FFIM

I mentioned this to someone the other day and realized it might be interesting for others as well. The discussion was about cold feet when wading early or late in the year. For years now, I’ve been wearing Alpaca socks while wading and they have essentially eliminated the problem of cold feet.

Alpaca are farmed here in Maine and several of those local suppliers offer socks in various weights. The heaviest weights designed for hunting and fishing are amazingly warm. Too warm to wear except in the coldest of conditions. I’ve read that Alpaca fibers are 4 times warmer than wool. Not sure how accurate that is, but I had always been a fan of real wool for warmth but have made the switch. I can be in the elements a lot longer when my feet are warm. Give ‘em a shot.

100% agree...best move I have made in years.

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Time to tie- Best wishes.

Let me put in a plug here for Old Town Trading Post, where my wife and I stopped on our way to Baxter last spring so we could stretch our legs and I could buy some tippet. They had a huge barrel of alpaca socks and we both stocked up. These were lighter weight and great for hiking in Baxter in May and Wyoming in September. If I were closer, I'd stop by and see if they have the winter versions now.

OTTP is also one of the last true "outdoors" shops that covers just about anything you might want to hunting and fishing from a nice selection of locally tied flies to trolling gear to a solid guns and ammo department and a whole room full of camping gear. I may be an old fart, but I love those stores.

My experience in dealing with fishermen is their wading boots aren't big enough. Boots that are too tight actually repel the foots heat as well as slow circulation. The right socks are important but give those socks and feet a little room to breathe the air pocket between your socks and wader booties is an excellent insulator.

Hatch is more than right... boots with SPACE in them are the key. Remember when Beans was selling boots that were far smaller than the "size"?...these boots all ended up in the return store and I bought my first pair in size 12...mostly to see if a MUCH larger boot worked for me (as I wear a 10)...still not great. BUt then , maybe 5 years later, I bought another size 12 boot set (with a Boga system-ugg) and WOW! they were huge! BUt my feet were warm in April and NOvember.

So I now commonly have 2 pair of boots I wear often--- a size that fits comfortably in warmer weather, and a huge pair that are just so I have space for those wonderful winter Alpaca socks.

Which brings to mind that I have a friend who works for Orvis, and I mentioned that I would like a new size 12 set of boots- and he is looking!

Hutch

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Time to tie- Best wishes.