Cold Feet

[Dogwood]

BrianLe, are you saying the Feathered Friends are BOTH separate DOWN SOCKS and a protective over booty shell THAT CAN BE SEPARATED ON TRAIL? Cause that's not what I've seen with them. Was I wrong with what I saw? This is part of the confusion- folks equating down socks, down booties, and down booty shells as all the same things.

[Dogwood]

How long have you had yours BrianLe. Maybe I saw a different version of the FF down booties?

[geomaniac]

Can you provide a link...I keep getting foot fetish follies.

https://goosefeetgear.com/products

[Kerosene]

I also have perennially cold feet. I purchased the Goose Feet Down Sock, and while I love them I find that I actually get too warm after I've been in my sleeping bag for a while. For me, the PossumDown Socks have been a nice compromise. For shoulder-season hikes, I wear them around camp in slip-on sandals or Crocs and sometimes with a plastic bag over them, and they provide just enough warmth in my bag. I reserve the Goose Feet for around the house (I keep the heat down) and for winter-weather hikes.

[geomaniac]

I'm not a hammocker so take what I say with a grain of salt. I've tried the no socks thing and my feet were cold. I like my darn toughs at night but I also make sure that the rest of me is toasty on the theory that a warmer body overall will warm the blood to the extremities better than a colder body will.

Do you find that the rest of you is perfectly warm all night? Do you get cold in the middle of the night? Just curious if you have problems overheating up top but having cold feet below.

Yes, The rest of my body is reasonably warm. I always wear a something on my head, its just my feet get cold despite the thick socks. I am going on a weekend trip this weekend so will be able to try out the suggestions everyone has posted for me. Thanks for the help!

[geomaniac]

I think your talking about this company, as featherd feet takes the reader....some place else.

http://featheredfriends.com/down-booty.html

oops...a senior moment for me..lol.. I meant this site: https://goosefeetgear.com/products/1-down-socks

[geomaniac]

oops...a senior moment for me..lol.. I meant this site: https://goosefeetgear.com/products/1-down-socks

Oh YIKES! I just googled feather feet and clicked on the first link! LOL>.....NO I am not into feet...so it wasnt an freudian slip.

[Dogwood]

BEFORE confusion arises Possum Down Socks ARE NOT made from any down! They are warm though for SLEEPING IN and might be a more economical alternative for someone just wanting to address colder feet INSIDE their sleeping bag/quilt without also desiring a camp shoe at the same time. They MIGHT be all someone needs to adequately warm up their feet. They weren't sufficently warm enough for my feet though(*I had frost nipped feet a few times, see above post). I regard PDSocks simply as lofty merino socks and I wouldn't regularly hike in them as that compromises their warmth and certainly their durability, IMO. I tried. FOR ME, in a side by side comparison a REAL Down Sock like the Goose Feet Down Sock is warmer to sleep in. I had the Possum Down Socks before switching to the Goose Feet Down Socks. You mileage may vary.

[BrianLe]

"BrianLe, are you saying the Feathered Friends are BOTH separate DOWN SOCKS and a protective over booty shell THAT CAN BE SEPARATED ON TRAIL? Cause that's not what I've seen with them. Was I wrong with what I saw? This is part of the confusion- folks equating down socks, down booties, and down booty shells as all the same things."

"How long have you had yours BrianLe. Maybe I saw a different version of the FF down booties? "

When I read your first comment I wondered too if they might have changed, but looking just now at http://featheredfriends.com/sleeping...own-booty.html the pictured item looks exactly the same as what I've had since perhaps 2009 or 2010, even down to the color (sadly, I have the somewhat sickly lime green version, but function over fashion ...).

The comments there don't make it clear that the outer shell is a separate piece, other than the word "combination", plus the one customer review also makes this clear.
Anyway, yes, there's a separate outer with a sort of foam sole, and an inner down sock. I've carried just the inner sock part on some trips and left the outers home to save weight, on other trips I want both.

[Dogwood]

All right. That's for the correction BrianLe. I want to be accurate when I say something about gear. I have to look at the FF booties closer.

[Smooth & Wasabi]

Not being a hammock camper I could be off base, however it sounds to me like you do not have any uncompressed insulation under your feet. "I use a 3/4 length 0degree under quilt and 3 season top quilt. I usually use my empty pack to insulate my legs and keep my feet in the foot box of the quilt" If the only thing that is under your feet is your foot box I would think that down socks would not completely solve your problem. You might consider one or a combination of the following; shifting your pack to your feet, closed cell foam under your feet, a full length under quilt.

[geomaniac]

Not being a hammock camper I could be off base, however it sounds to me like you do not have any uncompressed insulation under your feet. "I use a 3/4 length 0degree under quilt and 3 season top quilt. I usually use my empty pack to insulate my legs and keep my feet in the foot box of the quilt" If the only thing that is under your feet is your foot box I would think that down socks would not completely solve your problem. You might consider one or a combination of the following; shifting your pack to your feet, closed cell foam under your feet, a full length under quilt.

Good suggestion, I think I will pull the trigger and get the down socks. I have some ccf pad that I plan on taking as a sit pad so it can double as under foot insulation.

[Zipper]

No experience with down socks or booties, though they sound great! I found that physically warming my feet with my hands if they were super-cold helped a lot. Once they were warm themselves, then they could retain that warmth in socks. But if they were cold in the socks first that was harder. As others have pointed out, dry socks are important.

One other option that I didn't see mentioned here is those little disposable hand warmers. They're kind of heavy and ridiculous in some ways, but I had a few sent to me as gifts during my hike and they were a treat when I wanted that extra boost of warmth. They tell you not to sleep with them (because you might burn yourself) but I regularly had one in my sleeping bag and had no problems. I like bringing one or two if I know Ill be camping in really cold weather.

Oh and yes to the hats. I had a fleece balaclava that I adore. And I can easily fold it and convert it to a plain old hat. Really cozy. I don't go hiking without it.

Good luck with your sock/bootie decision!

[Rasty]

I like my goosefeet down socks with the overboot. I get cold feet also and these socks have really helped.

[bigcranky]

Goose feet are nice little down booties.

Here's the thing that stands out to me -- you are using a 3/4 length underquilt. To me, that just screams out "cold feet." Yes, I know you are putting your pack under your feet. That probably helps. But it's not anywhere near as much insulation, and there are gaps all over the place. (Also, when your pack is soaking wet after days of rain, you probably won't want it under your feet.)

One thing you might try is a piece of closed cell foam that fits inside your top quilt under your feet and lower legs. This could do double duty as a sit pad during the day. It would be best if it were long enough to overlap the underquilt by several inches at least. It would need to be maybe 1/2 inch thick - a piece of a Ridgrest or even a Z-rest would work.

And I'd wear the Goosefeet, too.

[wiiawiwb]

I'd go with the Goosefeet socks. If you don't want to "shell" out another $45 then try supermarket bags with duct tape to hold them together when you get up at night. If that's a pain, or doesn't work well, then take thee hit and get the over-booties.