Winter Backpacking Boots...Thoughts & Personal Perspective

THIS IS JUST MY EXPERIENCES BASED ON MY YEARS OF WINTER BACKPACKING IN MINNESOTA.
If you love Winter backpacking then you know how important having good boots or Mukluks are and also knowing how to manage them for the bacpacking in, hiking and then being around camp part. Warm toes are the goal!
It goes from active to non-active.
Managing the foot moisture is essential.....especially if you want warm toes at camp and eventually when you crawl in to sleep.
This is based on my personal experience with pac boots, mukluks, booties, liners and insoles. Also just a wee bit on vapor barrior in a boot. ( Though I am no expert on ANY of it)

I'll try to cover Dry Snow and Wet Snow and talk about what has worked and failed for me.
Everyone is different so use all of this as a guide to figuring your own system out Winter Camping.
All secure in sector seven,
Shug

[BohemianAdventurers]

Hot damn! I cannot wait for my Mukluks to finally arrive, so glad I followed that dude down the dark bridge-way.

Thanks for the info Shug. Informative and easy to follow.

[bryanr.]

Great video Shug, I watched "Lure of the North" and how these were put together and I thought, No way are they warm ! But after 7 people were walking in them, it proved me wrong. Gotta trust those Eskimos, they know best all those years ago.
Thanks for a very informative video 👍👍

[adambenway]

Just borrowed a friend's pair of Mukluks...now I need to get a pair of my own. Glad to know they have the official Shug Seal of Approval!

[klr]

Thanks for all of your videos. Hammock camping for the past year and your videos helped me decide to make the change from my Bibler tent to a WB XLC.

[MrWinger]

East Tennessee here with about 6" of snow at 1500' elevation but a couple of feet up high (above 3500'). We get a lot of wet conditions, sleet etc, so I purchased a pair of Vasque Snowburbans and they are working great. Minimal sweating inside of them, very comfortable, good traction too. Thought about a pair of Hoffman boots, not sure I would wear them much down here.
Great vid!!!

[livingsurvival]

Fantastic video with fantastic options. I've had new winter boots in the cart for years now but always end up with my Rocky 1400 thinsulate and vary my socks accordingly. I religiously use wigwam from their liners to their full wool. Liners for the hike and thicker around camp. Never seem to have much of a problem. From a hunter's prospective when you sit in the tree stand for 4+ hours not moving you learn really fast what works and what doesn't.

[keepfocus]

Very informative. Tennessee had an unusual snowstorm yesterday. I noticed that my feet got in bad shape really quickly. Your recommendations have certainly got my attention.

[tinywentz]

I stumbled across your channel last week. since then I have watched a ton of your videos. I even watched some of your circus and clown videos. truly enjoy your winter camping videos you are a very talented individual

[hikehunter]

Shug with the kind heart ....getting himself a super footwear system. keeping his old stand-by boots for his visiting friends to use if they need them.
If I was in the same place I would buy myself the best gear and leave the left-overs for others.

Just having some video for hikers in the great white north.

Thanks for bring the huddled masses you hiking and hammock hangn wisdom.

[flysubcompact]

Shug,   I'm in the Heart of Dixie.  Real slim chance I'd ever see a pair of mukluks, much less need some, but I have to say that I watched this whole thing.  Most entertaining/informative primer on footwear I've seen.  :) Thanks for taking the effort to produce and post.

[cfraimondo]

Shug, this should great info. Thank you for teaching us what you learned through trial and error. I never thought of the bread bag hiking in to keep the boot dry for camp. Thank you.

[SuperUncleRyan]

I live in Florida so I don't have much need for this type of thing but I still enjoy your videos, so I watch anyway. God bless

[emulfius]

I just want to recomend Teva chair 5 print boots. It's like a mix between the muckluks and a camp boot with an innerboot you can take out. I have used mine from between 5*C (41*F) to -25*C (-13*F) without breaking a sweat. They breethe incredible well and are my go to boots in the swedish winter.

[alexhaney]

Awesome video shug! Another great option if mostly snowshoeing, especially with traditional snowshoes- are winter moccasins. Same idea as a mukluk, made of hide and canvas with wool inserts, but it doesn't have the hard sole on the bottom which doesn't chew up the snowshoes as much and is breathable all around your foot. The sole is obviously essential if you are also using them at home, but out in the snowy bush they aren't essential. I'm currently still using a packer boot but saving up for the moccasins for next winter :)

[thebootbomb]

I've used the KEENs too. You can never go wrong with KEEN. They are the number one hiking boots on Amazon, and rightfully so. It's true you'll get cold feet in them when sitting still, but that's true for many other boots.

I really enjoyed this video. I embedded it on my website!

[MrMultiskennedy]

Brother, just what I was looking for next -- winter boots. Thanks yet again Shug!

[BackcountryTreks]

When my feet get chilly in camp I just saw some fire wood. Warms them toes right up!👍 Great idea on the extra insoles.

[EasternMountainHiker]

Good video, lots of people forget to think about footwear once at camp. I know I did my first winter trip. Now I have the Koflach Degree mountaineering boot which I use for winter hiking. Mostly use them in the White mountains of New Hampshire and with crampons. They're really warm and have removable liners so I can toss them in the sleeping bag at night. Also picked up the same REI down booties. I should get some mukluks for when I don't need the stiff support. Peace.

[sromrell]

I got a pair of Steger Camuks Xtreme for Christmas. I love how light they are! The leather is rubberized to protect it when it's wet like ice fishing. My guess is that the plain leather breath better allowing for a dryer foot, but these were a compromise for the conditions I see most. They are light it's like wearing running shoes. All secure in footwear....

[PumpkinVillage]

Loved the video. Have the same problems here in Vermont. Have about five pair of boots each good for there own thing. Thanks for the over view. Have to find me some of those wool inserts.
Take care,
Al