Question:
Looking at a boot for primarily winter use - both combination of
walking in snow, as sitting on snowmobile for a few hours. How many
grams of thinsulate Ultra is good ? Don't know if it makes a
difference - but I am selecting a boot with a breathable gore-tex
liner. I was thinking 600-800 grams ???
Answer:
I don't know that Thinsulate is the best
choice for warmth. I have not seen it perform as well as many other
insulations, and its primary advantage seems to be for products where
bulk of insulation is a major problem.
Some alternative choices would include the Sorel/Kamik/Baffin pac
boots, with removable liners of wool felt (traditional) or
polypropylene felt (newer). The ones with 6mm (1/4") are rated to -25F
while active, 9 mm (3/8") are rated to -40 while active, and the ones
with 12 mm (1/2") are rated to something like -60F. They are also
quite warm when not moving. People who work outside in winter (ski
lift attendants) or do less active winter activities (ice fishing) or
those snowshoeing are vary happy with them.
For more technical winter hiking, the double plastic mountaineering
boots, usually with closed cell foam inner boots, work extremely well.
For the mild winter you describe, 800-1000 gram Thinsulate may be
adequate, but the design is as least as large a factor as the base
material.
If you are standing in one place in the cold, something that helps is
to bring a small piece of closed cell foam or styrofoam to stand on.
Conduction to the cold ground is significant.
