I'm a desert guy.  Give me a pair of desert boots and 90-115 degree weather and I'm happy (well, provided I have a good water source).



Going hunting in a few weeks and will be in 20-30 degree weather (high).  I've never spent much time in weather like this.... let alone hunting in weather like this.  My boots are leather but uninsulated.  Looking for suggestions on a good sock to help keep my feet warm and for a good set of gloves/mittens that I'll be able to manipulate my gun with (My hands and feet get cold easily).  Only set of gloves I own currently are leather work gloves.....





Hope this is the right area to ask.... I figure you guys would have the best ideas

I like smartwool socks available in Gander Mountain and just about any decent sporting good store.  I also found some Timberland socks at Sam's club of all places, they're a nice wool blend and about normal sock thickness.  I use them for work.

gloves, I can't help you with as I don't buy many.  I have some cheap junk ski gloves, some USGI trigger finger mittens, and some close fitting police leather gloves.  I wear the police gloves under the mittens if I'm hunting in brutal cold, I shake off the mittens and can readily shoot with some protection with the leather gloves.

Start with a thin pair of tight fitting polypropylene socks and then wear heavy wool/smartwool socks over them.

The polypropylene socks keep moisture off your skin and makes all the difference in the world.

For a "glove" I would get a pair of heavy polar fleece mits that the "mit" part folds back when you need
to use your fingers. ( I use these for hunting in -20 here in MN)



GM

Another option for socks is Sealskins. I wear a thin pair of nylon socks underneath and in my Danners my feet stay pretty toasty. For gloves, look into Sierus. I wear a set of the thin neoprene all weather gloves under a set of Nomads and usually do ok, unless I get wet. And a HUGE +1 on swapping out for dry stuff throughout the day.

Double tap sorry.

Smartwool expedition weight socks O.R. Gripper gloves

As a guy that hunts all day long in these temps and a lot colder temps. Here are a few suggestions.

Gloves  -  forget gloves   buy one of the Hand Warmer Muffs and fill it up with hand warmers from wal mart.   I never wear gloves hunting.  

Here is Cabela's version, but you can find them locally.   I fill this thing up with 4 of the "body warmers" and it is just peachey all day long.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Big-Game-Fleece-Muff/750031.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dhand%2Bwarmer&Ntt=hand+warmer


Boots, buy a pair of 1000-2000 gram thinsulate boots.  The are cheap anymore, most likely get them for 50-75 bucks.  Then any pair of good wool/wicking socks will be just fine.   I have never had any luck using the feet warmer things, not enough air circulation to keep them hot I guess.

Hat   -   buy a good quality thinsulate hat,  full face mask is also great.   If not a face mask, try a gator neck thingy.


Be careful not to get real sweaty walking in to your stand, or you will freeze.  Try walking in with very little clothing on, then get dressed at the stand.  Keep your coat and outer pants wrapped up in a ball, that way they stay a bit warmer on the walk in.  


good luck

20-30 degrees is no big deal if you're moving around.  A basic pair of uninsulated leather boots and good wool socks will work great.

Smartwool!   Don't get them too thick, or wear 3 pairs or something silly like that.  Figure out what you can fit in your boots without making your feet too tight in the boot... if it is tight in there, you will freeze your feet off.  It doesn't take much wool - a thinner sock with more room and more air space will work, a very thick sock crammed in there will not work at all.

Same deal for hands... tight gloves will make you freeze your hands off (with the exception of thin wicking glove liners).  If you're prone to get cold hands, mittens are the way to go.  Fold-back mittens for hunting, obviously, since you'll be using a firearm.  Wool works great, again, or a lighter synthetic - it doesn't take much mitten to keep your hands warm.

You will want at least one pair of spare socks on you.  Those little handwarmer packets are a big help if you find that your gear isn't cutting it.

The gear you should look for is pretty well covered.



One smart thing you can do now is to start acclimating yourself to colder temperatures.  Do this by wearing a little less on cool days or showering in cool water.  Your metabolism will adapt & you'll be less likely to feel cold when you are on your hunt.



One thing not mentioned is to keep eating small things while afield.  Clothes & gear only keep you warm.  There are two things that make you warm, digesting food and muscle movement.



I hunt Michigan western upper peninsula & it can get a bit harsh.  I eat something small every half hour.  Hard candy, bit size Snickers or granola bar.  I always take a sammich along too. I usually carry a simple old fashioned Thermos of hot coffee as well.

I used to fear the cold too after growin up in the desert where 60 degrees is considered cold. 25-30 degrees isn't too bad though. Dress in layers so you can adapt to different temperatures. For under 30 degrees I am usually in 3-4 layers. Non cotton clothing works best. You are going to sweat no matter what so you need clothing that won't soak it up or you will get very cold. You base layer is probably the most important here.  If you are expecting wind the outer layer should be your break. For socks I use wool on top of the under armour socks I wear regularly. Wool can hold some moisture so you want to use something that doesn't under it. I use a polyester fleece neck gator that I can pull up over my face and beanie to cover the top of my head. If it is really cold I have a nice heavy hat with ear flaps that can go over the beanie. I think it is german surplus. I've got a couple pairs of gloves. Some lightweight fleece gloves with shooting fingers and a heavier set for when it is really cold. Fleece doesn't work well in the wind though so I am probably going to replace both of them eventually.

As mentioned hand warmers in your pockets are awesome. I started buying them by the box last year.

I know it's unpopular here, but I've survived 6 years of working in a freezer wearing only items made of cotton ... except for my socks.

I use:

Red Wing insulated boots
Underarmor regular socks, not the specialty ones, but the black ones.
Carhartt fleece lined pants, sometimes with pajama pants underneath
Carhartt active sweatshirt and jacket.
Random cotton shirts.

I never wear gloves or a hat.

Honestly, so long as I'm moving a bit, I am absolutely toasty as can be.  I honestly don't even notice the cold anymore.  A warm core will keep your extremities warm down to pretty low temperatures, but no gloves or socks in the world will make your extremities warm if your core is getting cold .... all the blood comes back to keep the vitals warm.

If you're standing in a treestand or hardly moving, well, you're putting yourself at a huge disadvantage thermally.  I know sometimes that's the style of hunting that you do, but that's when you start to freeze.

For what it's worth, when I have to order select or do anything moderately physically demanding, I do it in a Tshirt and sometimes shorts in the 28 degree cooler, as do most other people.  That's how important motion is to keeping warm.

If I had to stand in our "freezer" freezer, which is somewhere like -10, I'd wear as many layers as possible and try to not break a sweat, and I'd find some gloves and a hat.  For anything at or slightly below freezing, you should be fine or borderline hot if you get wool socks and really gear up.

Get a Underarmor Hood from your local sporting goods store.  Everyone I know, seriously, has converted to these instead of neck gators or balclavas.  That and a beany and you're head will be nice and toasty!

For boots... I always wear my 8" Waterproof Redwings with 800gr thinsulate and just a normal medium weight hiking sock (usually smart wool) and have never had a single issue.  Feet stay nice and dry, plenty of traction, all around all day comfort... I also wear them at work too during the winter (construction).

For gloves... I second what others have said about the gloves where they have the mitten thing that goes over your fingers and can be pulled back when you need your fingers.  Its hard to find good ones... but when you do, theyre worth their weight in gold!  The other method I use alot if I dont need my fingers every 5 seconds is get a pair of those thin softshell like material gloves (real streachy and form fitting) and cut them off at the first knuckle.  Then wear those under a good pair of waterproof mittens.  Thats what I do for snowboarding and snowshoeing.  Afterall... you only really need one finger and thats when you pull the trigger.

I'll reiterate... don't put on so many socks that your feet are tight inside your boots.  Same with gloves.

Keep the body core warm and the extremities will be ok in that kind of weather.  Also previously mentioned, don't get overheated hiking in and then sit down in a blind or something... remove or open up clothing to keep cooled off while exerting yourself.


A big problem in cold weather activities actually is OVERdressing... get too hot, start sweating, your body metabolism adjusts to hot temps, then if you stop... the combination of evaporative cooling, compromised insulation, and low metabolism will create a dangerous risk of hypothermia.

I'd suggest some kind of heavy polypro or light fleece long underwear, fleece jacket, and some kind of wind & water resistant shell on the outside and you should be good. Without good shell garments for wind resistance you'll lose a lot of warmth while inactive. Head covering is extremely important, get a neck gaiter and good insulated hat.  Thick wool socks if you have enough room in your boots... also previous suggestion of a thin pair of gloves and then a heavier pair of gloves or mittens for inactive time is a good one.

If you get gloves look for a pair that covers the wrist well. Then place a handwarmer over both radial arteries. Sometimes a little tape helps keep them in place. The idea is the handwarmer heats the blood going into your hand. I have a pair of fingerless fishing gloves that has a pocket in them to hold a warmer on the wrist. I can fish in below freezing weather, with wet fingers and not be cold.  Wool gloves are great for keeping your fingers warm even when wet.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.  I will be on the move most if not the entire time, we will be stalking deer, not hunting from a blind.  

Better try your boots out with some of the socks mentioned.



I need a different size boot if I just wear really thin summer socks vs. nice and thick smart wool socks.



Yeah you can mess with the laces and get by in many cases but I honestly find it simpler to have boots sized to thick socks.



I wear smartwool socks all year long as well.



Sneakers get really thin socks.



Anyway, make sure your boots have room for a couple layers of socks if you don't normally mess with layers.



I bought some sock liners and they are really thin but do help considerably so at worst I would add these to your normal thickness sock.



But if going from a really thin sock to a really thick sock I know sometimes my feet feel squished in some of my boots.

For socks, I've had good luck with Smartwool, Dalgren and Woolpower(Ulfrotte).  I use thin Smartwool wool liner socks.  Otherwise, silk liners.  Can't stand synthetics.  
For gloves, look for a merino wool glove with grippper dots.  I can't remember the brand I have off hand.  Since you'll be moving, this should be all you need.
For colder weather I also use a hand warmer pouch and take a set of Chilly Grips.  They have a rubberizes palm and a breathable back.  Best damn winter utilty glove you'll find.  

As has been said, stay away from cotton.  To get your layers right.  Try to start off slightly chilled.  You'll warm up as you move.  Add layers when you stop for a break.  If you start off warm, you'll just sweat as you hunt and get wet and cold.  Keep your boots and belt loose.  Suspenders are your friend.  You don't want anything tight, as it will impede your circulation.  

Have a great hunt!

Would something like THIS help?  Seems like it would help insulate the foot from cold ground.