I'm using Gortex hiking boots and I have this issue where snow accumulates on the tops of my toes and melts through to make my toes wet by the end of the day. It only happens on the toes where the gaitors don't cover. Does anyone have any snowshoeing hacks they use to prevent this?
They're leather boots. What would you use to waterproof them?
Seal the seams with something like Sno-Seal.
A boot wax would be good for leather boots
3m scotchgard for leather.
You might try a boot with a rubber toe, but many I've seen don't feature rubber that goes very far over the toebox. Maybe a cobbler could add enough rubber to your existing boots to keep the water out?
On hikes/shoveling snow for work my sweat would get to the front part of the toe box and get cold it can seem like its leaking but its just sweat that has made it way to the waterproof lining and its cold and that starts the feeling of cold wet feet.
Wearing thicker wool socks or having a removable lining/vapor barrier is the cure.
p.s I have had boots that leak when I wear my snowshoes but the ingress was from the pressure that the straps put on my shoe making a gap for water to get in but those shoes where lemons.
Edit: I also keep smacking my feet together to keep the snow off the top of my toes and do the same with my snowshoes on, just hit your snowshoes together, I tap them together with the front portion to knock the snow off just don't hit them against trees because it will hurt them.
I was thinking about bringing a brush next time to knock the snow off.
Gortex is a great way to sweat in a bag. Go instead with an all leather, 2.5-4mm thick boot, either leather lined (more water resistant) or unlined, treat regularly with bear grease (generic for obernaufs, or beeswax/coconut oil/tallow/lanolin et al). This gives me the best balance of breathability to let sweat out and water resistance to keep wet out, and with a good wool sock, a little damp isn't even felt. Works great for all day excursions, swap socks for multi-day.
As others have said, it might actually be condensation rather than leaking. I find condensation a lot worse when the material outside the GoreTex membrane wets out. Nikwax or other DWR treatment keeps the fabric or leather dry if snow melts on it, and keeps snow from sticking. I’ve also sprayed the underside of my snowshoes with it, and get less clumping when temps get a bit above freezing.
A boot glove would be the simplest solution.
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2mo
Maybe... the leather was soaked through and the boot was only wet in the toe box and nowhere else.
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2mo
I was thinking of trying out those neoprene toe covers to test this theory.
I snowshoe in cross country ski boots. Warm, waterproof, designed for a similar gait with the heel lifting free. They've been great. With the SNS binding system being phased out, there are a lot of those boots available in the thrift stores.
That's not a bad idea.
Methods I have used: Waterproofing spray/treatment on the boot to stop the material absorbing the water and wetting out, waterproof socks, kicking the snow off my boots periodically