Drysuit, cold feet, & another solution

I was given an old drysuit by a friend. I paddled a Torrent SOT made for whitewater in some c-I-III last weekend, and though the air temps were 60°F, the water was probably 45°. I’m over 6’2" and 220lbs, so with large scupper holes below each foot, my feet would be wet most of the time with merely the ankle gaskets and shoes. I think that even with a drysuit with installed booties, it would be tough to keep my feet warm.



So I came up with another solution that worked well. My Chota Mukluk lights, worn with the ankle gasket OVER the neoprene, instead of inside. The problem with Mukluks, of course, is that they will let water inside if stepping into deeper water than they are tall. By rolling up the tops lengthwise to make them narrower and inserting them into the ankle gaskets, I was able to then put my feet into the drysuit legs and then into the Mukluks, straighten out the gasket and obtained a perfect seal around the neoprene. The result was warm, dry feet all day, and the same effect of having booties on the drysuit, only I suspect, even better.



Anyone else ever try that?





YoS

not sure
the gaskets will take the extra abuse of stretching OVER the neo for long, but that’s JMO.



with lightweight neo sox under my gore sox on my suit my feet stay warm all the time, especially when I wear my Muks!



steve

if it works . . .
then go for it. If you’re leaving the mucklucks in the drysuit all the time, instead of taking them in and out, maybe the ankle gaskets will last ok.



When they do break though, just replace those ankle gaskets with latex socks. You can still get all the warmth of the mucklucks over the top, and you can wear nice cozy merino wool socks inside, and never worry about wet feet. :smiley: Lately all my trips have been in mid to high 30 degree water, with air in the high 30s to high 40s. My tootsies have been fine with wool socks, inside my suit booties, inside my neoprene boots.



I wonder if one factor contributing to your cold feet is decreased circulation from the tight ankle gaskets?

Your last line, absolutely.
I attempted to stretch them out a bit, to little improvement. But with the gasket on the outside of the Mukluks, they were fine. The Mukluk seemed to take the pressure off.



I also don’t think I was stretching the gaskets out very much with the Mukluk, because at the base of the ankle, it’s not much larger than my ankle. The trick to that is getting the Mukluk inside the gasket without my foot in it, so that it didn’t unnecessarily stretch it out.





YoS

glue in those mukluks!
The thought of ditching the gasket and gluing mukluks into the drysuit has occurred to me. My post on same is probably still in the advice forum, along with responses suggesting it is a dumb idea.



Therefore, I encourgage OP to try it and let me know how it works out. Sounds like poster is essentially doing the same thing via friction fit vice glue. Meanwhile, I ordered the latex booties and will be gluing them in one night this week.



~~Chip

nah - he has dainty ankles

I get that also
I try to keep my feet moving to keep them warm, but my gaskets do seem to reduce circulation enough to make my feet cold.

Actually, I saw that thread.
And from it was my idea developed. If the gaskets were to blow, that might be an option, but for now, I like them separate, and therefore more flexible. Same reason I just ordered a pair of NRS Blackrock Dry Pants (with ankle gaskets), and an NRS semi-dry Top. I got the short sleeve for more flexibility, ie, Summer use, and I can always slip something long sleeve over the top that doesn’t lose it’s warmth when wet.





YoS

Quit staring at my ankles, seakak.
Reminds me of a story on the news every year about the track days leading up to the Indy 500 race. In the early days, the more randy young men wanting to party held up signs to women that said, “Show us your ankles”. Kid you not. That race has been around through a lot changes in society . . . .





YoS

Here’s Another Idea
I have heard that some people take a pair of dishwashing gloves and cut off the “hand” portion, creating a tapered rubber tube that is wider at one end than the other. Put your boots on over your drysuit, and then slide the hand-less rubber gloves up over the boots to boot-top height so they overlap that joint. Apparently it makes a fairly watertight seal if you are careful. I haven’t tried it myself.

that was back when…
…women who went to oval racetracks HAD ankles.

I do fine in the Torrent
with neoprene boots and some wool socks in the same conditions and the socks make the difference. My feet stay wet, but warm.



jim