Put them in the boots at night. Dry by AM.
For truck/base camp I have 3 pairs of boots. Two lighter hikers and a heavy pack boot. Alternating boots each day prevents blisters and makes your feet feel better.
For spike camp where you can't have two pairs of boots, I bring 6 pairs of socks: 1 thin synthetic sock liner for use during the day, two pairs of thin Merino and three pairs of thick Merinos. I always wear two pairs of socks in a boot because my feet feel better doing so. I wear the synthetic sock liner, then the thin Merino then the thick Merino. Each day, for drying, I alternate out the thin and thick Merino and keep the 3rd pair of thick Merino for sleeping in.
This plus gortex gators keep your feet pretty dry and warm even in a downpour and creek crossings. And your feet will thank you for the extra padding.
When it's been pouring days on end and boots are wet..... only thing I can come up with is do the best you can in camp (as mentioned earlier, too hot is BAD) Other than that, wool socks and wear em dry. Any way you slice it... wet boots suck big ol.... well... they're bad.....
FWIW... the gator guys are spot on. I'd guess 80% of wet boots are in reality wet pants that wicked down into the socks and boots.
