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Hunting
Feet freezing on stand? 7 reasons it's probably not your boots
Why the walk in is where cold feet really start, and the fibre from 4,000 metres up in the Andes that handles both halves of a hunt.
It's the same every season. You do everything right: the good boots, the thick socks, layers up top. By the time shooting light comes, your toes are already going. Thirty minutes later you're thinking about the truck instead of the deer.
If that's you, you're in good company. Sitting still in the cold beats almost everyone, and most hunters try the same fixes: heavier boots, a second pair of socks, hand warmers stuffed in the toes, heated socks. Here's why they so often fall short.
1. Cold feet start on the walk in
Heavy insulated boots and thick socks keep you warm while you're moving, so your feet sweat. Then you sit down. The damp sock against your skin is what turns cold, and no amount of boot insulation fixes a wet sock from the inside.
Most cold feet on stand are damp feet first.
2. A second pair often makes it worse
Two pairs of thick socks pack the boot tight. Less room means less trapped air, and more sock means more sweat on the walk in. Plenty of hunters find their toes get colder, not warmer.
3. Cotton is the worst thing you can put in a boot
Cotton soaks up sweat and holds it against your skin, and once it's damp it stops insulating. Many cheap "wool" socks are mostly polyester, which can't absorb sweat at all. Turn yours inside out and read the tag.
4. What the Andes figured out first
Alpacas live through freezing nights at 4,000 metres and strong sun by day, so their fleece has to insulate and breathe. Like merino, alpaca draws moisture vapour off your skin and lets it escape instead of holding it there.
5. Warmth without the bulk
Many alpaca fibres are partly hollow, so they trap a little air and insulate without being thick. That means one pair, with room left in your boots for your toes to move, which matters more than most hunters think.
6. The one we make
We're Alpine Woolies. Our socks are knee-high, so they sit above rubber boot tops, and snug at the ankle and calf so they stay up and never bunch, with room for your toes.
Alpine Woolies
Alpaca Knee-High Socks
- 84% baby alpaca and merino, with nylon for strength and spandex so they stay up
- Moves sweat off your skin, so you don't start the sit damp
- Warm without bulk: one pair, room in the boot
- Knee-high, snug at the ankle and calf, never slides into your boots
- A cushioned sole and a seamless toe
- Naturally resists odour over a long weekend at camp
7. Hunt in them for 100 days, or don't pay
Every pair comes with our 100-day Best Socks Guarantee. Take them on your coldest sits. If they're not the best socks you've ever owned, email us within 100 days and we'll refund the pairs you're not happy with. You don't send worn socks back.
November only
Buy 3, get 5 free
Our Black Friday month bundle: 8 pairs. Enough for the rest of the season and a long weekend at camp. Mix black, grey and natural white.
Free shipping, and 100 days to decide. The deal ends 30 November.
Smaller and larger bundles are just below. Checkout is on this page.
Your hunt shouldn't end when your toes do.
