New gear -threads

[jibmaster]

Wanted to get some feedback on personal warmth/performance clothing.
This thread is not about skis/boots/bindings, etc...

Let's talk threads.

I'll start.

I have a couple pair of these


Very warm, but was not thrilled with the durability of these booties.
Used them for two weeks in the backcountry. The soles are torn up and they were useless in deep snow.
So, I got these.



From Nordstrom!
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/the-nort...f-001b2166becc

Hoping to use them for multi-day ski tours.
Living out of the tent, I need something to wear out in the snow-other than my ski boots.

What's interesting, is that I used the first pair while in the tent. I didn't find that wearing the down booties helped
to keep me warm while in the sleeping bag. My feet got cold while wearing them at night in my -30 degree sleeping bag.
My feet(and me) were warmer with them off my feet.
I would store them at the bottom of my sleeping bag during the night.
In hopes that they would dry out...
They kept getting wet from tromping about in the snow around camp, in the evenings.
I'm hoping the new, yellow, down boots will hold up.
I was finding that the snow would soak through the base of the first pair.
The serious sole on the yellow boots is what I'm counting on.

[BillyFromTheHills]

OR makes a mukluk-type bootie (OR Modular Mukluk) that is light, knee height and warm. No sole, but that is the price of light and packable. They have a removeable liner...I cut out a footbed from an ensolite pad and put it on the bottom of the bootie under the liner....warm and they add protection from moisture. There is no down or fiberfill to get wet; the liners are moonlite pile. Best system I've used for winter camping, or heading to the outhouse in the snow.

[Dostie]

I tried something recently that seems to work - inserting a sandal inside the bootie. The lack of foot support for walking around in the snow has always bothered me. With the sandal inside I have something solid to stand on AND it adds a much needed barrier to the cold from below, keeping it below. The down (or Primaloft) all around the rest of the bootie then keeps me plenty warm. I always knock off the snow when I climb inside the tent and have rarely felt the need to wear them inside the sleeping bag.

[Greg]

OR makes a mukluk-type bootie (OR Modular Mukluk) that is light, knee height and warm. No sole, but that is the price of light and packable. They have a removeable liner...I cut out a footbed from an ensolite pad and put it on the bottom of the bootie under the liner....warm and they add protection from moisture. There is no down or fiberfill to get wet; the liners are moonlite pile. Best system I've used for winter camping, or heading to the outhouse in the snow.

I made something similar to this; it is cheap, light and works well. You can carry along down booties to wear inside and in your sleeping bag, or just go with these and socks - that is usually fine for around the hut and going to the outhouse. You could also use you ski boot liners inside, although I think you would need to make them larger to accommodate that. It has been many many years since I made mine, but I am pretty sure I did not use a pattern but just free-soloed it, and I am not an expert seamstress so it could not have been hard.

[dschane]

Those North Face boots look rugged, for sure. My concern would be their weight (20 oz). You can cut that by more than a half with something like these:

http://featheredfriends.com/sleeping...own-booty.html