# >>>>Arctic Shield Boot Insulators<<<<



## Honolua (Jan 8, 2017)

Nothing can ruin a hunt faster than Cold Feet! I live in Alabama and before you start calling me a sissy I will save you the trouble, guilty as charged. I HATE The Cold. I grew up in South Carolina and before moving to Alabama (Roll Tide), I lived on Maui for 17 years but I digress. As I opened with, I Hate The Dang Cold! 

 As a matter of fact I got on my stand last year during a rare cold snap and checked the temp on my weather app and it said 23 with a wind chill of 18 degrees. I had dressed in Bibs, Parka, Lacrosse Aerohead 3.5mm boots and a Sherpa hat on the outside, and good base layers on the inside. My socks were two pair of wool blend socks so I thought I would be in great shape. After an hour (If I am honest it was closer to 50 minutes but who's counting) I couldn't take it any more and, leaving my Man Card right on the platform of my climber; literally ran back to the atv and hauled but home to cower in front of the heater with a hot cup of cocoa.

 I must have been down near the bottom of my second cup of cocoa when I remembered that I had read somewhere that Arctic Shield made some Boot Insulators which were basically zip up jackets for your boots. I went on there website and this is what Arctic Shield Claimed about the Boot Insulators:

 ArcticShield Camouflage Boot Insulator with Retain Technology in Realtree Xtra® Camouflage 
â—¾Light weight, will easily roll-up and fit into most pockets 
â—¾Works best with light-weight boots 
â—¾Windproof, water resistant, breathable 
â—¾Polyester shell fabric 
â—¾Polyester lining with ArcticShield Technology 
â—¾Designed to fit over the boot 

 The price was $59.

 Now I don't know about you but I am definitely not made of money and (We'll call it sixty bucks) $60 is a lot of money. Well I got in the truck and went to Bass Pro shops and shelled out the money for some Boot Insulators. 

 When I got home I started looking at them and was extremely skeptical. They are large, bulky and didn't seem very well insulated. They are basically seemed like a soft shell jacket materiel with very thin, at best, insulation inside. There is a zipper in the back and a draw cord bungee in front. The bottom is a sort of nylon material. I was very un-impressed with them but I thought to myself, "Self, you just spent $60 on these things so doggone it YOU WILL USE THEM IN THE MORNING!" Well 4am the next morning saw me standing in my garage getting laughed at by my hunting buddy, Brian, for: 1.) Spending the money and 2.) Being such a cold blooded (you guessed it) Sissy!

 It was even colder that morning with a high of 19 degrees. I chose to wear my normal two pair of wool blend socks and wear UNINSULATED boots. I figured, Heck at the very least I will take them back to Bass pro Shops if they aren't, "All That and a bag of Chips". 

 My skepticism grew as I was getting ready. The Boot Insulators are Not meant to be walked in. HUH? What's that you say? Not Meant to be walked in? Who's butt do I need to kick (Take the insulators off first as they would cushion the impact considerably)? Okay so wearing them is out. I figured I would stuff them in my pack and be on my way. Not So Fast. Did I mention they are big and bulky? They wouldn't fit in there with all the useless crap that I refuse to take out of my pack even though I never use most of it. despite Arctic Shield's claims these thing aint rolling up and sliding in anyones pockets that is less than 9 feet tall.Okay so I stuffed one inside the other and ran the drawstring through a clip on the outside of my pack, Problem Solved.

 When I got to my stand It was with considerable effort of not so flexible limbs (40 pairs of base layers will restrict your movement a bit) that I eventually got the Boot Insulators on over my boots. This meant it was time to slide into the Summit Goliath's super foot friendly stirrups (I am a huge fan) but dang it these things aren't really meant to be used with foot stirrups and forget about wrestling them on your feet 25 feet up without falling to your death. I somehow managed to stuff them into the stirrups and make my way up the tree to my proper hunting altitude.

 One thing I noticed right away is that the bottom of these things are very loud when you drag your feet around on your stand as you move around. I learned a long time ago working on a dive boat than when you are in boats or on tree stands it is best not to lift your feet up too high or you are liable to get tangled in a line or fall off your stand.

 Deer were everywhere! I made it through my first hour and half before I remembered that my feet should be cold. Cold!? They were down right toasty! I could not believe it. I texted Brian and told him that My feet felt like they were propped up in front of a crackling fireplace. It was then that Brian confessed, "Man, my feet are so cold I have lost all feeling in them. I didn't wanna say anything because of all the ribbing I gave you this morning. I have been waiting for you to wuss out again and admit you wasted all that money. I am climbing down and going to Bass pro Shops to get some Boot Insulators!"

 Now I don't know what your relationship is with your hunting buddies but although I am like brothers with mine, when it comes to ribbin' each other we don't give no quarter...it can be down right brutal. This was a huge victory.

 In closing I would definitely argue some of the manufacturers claims about how easy they are to tote out in the woods, and they can be a pain to climb with, but at the end of the day they do exactly what they are designed for and that is keep your feet warm. 

 Arctic Shield should have mentioned that they work great as a layer. If it is 20 degrees in the morning and heats up to 50 in the afternoon (as it does fairly often when it starts off that cold), the last thing you want is to be stuck wearing 1000 gram boots. You will sweat like a pig and eventually ruin the boots cause they will smell so bad. Using Arctic Shield Boot Insulators solves those issues and potentially saves you $200-$300 in ruined boots.

 At $60 The Arctic Shield Boot Insulators aren't cheap, but way less expensive than the alternatives. are they perfect? No, but if they make it possible to hunt when the deer are most active I reckon they are a bargain at twice the price and I won't go in the woods on a cold morning without them.


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## JustUs4All (Jan 8, 2017)

I have very poor circulation in my feet and always have had.  My feet get cold very easily.  For 20 years I have used the Ice Breaker boot blankets very similar to the Arctic Shields.  I do things a little different though.  When I get in the stand I take my boots off completely and put my stocking feet directly into the overboots with a hand warmer dropped into the toe of each.


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## Cmp1 (Jan 10, 2017)

I can't comment on the Arctic Shield,,,, but I have a pair of muk luks, relatively light weight, inexpensive,,,, military issue,,,, warm,,,, got at army navy surplus store,,,, I think they were about 20 dollars or so,,,, but that was yrs ago,,,,


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## 1982ace (Jan 14, 2017)

I have a pair of em and I love them. 
Just don't drop em after u climbed up the top of the tree
Ask me how I know


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## Rich Kaminski (Jan 15, 2017)

Buy boots with thinsulate 800gr or more and you can wear one pair of light socks.


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## king killer delete (Jan 15, 2017)

Army Mickey Mouse boots


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## Unicoidawg (Jan 15, 2017)

Rich Kaminski said:


> Buy boots with thinsulate 800gr or more and you can wear one pair of light socks.



Lol..... No. I've bought every kinda new fangled sock they have come out with and 1200gram boots...... Nope still cold feet. Now put the Arctic Shield boot covers on with some toasty toes and I'm good then.


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## GAGE (Jan 15, 2017)

I bought each of my kids a pair for Christmas but have tried them yet.


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