A good pair of wool socks and Mr Bean's boots should keep your feet warm - leather alone will not do it. IKFE
Tingly pull ons help allot.
:-)
The pair of conventional boots and socks that will keep my feet warm hasn't been invented yet. I've tried Sorels and Columbia Bugaboots, and all manner of "nice, warm socks." None of them do the job. 100% wool socks seem to be very irritating to wear and are not noticeably warmer than the synthetic, "high-tech" socks they sell these days. The activated charcoal toe heaters are next to worthless. They require oxygen to work, and when you seal them up in tight socks and boots, you deprive them of that. So, you get about 10 minutes of heat, then your feet freeze. And, every time you peel those adhesive pads off your socks, you peel off some of the fabric as well.
A couple of days ago, I was having a conference call with my boss at work. It turns out we're both going to be in Maine this weekend and we commiserated about how cold it was going to be. She shared that when she was skiing, she used electrically-heated socks and that the effectiveness and endurance of those has gotten a lot better with the advent of Lithium-Ion batteries. She highly recommended a particular product and said they worked all day for her. So, last night, I hit a ski shop in Salem, NH and got myself a pair. $269 for a pair of socks. Batteries are already charged and I plan to use them tomorrow at the railroad. We'll see how they work. I have a bunch of photo trips planned in February (Niles Canyon, Carson City, V&T, Nevada Northern, C&TS Rotary), so if they work, they will be worth every penny. It will be nice to be able to enjoy those events, vs. just trying to endure them.
