Cold weather foot wear

[Charlie Ford]

I have a pair of vibram five fingers. I bought them at the pack rat. They make great warm weather shoes because they are so small in the boat. However I did not buy the neoprene pair. I was wondering if anybody has paddled with them or what a good pair of warm weather shoes is?

[Max Carruth]

Any warmth is going to come from the layering you do underneath the bootie. A tall neoprene bootie with a good sole and the thickest smartwool "hunting" sock they make is the combo of choice for me. I tried the neoprene socks when I first got into yaking. They were ok, but make sure u can wiggle your toes or no good. They make some fleece lined neoprene socks, they're better than the plain ones. The biggest tip I can offer is keep your feet dry. This starts when your getting geared up, dont lay them in water, dont stand on them cause your changing in standing water move,dont step in puddles, slide in the water rather than putting boat more in the water, and when your getting out on the banks back up to the bank and scoot it to where you can step on dry land. If you can keep your feet and butt dry, you'll stay warm on the coldest of days if properly outfitted. I hope this helps and hope the boat is doing good for you.
Max Carruth

[Charlie Ford]

Yeah man the boat is working great. I ran the lower piney at 4 feet and made it through with no trouble eddy turns are still hard to do, but I am getting there. I ordered a pair of teva booties that I think will be warm thanks for the advice.

[mb]

I doubt that this will work for kayakers...but for open boaters---

I've taken to wearing womens' (I do hate to be sexist) shorty nylons (the rubber goes on the inside), beneath my sealskinz and topping off with a pair of Chota boots. If you swim, water will get into the Chotas and will have to be poured out (directions are on the heel).

So far, I have not swam with my female attire, so I do not know how warm my feet will be after immersing them while wearing this gear. As for while dry--very warm.

I asked the above question here a couple weeks ago and recieved some good responses.