Those chotas sure look like some great winter paddling footwear, but I wont even spend more than $50 on my running shoes and I run 2-3 miles every day (and only buy one new pair a year). So $50-100 on some winter only paddling shoes id get to use 20ish times a season doesnt work into my shoe budget.
Plus ive already got some decent nrs river shoes, they just arent warm in cold water. Well heres my FREE solution to that problem.
RedNeck Mukluks-
http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn176/suck_it_trebek/BIG%20RIVER/12-30-09%20Float/?action=view¤t=PC300185.jpg
warm hiking socks, and just a regular bread bag as a second sock, and my river shoes. warm dry feet all day in and out of the water, and YOU CANT BEAT FREE 
I didn’t look at your picture, but I can
only guess by your description, and I can only say to each his own!
Love my NRS Boundary Shoes!
cheers,
jackL
I second the NRS Boundry Shoe
I guess a new Tilley’s
out of the question too then, huh?
But, really, whatever gets you on the water is okay. Brave of you to post that pic, though.
whats a tilley??
according to google its a company that makes indian jones hats?
if thats the case, Id say that youre braver for wearing a fedora than I am for posting my redneck ingenuity LOL
NRS
NRS boundary water boots, or Chotas.
That’s what I, and most of my paddling friends wear.
Works for me.
BOB
You should see me in my fez. nm
You need to ask "Georgia Kayaker"
or “String” that question !
Cheers,
JackL
Short answer:
Yep. Bread bags work. Been there, done that.
But as time passed and I had more discretionary income I started looking for better alternatives. And there are none better than Chotas or NRS mukluks. I believe it was Topher who crowned neoprene mukluks as the best boating invention ever. How true.
Jim
discretionary income???
ohhh man…all the cool toys and gear i would have if money was no object.
Doin what I can with what Ive got
Newspaper, garbage bags and duct tape
Is what those pushing their belongings through the snow in shopping carts use around here.
You should
Sell them on Ebay!
drysuit
If you do a lot of cold weather or cold water or both, it’s hard to beat a dry suit with feet. I’m in northern Wisconsin and paddle from ice-out to freeze-up on large local lakes and Lake Superior, so the drysuit makes sense.
My wife raises Shetland sheep to supply her spinning and weaving hobby, so we have lots of wool around here. I usually just wear a very thick pair of homemade socks under the feet of my suit and a pair of Keen or some similar booty.
And good for you!
If I win the Tampico, I will give you the Chota mukluks, since I’ve already splurged on a pair.
what ever works
You got to do what you got to do.
sheep in a drysuit must look prettyfunny
for $800-1000 bucks the drysuit cost ill chance getting wet in cold water and having to build a free fire and change into some free dry clothes out of my bag. in my 7ish winters paddling ‘shit’ has only happened to me twice where I had to dry out and build a fire. But im a river kayaker, it would be different if I were on large bodies of water and rolling.
besides… a little hypothermia never hurt anyone. Builds character
that much coin would put me in a new boat or most of the way into one.