I shove my boat off shore
in colder weather as well. Since I have a plastic boat I don’t worry about scratches. Also the tall boots seem to be a good option, but I haven’t tried em yet.
Not sure what you are saying…
but, No your feet won’t get wet in the NRS mukluks. They don’t leak a drop. Like I said though you will sweat in them.
If you have them and they are leaking, you must have some holes in them.
Cheers,
JackL
Jack here is thier question
"what do you do in colder weather when you don’t really want to wade in the water and get your feet all wet". The way you discribed was great and in a lot of detail (I use that style all the time to get in mine) but their feet will still get wet. It comes down to what you wear on your feet more than how you get in. Everyone before gave ideas on how to keep their feet wet.
If you get in the yak the way I …
…described both your feet will be dry.
They will never touch the water.
If they get wet after you are in the yak you better patch that leak!
Cheers,
JackL
Cold weather paddling
One should always be prepared to be in the water when paddling. You may be able to control your exposure to the water while launching/landing, but you should be prepared to deal with that cold water in the event of a capsize. So my answer to the question is… wear neoprene socks under your regular paddling footwear. If the water/air temps. are very cold, you should also wear a wetsuit/drysuit which will mate with your neo. socks to keep you toasty warm.
How does this keep your feet dry on a
gently sloping beach or river bank? Sometimes you have at go out quite a ways to get water that deep never mind and waves that might change the water depth. No matter how small the waves are. Knee high boots are the best way to cure their problem of not wanting to get their feet wet.
Physical or mental comfort?
In October and even November, I still wear my summer mesh-and-neoprene booties (older model of Teva Protons). The water is fairly cold but I like to know just how cold it is. The feet quickly warm up once I’m in the kayak and paddling.
That’s the mental comfort part.
When things get colder, I wear Chota QuickLace mukluks. They are physically comfortable (I wear them with a thin pair of socks) and waterproof but I almost feel like I’m cheating by not feeling the cold on my feet. There’s a tiny bit of mental discomfort there offsetting the physical comfort.
You choose.
You win, I quit !!!
and I thought I was stubborn !
Cheers,
JackL