Kayak Winter Boots/Shoes (Cold weather, Freeze)

Hi Guys! What kind of shoes/boots do you wear for current weather conditions? I went for some perch fishing last weekend and freeze my feet badly. I was wearing 3mm neoprene shoes + 2 mm neoprene socks, dry suit of course and looks like my setup doesn't work. Need any advices/recommendations! Thank you in advance

NRS Watershoes over dry suit. Thick wool socks over heavy cotton crews socks inside.

NRS ATB wetshoe over dry suit and thick wool socks.

 I use NRS Boundary boots. So far I've been good in water as cool as 38 degrees.

http://m.outdoorplay.com/paddle-sports-M/Kayak-Booties-M/NRS-Boundary-Kayaking-Booties

 And I really hate cold feet.

another ATB kayak shoe wearer here also, with heavy wool socks inside of drysuit feet.

What will keep your feet warm is a couple layers of thick fuzzy socks under your drysuit's dry socks.  The footgear you wear over your drysuit will get wet, and will contribute little to keeping your feet warm.  But if your footgear is too tight, it will restrict the circulation in your feet and make them cold.  So whatever footgear you wear over your drysuit's dry socks to protect the dry socks and cushion your feet, make sure it is big enough so it fits loosely even when worn over a couple of layers of socks.  I wear a pair of NRS Comm-3 wetsuit booties which are two and a half sizes larger than the size of my street shoes.  See http://www.nrs.com/product/2310/nrs-comm-3-wetshoe .

I don't like knee-high wetsuit booties, because if you end up in the water they could scoop up a lot of water, and could make it harder for you to climb back onto your kayak.

Thank you all guys! One more question please - I found that some people recommend polartec socks. They are kinds expensive. Does anybody here have an experience with them? Thank you!

I found that some people recommend polartec socks. They are kinds expensive. Does anybody here have an experience with them? Thank you!

I prefer knit polypro socks with a lot of loft because they're warm, they hardly absorb any water, and they dry out quickly from the heat of your body.  Polartec is polypro fleece, and also has those characteristics.

I'm not a fan of wool socks.  Wool will keep you warm even if it gets wet, but it absorbs a lot of water and stays wet and soggy for a long time.

Here's an experiment you can perform.  Get some cotton, polypro, acrylic, and wool gloves, wear them in un-matched pairs (cotton on one hand and polypro on the other, acrylic on one hand and wool on the other, etc.), get them wet in cool weather, and see which kind of gloves keeps you warmest when wet, and which kind of gloves dries out the fastest.  Wet cotton is terrible - it sucks heat from you like a refrigerator, and it dries very slowly.  I never wear cotton in any outdoor sport.  Wool will keep you surprisingly warm when wet, but it soaks up a lot of water and stays wet and soggy for a long time.  Polypro hardly soaks up any water, it keeps you warm when it's wet, and it dries out very quickly, even if you don't wring it out.  Acrylic is almost as good as polypro.

I did a lot of caving back in the 70s and early 80s, which was before polypro clothing was very available in the US.  We used wool underwear and clothing and nylon coveralls for muddy and drippy conditions, and wetsuits for when we were really going to get wet.  Wool clothing was hard to find, and much of what we used was military surplus.  Then companies named Damart and Lifa started selling polypro-like underwear in the US.  It was expensive, but cavers reported that it really worked well, and we started switching to polypro underwear.  Early brands of polypro started getting stiff and scratchy with use, particularly if you made the mistake of drying it in a dryer, and it retained body odor in a hideous manner.  Now many very good brands of polypro underwear and fleece clothing are readily available. 

I wear the neoprene upper/rubber soled Muck Boot.  I get them at the farm supply store here in Redmond.  The set I have now are the over the calf hight.  I wear wool or fleece socks, my neoprene suit, and then pull the muck boots over my feet and the neoprene suit.  This combo makes a near water proof seal and keeps your feet warm.

When it's a tad warmer I wear a a Kokotat splash top over my whitewater gortex pants, then the pants go over the tops of the Muck boot.  The whitewater pants have neoprene gaskets at the bottom of the legs, and they make a great seal when combined with the boots.  I did an immersion test at PC by bailing out of my yak by the rock to see how the equipment performed.  Very well, warm and hardly any water crept in.

I wear the boots during winter snow outings, bird hunting, chores...and kayaking in cold weather.  Cost about 60-80 bucks depending on wether they are on sale.  I have used my current Muck boots for the last 6 years (they last).
-Scott

When it's a tad warmer I wear a a Kokotat splash top over my whitewater gortex pants, then the pants go over the tops of the Muck boot.  The whitewater pants have neoprene gaskets at the bottom of the legs, and they make a great seal when combined with the boots. . . . -Scott

When fishing from a sit-on-top kayak, your feet are wet much of the time.  The disadvantage of most dry pants is that they have ankle gaskets rather than dry socks, so your feet can get wet and cold, even when the air temperature is pretty warm.  An excellent pair of dry pants with dry socks is the NRS Hydrus 3L Tempest drypants , http://www.nrs.com/product/25051/kokatat-hydrus-3l-tempest-dry-pants-with-socks . The wide waistband makes a pretty good seal against your stomach, and also makes a pretty good seal with the bottom of a dry top.  And for guys, the waist is low enough that you can easily pull it down to pee in a funnel while sitting in your kayak's seat.  I prefer my Tempest dry pants to waders because they make a better seal around my waist, and because it's easier to pee while wearing the dry pants.

However, for cold water and cold weather conditions, there isn't any substitute for a full drysuit.  If you end up in the water while wearing dry pants or a dry pants/dry top combo, unless you get out instantly, your clothing is going to get wet.

Pete brought up what I think is the most important part of this whole thing - tight feet are cold feet.

I struggle with cold hands and feet when fishing in the winter. I don't think it's as bad as someone with Raynaud's Disease but the symptoms are similar. After experimenting and reading advice on this forum, this is what I've found works for my feet:

Thin base layer socks (I use polypropylene skiing socks sometimes, or smart wool or just cotton), a full size "hotties" hand warmer, then 1-2 layers of the biggest, fattest wool socks I can find, then the drysuit, then my boots. I bought my boots overly large on purpose to accommodate the layering and it has been worth it.

Thank you all guys! Yes, I agree with larger size boots and warm socks. So I have already ordered larger boots and few pairs of socks. Hope it will work! Happy fishing and tight lines!