Russ, Yes, I do like the idea of the removeable felt. Take it out and let it dry. It would dry much faster than a wet boot would! It sounds like you have had no splitting problem with the rubber bottom of your boots below the leather uppers?
JP On Jan 3, 2:19 pm, [email protected] wrote: > James: > > The thing I like about the Sorel boots is the rubber bottom with the sewn on > leather uppers. The leather top allows you to tighten the boots better and > add they add much more support than just rubber and the removable inner felts > provide insulation from the cold and substantially more padding than straight > rubber boots. Also, most of the Sorels I have seen come with a sole that is > not much like a traditional hiking boot sole. There are some extremely good > tread designs that can greatly reduce your likelihood of slipping and sliding > in the snow...in the woods or otherwise. > > LL Bean used to have a thing called a Maine hunting shoe. It was similar in > design with rubber bottoms and leather uppers but they didn't have the felt > inserts. The best thing about felts is that you can removed them every night > so that they can dry out. > > In traditional rubber boots they usually broke down at the back of the boot > between heel and ankle. Having the boots with leather uppers solved most of > the problems associated with getting your feet wet because of holes in the > boots....I just would try not to kick a lot of broken glass and barbed wire > out of my way while I'm wearing them. > > They also hold up a lot better if you are snowshoeing. > > I hate getting my feet wet anywhere but the shower, swimming hole or bathtub > so I would say that in spite of being a forester my preference for swamp > slogging would be via either a boat or during an extended period of the most > frigid conditions possible on the very last day before the weather changes. > > Lee could probably add some serious discussion to some of the unique things > there are see and do in a frozen swamp. > > Russ > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: James Parton <[email protected]> > To: ENTSTrees <[email protected]> > Sent: Sun, Jan 3, 2010 1:49 pm > Subject: [ENTS] Re: Cold is good > > Russ, > I like your recommendations, especially on the Sorel boots, in which I > ust looked up. They look like good winter boots with well above > verage ratings. On the Sorels that have the rubber bottoms have you > ver had the rubber to crack or split? I had a pair of rubber bottomed > oots and that is exactly what happened, plus they froze my feet off > ven with the 400gr Thinsulate insulation. Dad had a pair of rubber- > ottoms that split as well. > My current two pairs of boots are Herman Survivors. Back in the 1980's > S was a very credible and fairly expensive boot. Wal-Mart aquired the > ompany in the early 2000s and they are now no longer made in the USA. > hey still have some decent boots but are getting worse year by year > nd their selection of good outdoor hiking/hunting boots is becoming > ess. I cannot even find the style I have in my hiking boots that I > ave by them anymore. I have had them for six years and walked the > rap outta them and they still have lots of wear left. On my insulated > ermans, they have 400gr Thinsulate and have done well so far. I have > ot tried them much in really cold weather though. One thing is for > ure. They are waterproof. I slogged around in the muddy water of > ongaree Swamp last year measuring cypress knees without a leak! > James Parton > > n Jan 3, 10:31 am, [email protected] wrote: > Paul: > > I, like you very much enjoy extreme cold ....there is something perversely > njoyable about being outside at temps close to zero or below with a gentle > wind > hat feels like a laser on your cheeks. As I've gotten older and reached the > oint where I am almost always working alone, I no longer go out for more than > ix or eight hours in the woods if the temperature isn't going to get above > ero. > > I agree about layering and how you mix them is so incredibly important. The > eneral availability of good mixed material boots like Sorels with removable > elts makes many aspects of extreme weather much more enjoyable today than 30 > or > 0 years ago. > > I'd like to offer a tip for heavy physical effort and perspiration in extreme > old weather. In almost any circumstance where I am going to climb up a big > ountain or expose myself to a substantial period of serious effort in very > cold > emperatures, I'll carry a spare T-shirt. At the point where I decide that the > eriod of most severe effort has ended I will immediately stop in as calm a > oint as possible and strip down my top layers down to bare skin and take off > he wettest bottommost layer of my shirts and completely dress back up with a > ry shirt on the bottom. Such a change has always been refreshing and nearly > lways prevents me from developing a chill. Also, if I plan it carefully and > I > m able to make the wardrobe change before my body starts to recover from the > train of the climb and begin cooling off I have an extremely good chance of > emaining comfortable at whatever the temperature is for several hours. > > One question, for everyone who spends a lot of time in the woods during the > oldest part of winter....have you noticed that there is a time in the > afternoon > hen something changes to make the air suddenly "feel" colder. In Western > assachusetts during January I usually found that time to be between 3:15 and > :30 on the coldest days. Other people were the first to point this change out > o me and it seems to be most readily noticeable in forested locations that are > n north or east facing areas (out of any sun). > > Russ > > -----Original Message----- > From: Paul Jost <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Sat, Jan 2, 2010 2:30 pm > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Cold is good > > Bob, > > As I get older, I also have reduced tolerance for the cold. The key is to > ave proper clothing and to keep moving. Conventional cold weather gear is > oefully inadequate. It is a significant investment to outfit one's self with > he proper clothing. From years of deer hunting, moving slowly or not at all > or several hours at a time in subzero weather, I have evolved a clothing > rrangement that allows me to do so relatively comfortably. Few people that I > ave come across in winter are dressed in winter clothing other than what is > vailable in the typical chain store or department store. It's good for urban > iving but not rural stomping. Even most hunting clothing traps too much > oisture. My cold weather midyear and outerwear, boots and socks come mostly > rom Cabala's, thermal underwear and glove liners from REI, glove-mitts and > knit > aps from anyone that has them. > > Paul > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 1:21 PM > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Cold is good > > Paul, > > I salute you my friend. I never thought about the dvantages as you have > escribed them. However, as one ages, tolerance to cold diminishes. At least, > hat is true in my case. I am becoming a real wuss. > > Bob > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Paul Jost" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Saturday, January 2, 2010 1:38:21 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: [ENTS] Cold is good > > I disagree. The best time to search some sites is when it is below zero, as > long as the wind is nearly calm. About 10 years ago, I spent a three day > weekend in fresh snow in the Cathedral Pines and Giant Pine Groves in the > Nicolet National Forest. It never got warmer than -10F and was mostly -15 > to -20F. The cold weather kept all people out of the woods (except for one > individual on the December bird count survey day) and the fresh snow allowed > me to track a real viewable grid pattern through the entire Cathedral Pine > grove without having to refer to a GPS the whole time. This freed up my > hands and eyes for quick on the fly rough-estimation scanning through the > grove. The lack of other people due to the cold allowed me to refer to my > footsteps in the snow for ensuring a thorough scouting of the grove. The > lack of wind allowed me to not be burdened with a heavy winter coat. I > generated enough heat by walking in the knee deep snow and crossing > blowdowns. I wore a light sweater, light vest, and light jacket with light > gloves and a cap. It was refreshing to be dressed lightly and out in the > brisk weather crashing through underbrush. However, if I stopped for more > than a few minutes to measure a tree, I soon got too cold. I kept the > laser, GPS, and camera one layer deep within my clothes. Any more would > have made them too warm and condensation would have damaged them after their > periodic exposures to the cold air. The circumstances allowed me to find > tall skinny 133 foot white pines whose crowns had been 25-35' higher but had > at some time been bent horizontal by heavy snow loads. All of those trees > have since fallen since then due to subsequent snow loads in combination > with their arching bent over habit. Additionally, I covered an area that I > normally would have ignored, but went into to stick to my regimen of well > defined grids in the snow. As a result, I found 147' and 150' tall white > pines adjacent to each other outside the main grove. Those are the tallest > trees that I have measured in Wisconsin outside the Menominee Reservation. > Both accurately laser measured in -22F weather in the dusky twilight and > reverified within a half a foot on a 95F midsummer day the following year. > That time, the grove was filled with tourists and nesting great blue herons, > as well as mosquitoes! I preferred the colder day. > > Paul > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lee Frelich" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 11:08 AM > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Re: The Ramble Grove_Asheville NC > > > Bob: > > > Yes, keeping electronic instruments under your coat is pretty much > > necessary when its below zero. However, I don't do field work on days > > when the high is predicted to be below zero. Its just not an efficient > > use of time. 0-10 degrees is my minimum for field work, although I do > > recreational activities at colder temperatures. > > > Lee > > > [email protected] wrote: > >> James, > > >> Well, north is relative. At my > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
