Boot insulator

[jnawalaniec]

Has anyone tried out the Artic shield boot insulator? I have the Zamberlan Lynx which keep me warm when moving but the toes go numb pretty quickly after sitting down. Ideally don’t want to buy a second pair of boots.

 

[zion zig zag]

I’ve wondered about them too. They pop up pretty often on Camofire. Curious how much warmth they add, weight and how small they pack down.

 

[hh76]

I have some, and am not a huge fan, but mostly because of the sizing. I followed the recommended sizing, but even with some modifications, they are tough to slip on. They are pretty stiff, too.

My favorite pair of boot blankets is a cheap pair that I can't remember how I got. They are lightweight and very flexible, so they quickly pack away. They are not extremely insulated, but I always have some hand warmers with me, and toss them inside the insulation, outside of my boots.

 

[jnawalaniec]

Picked up a pair at Scheels today, going to be in the low 20s in the morning Wednesday and Thursday, i’ll let you know how they are. Got a size up after reading some reviews.

 

[dtrkyman]

I use them all the time, key is to put them on right away to trap the heat. Wear non insulated boots all the time late season, glassing in the teens and no problems. Really light to pack in as well.

Us mid west tree stand hunters can teach you western folks a few things.

Definitely size up on artic shields.

 

[jnawalaniec]

I use them all the time, key is to put them on right away to trap the heat. Wear non insulated boots all the time late season, glassing in the teens and no problems. Really light to pack in as well.

Us mid west tree stand hunters can teach you western folks a few things.

Definitely size up on artic shields.

I moved to Utah from Ohio, used to hunt my buddy’s property a couple times a year, I know the pain of sitting in a tree stand with frozen feet. Don’t miss that at all!

 

[DLIP]

I personally don’t like arctic shield(threw mine in the trash).. I have a pair of icebreakers that are super warm and aren’t very heavy but they are bulky and don’t pack down well. I just picked up a pair of Wiggys overboots that I plan to try out this year. Would say based off the construction that I expect them to be very warm, especially with a hand warmer. They also pack down way smaller than the Icebreakers.

 

[oldillini]

Like others have said, make sure you get a size large enough to easily slip on. They can be difficult, but I am usually trying to do it when seated in a tree stand. Much easier on the ground. Keep in mind this is coming from a not so flexible senior hunter. LOL

I have found that it is easier for me to slip my Zamberlan or Crispi boats in them versus my 800g Rocky's. Little less bulk to the mountain style boots since they don't have all the insulation.

Overall, I think they work well. I rarely sit all day in sub-20F temps in a tree stand. So for the shorter sits of a few hours, I tend to suck it up.

If I happen to be using a blind or ground sitting, I often carry an army surplus "woobie" i found somewhere on-line for ~$25. Small enough to carry in pack and provides decent additional warmth, even to the legs if needed. I actually had my wife cut mine down to about half size (~3' x 4')and re-stitch. I have found this is much easier to shed if you need to move quickly while on the ground.

 

[Vrybusy]

I use them all of the time when it's really cold. Like it was mentioned above, put them on sooner than later to keep the heat in. In extreme cold, put a handwarmer iniside on the top of your boots. As other's said, it may help to size up as they can be snug depending on the type/style of boot you're wearing.

 

[ewescue]

I'm a huge fan..

Yes, size up. I use mine in treestand hunting probably 15-20 times a year. For that application I've found the very best recipe is to walk in with thin merino socks, uninsulated boots. Then once you're set up at the tree, change into thick DRY wool socks, your uninsulated boots, drop a handwarmer in the blanket and put them on. I can sit 13 hours straight, in sub freezing temps, with my feet on a metal platform NO PROBLEM doing this. I used to suffer from cold feet using insulated boots,, but no more. This is the key to warm feet all day long.

 

[Poser]

I tried the Icebreakers, but they are insanely bulky. Switched to the OR XGaiters but haven’t used them enough yet to state any conclusion.

 

[zion zig zag]

I tried the Icebreakers, but they are insanely bulky. Switched to the OR XGaiters but haven’t used them enough yet to state any conclusion.

I forgot about those. Do you just put them on when you get to your spot? Or are you wearing them in? I typically am already wearing gaiters for the hike.

 

[Poser]

I forgot about those. Do you just put them on when you get to your spot? Or are you wearing them in? I typically am already wearing gaiters for the hike.

I just put them on as overboots, on top of my conventional gaiters. Since they were designed for high altitude mountaineering, they are designed for pure snow conditions only -I don’t think they’d last long hiking in rocky terrain, especially the retention cord that runs under foot, though that could be replaced with tougher material.

 

[*zap*]

I have artic shield and icebreakers. Actually 2 pair of each, the artic shields are ok for not real/real cold and the icebreakers rock for very cold...I just accept that very warm clothes for sitting still are going to take up room to pack in so icebreakers are no different from my stand hunter stuff as far as that goes. One thing I make sure about is having dry socks for the sit and that my regular footwear is not too tight.....as much as a pia it is I just have to change socks sometimes for the sit and sometimes I just wear boot blankets and leave my regular footwear off....throw in some hand or body warmers are good to go.....anything is better than freezing toes even if it is a pia to deal with the options they are better than freezing cold feet...if it is dry/no snow I just wear trail runners in..but then I need to bring the boot covers and a light boot in case I need to do stuff after a kill...sometimes you just have to suck up what sucks and do what you need to do to stay warm and safe.

 

[*zap*]

Another thing you can do is get you a piece of refletix and cut insoles from it for your boots or the overboot and put those in for the sit, 10°+ warmer easily with refletix insoles.

 

[TheGDog]

If you have some of those Sneek-Tec Boot sole coverings for the final stalk-in.. when you're on your sit and it's colder than you thought it was going to be... than put them back on and leave them on, on your sit. I noticed they helped a bit in keeping my boots warmer from that wind, since it further insulates the sole from the cold ground I suppose.

 

[Shraggs]

I'm a huge fan..

Yes, size up. I use mine in treestand hunting probably 15-20 times a year. For that application I've found the very best recipe is to walk in with thin merino socks, uninsulated boots. Then once you're set up at the tree, change into thick DRY wool socks, your uninsulated boots, drop a handwarmer in the blanket and put them on. I can sit 13 hours straight, in sub freezing temps, with my feet on a metal platform NO PROBLEM doing this. I used to suffer from cold feet using insulated boots,, but no more. This is the key to warm feet all day long.

Been using them for decades, they do work as listed above.

the less insulated boots the better your heat is used and retained.

dry socks and especially dry boots.

put them on right way while feet are hot from waking.

if your using heavy insulation in boots, there’s no heat escaping to trap so the don’t get warm - but will still slow the heat loss from outside cold air on boots. This is what I do most often, and adhere a tie Warner to top of boot if needed.

I think ice breaker is warmer but no way I’m packing those and these with some thought and trail will work well. I even take them on Late season western hunts for over my kenetreks when stopped.

 

[jnawalaniec]

Well tried them yesterday glassing for a few hours, worked great! Was at about 9000 feet, mid-20s with snow on the ground, they did much better than expected.

 

[Johbran]

First year for me using the Arctic shields. They have been great! Keep my feet perfectly comfortable down in the mid 20s. Highly recommend if you get chilly feet.

 

[TheGDog]

Very glad I found this thread. Picked up some of those artic shields! I always have problem out there with cold feet when on the sit part. I always figured it was my BP meds that did it.