gortex re-visted

[crab bait]

i've been workin' outside all summer an probably will be all winter.. ( mommy help me)<br /><br />it's been a chilly fall here.. gettin'colder each week.. an when it rains it's a steady alldayer.. <br /><br />ain't much like high 30's /low 40's a rain..<br /><br />i've got good stuff.. guys' at work can't get over the good gear i got..( wait till they get aload of my 12 volt heated vest.. just ain't cold enuff yet )<br /><br />GORE-TEX..........<br /><br />is it just me..!! but this junk ain't the answer..<br /><br />take boots.. i have a pair of cabelas 'outfitter' boots.. gore-tex..an in wet manholes for minutes or hours ,, feet that went in bone dry,, come out D A M P.<br /><br />an damp equates to cold ..<br /><br />sure/granted,, the boots don't fill up with water... but damp is damp.. <br /><br />got a pair of cabelas 50 buck kangaroo leather thinsulate gore-tex hand shoes .<br /><br />worst 50 bucs i ever spent.. worthless,, just worthless.. <br /><br />i know when i had the first generation nu-buck timberlines.. the silicone impregregnated ones.. stand in water all day an feet bone dry.. <br /><br />the reason i got the cabelas 'outfitter' boots ..was they are made outta 'pittard' leather.. PERMENATELY each fiber waterproof.. <br /><br />BBBBBBSSSSSSSS...!!!!! wish i was a lawyer for a day...!!! i'd be owin' that company..!!!<br /><br />it sucks in a major way.. in a weeks time,, on top at the bridge/hinge of boot it breaks down a leather becames wet.. shortly after the whole boot leather becomes wet.. <br /><br />SURE,,,, IT'S GORE-TEX-ed...!!!!<br /><br />now what ya have is a heavy wet soaked boot..with wet ridin'right next to the gore-tex .. <br /><br />sure,, the boot ain't fillin' up with water... but your foots major damp.. <br /><br />an damp equated to along miserable cold day a work..

 

[alderman]

Re: gortex re-visted

Crab bait, sounds like the same problem I have. I am surveyor and spend lots of cold wet days outside in Missouri weather. I spray my Redwing irish setters with there brand of silicone waterproofing, Once a month seems to do the trick. Make sure you are not over insulating sweaty feet = damp cold feet. I only wear one pair of cotton socks and it takes a really cold day hear 0 to -20 and wind chills in the -40's to get to me, and then only if I am planted in the same spot for a couple of hours. <br />Hope this helps<br />Ray

 

[OBJ]

Re: gortex re-visted

I got a pair of Gor-Tex boots I wear to work. Thinsulate lined. I get into water from time to time and so far not a drop has hit my feet. And a couple times I'm in up to my ankles. Now, these boots ain't cheap and I looked for a long time cause I got some feet problems and just not any boot fits well. So usually, my boots are on the expensive side. But so far, no problems. I've been wearing them for almost a year now.

 

[fixin]

Re: gortex re-visted

I've got a pair of Rocky's,and they keep your feet dry unless you stay in water for long periods of time.I think the problem of Gor-tex is that it supposedly breaths.How can something that breaths keep water completely out?

 

[Barlow]

Re: gortex re-visted

Crab Bait - stop standing in puddles with leathers. <br /><br />If ya need to get yourself down in the pits throw on rubbers ... <br /><br />..cryin out loud man .. 5 minutes to walk over to the truck an " P O O F " problem solved.<br /><br />keep an extra pair of thermal cotton socks in the truck to change at lunch break.<br /><br />another thing ya might want to note (pardon me if ya already know this) buy yer boots so they're a little loose. Maybe just up a size in width so your toes and heel aren't set in stone all day. <br /><br />Cinching your tootsies up tight will cause yer tootsies to sweat more and cut off blood circulation which keeps them there didgits from freezin'.<br /><br />also .. keep the heat off the floor in the vehicle as well as having your boots unlaced and loose while in transit so they don't puddle up before ya have to step outside.<br /><br />..12v heated vest???.. you modeling for Carhart or are ya workin'??

 

[neumanns]

Re: gortex re-visted

Several years ago I bought a pair of waterproof socks (really they go over your socks like a liner) and I do not know what material they are but whenever I want garanteed dry feet I slip these babies on...Good stuff. Unfortunatly the tag is long gone but they are like a stiff thin manmade canvas material of some sort. best part is dont matter what shoes i wear...sure wish I had bought more than one pair wherever i found them

 

[tylerin]

Re: gortex re-visted

Crab, I've had the same problem over the years and I shop Cabelas almost exclusively. What I don't understand is Gore-Tex Technology. Is Gore-tex making the boots or are they Gore-texing them after their made? or does a company put a product through the Gore-tex process, or does Gore-tex sell material to manufacturers. Therefore I have been buying Danner made boots from Cabelas with much better success. I think it comes down to the manufacturer, and I rarely buy the Cabelas name brand, I just shop there

 

[JB]

Re: gortex re-visted

Don't blame it on Gore-Tex, Crabby. Blame it on the boot maker.<br /><br />Red Wing Irish Setters, Browning Kangaroo Featherweights (my favorite) and a bunch of other (heavy) boots will keep your feet dry. Thinsulate will keep them warm, too.<br /><br />Yep, those are expensive boots if you simply look at the price. . .often $250+. . . but if you figure a pair every 8 or 10 years rather than a pair of $50-$100 boots every year (and wet, cold feet) they don't seem so expensive anymore.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: gortex re-visted

A couple of people have talked about cotton socks. Actually, wouldn't cotton compound the problem? Cotton gets wet, stays wet. Acrylic wicks moisture away from the feet and drys ALOT quicker. Wool would also work except for heat (and possibly comfort) problem.<br /><br />Not only have I read about this somewhere (sorry, can't remember where) but personal experience also backs it up. Granted it's from playing basketball (sweating) rather than standing in water all day, but seems like principle would be the same...<br /><br />fixin, I'm no scientist but believe the principle is that the gore tex fiber is too tight to let water molocules penetrate but loose enough to let vapor pass through.

 

[crab bait]

Re: gortex re-visted

Originally posted by Barlow:<br /> Crab Bait - stop standing in puddles with leathers. <br /><br />If ya need to get yourself down in the pits throw on rubbers ... <br /><br />..cryin out loud man .. 5 minutes to walk over to the truck an " P O O F " problem solved.<br /><br /><br />..12v heated vest???.. you modeling for Carhart or are ya workin'??

yeah, '5 minutes an P O O F they're on' <br /><br />but 5 hours/3 men an a young boy an a vist to the chiropractor to take 'um off..!! ( i know, plastic bags on first)<br /><br />always were wig-wam merino wool med weight socks.. in loose fit boots..<br /><br />yeah, i'm a job site supermodel.. ..<br /><br />'vest' is also cabelas.. worked at moble refrinery in jersey outta local 351 last winter.. <br /><br />overthere ,, you gotta wear EVERTHIN' U N D E R a nomex jumpsuit.. not much room for extra .. reason for the 'vest'..PTL.!!<br /><br />but it was well worth it.. overthere ,, there rate is so high an with killer ot.. i never made so much money..

 

[fixin]

Re: gortex re-visted

From how stuff works;<br />'<br />A semipermeable membrane is a membrane that will pass some atoms or molecules but not others. Saran wrap is a membrane, but it is impermeable to almost everything we commonly throw at it. The best common example of a semipermeable membrane would be the lining of your intestines, or a cell wall. Gore-tex is another common semipermeable membrane. Gore-tex fabric contains an extremely thin plastic film into which billions of small pores have been cut. The pores are big enough to let water vapor through, but small enough to prevent liquid water from passing

 

[12Footer]

Re: gortex re-visted

Being an irrigation guy, I broke-down and bought a pair of Merrell Pulse GoreTex boots. They are like walking on air....Until they get wet, which is usually by sun-up. My feet are cold and wet from walking in wet grass.<br />Gore Tex is as good as leather, no better,except for wieght.

 

[one more cast]

Re: gortex re-visted

I started wearing lacross insulated rubber boots about 6 years ago and I love them. I just wear I pair of cotten socks and my feet never get cold.

but 5 hours/3 men an a young boy an a vist to the chiropractor to take 'um off..!! ( i know, plastic bags on first)

I bought the ones that zip and they are still fine after 6 years.

 

[ZooMbr]

Re: gortex re-visted

Little background on gore-tex: it was developed as insulation for copper wire used in wet environments. A success story of the big corp dropping it as not profitable enough and an employee picking it up. Mortgaged the house to do it!<br /><br />What it has developed into for clothing is a film where the molecule are close enough together to block the water molecule from passing through; but, far enough apart to let water vapor pass thought. This film is put between to layers of fabric, or leather and fabric. Left unprotected it wears off. It's proved to be the best of the lot - as there are competing products out there.<br /><br />For my money - it's like BJ said -- it's the manufacture of the product. Gore-tex just sell the film.

 

[cmyers_uk]

Re: gortex re-visted

My understanding was that if you have goretex then you need to be wearing socks that wick the sweat away from your feet and through the goretex. Wellys are cheap and waterproof but not breathable. If you want breathability you need to get the whole system not one part of it, well thats what the salesman says!

 

[crab bait]

Re: gortex re-visted

well, CHRIS,,, what better than wool..

 

[aspeck]

Re: gortex re-visted

Hey, I found a sure fire way to keep my feet dry - with cheap leather boots! By the $25 Wally World specials ($16.95 on sale). Get them home and coat them with Thompson's Water-seal. Man, that stuff works. Only problem is, after about a month the leather will be brittle. Another coat of Thompson's, and you can get another month out of them. Then they are falling apart!<br /><br />Okay, it isn't a great long term solution, but it works in a pinch!

 

[tylerin]

Re: gortex re-visted

A product called Sno-seal works even better and doesn't ruin the leather

 

[chuckz]

Re: gortex re-visted

Sno-seal, snow proof and similar products have been around for years. They are basically waxes and used on leather. Do not use them on Gore Tex or breathable material because they will not allow the shoe to breathe. On Gore Tex boots use silicone waterproofing spray.<br /><br />We used to use candles to "candle in" the snow proof. Today a hair dryer works much better and you don't risk scorching the leather. Apply the snow prof and then warm the leather with a hairdryer set on high. After the treatment is absorbed repeat the process until no more treatment is absorbed by the leather. This will waterprood any leather, including the stitching.<br /><br />Waterproof socks are made by Seal Skin.<br /><br />Any good Boy Scout knows "cotton kills". Cotton looses it's insulating properties when wet. Wool or synthetic socks are the best. Merino wool is soft and doesn't itch.<br /><br />I have Coleman boots that are leather with Gore Tex panels. I snow proofed the leather and left the rest alone. I have been in pouring rain, hiked through small streams and muddy standing water without ever getting my feet wet.

 

[trollhole]

Re: gortex re-visted

Everything I own is gortex except for my boots. I have a couple of pairs of Oslo boots that I use for hiking and fishing in cold weather. Every year I wash them with saddle soap and put on a good coat of mink oil. I have never had a leak or damp feet. The key to keeping your feet dry is to use liners they are designed to draw moisture away from your feet.<br /><br />As far a gortex I have had gloves that I use fishing that cost me $100 and they are worth every penny. I have never had my hands get wet except when I accidentally put them to far in and water pours over the cuff. And all my jackets and pants have been through salt water to fresh water, heavy rain and blowing snow and never had a failure as well as never been damp. Its all about what you put under the Gortex that matters.