One of my most memorable hunts was a very cold and snowy December morning back in 2016. My father-in-law had just gotten me permission to hunt a small cattle pond owned by a friend of his, and it was an absolute lights-out hunt. Marcus and I shot a nice mixed bag of ducks and geese, but by about 11AM a storm started rolling in and we were forced to pick up (if you know us, the weather has to be incredibly severe for us to call a hunt). By the time we actually called the hunt and began picking up decoys, we were dealing with sub-zero windchills and whiteout conditions. Unfortunately, I drew the short straw and donned the only pair of waders to go pick up decoys. After only a minute or 2 waddling around in the frigid water that was rapidly icing over, my feet got stuck in the mud and I took a full-submersion faceplant straight into the pond. After swimming back to shore just to get my feet back underneath me, I was soaked clean through to the bone.
In hindsight, I should have left the decoys there and gotten to the house ASAP, but Marcus had just bought a brand new set of Dakota fully flocked mallard decoys, and I wasn’t going to let them get locked up in the ice. By the time I finished grabbing all the decoys, I was showing early symptoms of hypothermia. I was exhausted, had trouble walking, had ice forming on my skin, and all I wanted to do was lay down on the bank and rest. If it hadn’t been for Marcus picking me up and dragging me to the truck, I probably would have froze to death on that farm pond bank.
Ever since then, staying dry and warm has been one of my top priorities when out in the marsh, and I certainly have the experience to speak with authority on the subject. While that particular hunt was my wake-up call, I’ve had several previous experiences with hypothermia and frostbite, although none quite that severe (I’ve just started getting feeling back in my foot after a leaky wader incident over a decade ago). Because of all this, I have developed a tried-and-true regimen that has kept me dry and warm on all but the coldest of days in the field. If you want to learn more about how to stay warm in extreme cold, then keep reading!
There are very few things that will ruin a hunt faster than cold feet, and ever since my leaky-wader incident, my feet get cold way before anything else. Warm boots and socks can only go so far, and chemical warmers leave a lot to be desired as the oxygen they need to work is rapidly depleted deep inside your boots.
So let’s start with the outer layer in my system to keep my feet warm: the boots. I use a pair of camouflage waterproof Bog boots with 1200 grams of insulation. I’ve also used Muck boots in the past, but they were far less durable than the Bogs. These are great boots to use in cold weather out in the field, but what about the marsh? If I’m going to be in and out of the water when it’s below freezing, I break out my Cabela’s super mag neoprene waders with 1600 grams of insulation in the boot. I know you will find lots of guys that will tell you that you can stay just as warm in breathables, and that may be true. But I know that when there’s ice on the duck hole, I always reach for my super mag neoprene waders.
The next layer down is the socks. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of just wearing as many pairs of cheap socks as you can fit in the boot, but this has never worked well for me. I prefer to go with one single pair of thick socks, preferably made out of some kind of blend of merino wool. This will help wick away moisture in the event that you sweat, and it will also help keep you warm. If you have troubles with cold feet, just adding another pair of socks is almost never the right solution.
The final part of my 3 part solution to cold feet is my not-so-secret weapon: ThermaCell heated insoles. I know adding yet another battery to your hunting gear is something that nobody wants to do, but in this case, I can guarantee it’s worth it. On a vast majority of our hunts, I leave the insoles at home as my boots and socks are plenty good enough to keep me warm. But when the mercury starts to dip into the negative numbers, I can credit these insoles with keeping me out in the field significantly longer. As an added bonus, they also have a remote that allows you to turn them on and off as needed, which helps conserve battery life. I know it can be tough to bite the bullet on something like this, but for me, the proof is in the pudding: I have many occasions where my feet have been toasty warm while other people are wanting to call the hunt because of the cold. For me, this is a small price to pay to hunt harder and longer in the late season.
Having a bone-chilling north wind blowing against your face all morning will very quickly numb your cheeks, ears, and nose. I combat this pretty easily with a piece of gear that pulls double duty in the duck blind: my face mask. I like to wear a facemask year-round for concealment, but late-season I swap out my lightweight mesh mask for this heavy-duty fleece mask balaclava. The fleece lining is very warm, and it has some kind of windproof coating on the outside to keep you warm on even the windiest of days. The only things I don’t like about this mask are the lack of holes for the nose and mouth. This can be an issue if you are the caller in the group, or if you wear glasses, as your warm breath comes out around your eyes and will fog your lenses. But if neither of these things affect you, this is the warmest facemask I have yet to come across.
My fingers are another extremity that gets cold very easily, so I take special precautions here as well. The best solution to this problem is simply a light pair of gloves and a warming muff stocked with chemical hand warmers, which works great if you hunt out of a blind or on a bucket. Unfortunately, our style of hunting in layout boats doesn’t facilitate the use of these very easily, so I like to use a waterproof mitten/glove combination, with a pocket for a handwarmer. This allows me to flip the cover down over my fingers when the birds aren’t flying and have a nice spot for a handwarmer, but I can also easily flip the cover away and have the same dexterity that I would have with only a lightweight pair of gloves.
Another trick that has saved me on numerous occasions is to bring 2, or even 3 pairs of gloves on every hunting trip. You never know when your hand will accidentally dip into the water or get wet, and even with waterproof gloves, this can still prove to be detrimental. I almost always go through a minimum of 2 pairs of gloves on every late season hunt, so having an extra pair is very important to keep me out in the field longer.
I would say that without a doubt, I can credit these adhesive body warmers with giving me more hours in the field late season than any other product. When it gets very cold, I use between 2 and 6 of them per hunt, and they are perfect for keeping your core warm and preventing that deep, bone-chilling cold from settling in. I have never had an issue with them running out during the hunt, even after sitting in a layout blind chasing geese all day long. I like to open mine up first thing in the morning (usually around 4 or 5 AM late season) so they have plenty of time to “pre-heat” and be ready to go by the time I get to the field. I typically like to stick the warmers in assorted place directly on top of my base layer, to allow my warming layers to trap as much heat as possible.
If it’s only slightly chilly that day, I like to stick one on my lower back, and possibly one on my chest as well. As the temperature drops my next step is to add a warmer to my inner thigh on each leg, right on top of the femoral artery to help warm my blood as it flows through on its way to my feet. Finally, if I’m hunting in the real bitter cold, I’ll stick a warmer on each of my arms, up by my shoulders. This might seem like overkill to some people, but if you want to hunt longer and harder than anybody else, staying comfortable is key.
In addition to adhesive body warmers, I also like to use the regular chemical hand warmers as well inside my gloves, and maybe an extra set in my pockets. One quick bonus tip that works well for me is to place a pair of hand warmers in every pair of gloves I take, whether I plan to use them or not. Yes, you may end up “wasting” a pair of hand warmers every now and then, but being able to go from a pair of cold, soaking wet gloves to a brand new, dry, and already pre-heated pair can really put a breath of fresh air into your hunt and keep you out in the field longer.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve decided to stay out in the field “just one more hour,” and ended up shooting another duck or two. But even on the days that I don’t, I almost never regret the decision to spend more time out in the marsh. Being able to hunt longer and harder than everybody else not only gives you more opportunities to harvest more birds, but it allows you to harvest more memories as well. We all want to spend more time in the field, but making that call can be pretty difficult when you can’t feel your fingers or toes. I’ve been there many times myself, and I can honestly say the system that I use to stay warm can be credited with giving me more hours in the field than anything else.
What are some of your tips, tricks, or favorite products that you use to keep warm? Let me know!
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