As a lifelong sufferer of CHCF, which is otherwise nonscientifically known as Cold Hands Cold Feet, I have been down every avenue for trying out all the tricks to help to stay warm. With hunting in Illinois, we get subjected to conditions that require a little extra work than just a good pair of socks and I have tried them all. Have you tried wrapping your foot in a Walmart sack before sticking it in your boot? Yeah, that didn’t work. What about shoving heat packs in your boots? That does work, but you’re stuck walking around with uncomfortable bags of sand floating around your foot all day. So I started going the route of adding additional layers outside of my boots to see how that works. I am trying the Boot Suits.
After trying everything home remedy I could find to help with my CHCF, I went to boot covers to try and help. The first time I tried boot covers, I went to the biggest name at the time which was Arctic Shield and tried theirs. They had their advantages with being thin and packable, but they were a big pain to use. The opening made it hard to put on and zipping them up was always a pain. Not a task I was looking forward to doing while up in a treestand. Then I saw the Boot Suits and although they looked a bit bulky, the simplicity of the design and some of the added features were really interesting. Once I got them and tried them out, I quickly realized that everything is how it is for a reason and I was pumped.
From the Boot Suits Website.
“The Boot Suits™ unique, fold flat design, makes them easy to transport and store, it also makes them easily to put on, even with heavy hunting cloths on. The inside fabric is a special heat reflective material, combined with the 1” thick insulation, keeping the feet warm just became easier. Not made for hiking, these are meant to be used for stationary sitting only. One size fits most.”
Check out their video and see the details on the Boot Suits.
Putting my size 12 Muck in the Boot Suits
Viewing the inside of the Boot Suits
For me, the Boot Suits worked perfectly. Although they do add some extra bulk carrying to the stand, they are light enough that I just clipped them to my pack and didn’t notice them. Once in the stand, I could quickly, quietly and easily put them on with no battle with fit or zippers. The zippers themselves are smooth and quiet. For functional testing in the cold, this warm fall/winter hasn’t allowed me the single digit temps we are used to by now, but they are working great around the freezing mark. I can wear lighter weight boots to walk around in and once in the stand, slap on the Boot Suits and I’m good to go. Once the temps finally do drop, I know that I can take advantage of those internal pockets for the heat packs and I will good to go for whatever mother nature can dish out.
So I guess the question lies, what do I think and do I recommend? If you haven’t figured it out yet, I will never leave home without my Boot Suits. Now I just need to figure out how to use these ice fishing.
