(Someone asked me for advice re winter footwear, and I figured the answer could be usefull for more people, so here it is, slightly edited.)
I have four different winter boots, each with their own pros and cons.
Nokians: warm, will keep you dry even in slush, wet snow and overflow on lakes and rivers. But they will collect dampness, being a waterproof wellie. Removable liners is a must, some use waterproof "VB" socks (or breadbags) to retain the moisture before it reaches the wellie itself. Can be used with normal ski bindings. Quite heavy. The kaira is ok if you remove and dry the liner each night, and do your best with the boot iself but the damp *is* a problem.
Luddan A felt boot, made by Skråmträskskon. Basically a felt boot, with a rubber sole and some leather around the lacing, etc. Warm, very light, will ventilate, but is of course not even remotely waterproof. Only works with special ski bindings (Tegsnäs Epok or Olksogens jägarbindning, or persumably the Berwin).
Sami fur boots A sami style fur on boot, all reindeer, no extra sole or anything. Very, bery warm in cold weather, nice with the proper kind of ski bindings (Tegsnäs, etc), but not at all good in wet snowm, and will dies quickly on bae ground.
Mukluk style moccasins Made after the Connover pattern, suede and canvas. Very, very light, very warm, can't be used with skis (might work with the Siberian ski and binding, but that is only specualtion). Not waterproof, but a bit more resistant than the Luddans (once you get over the rubber sole of the Luddan). Fast drying. The famous Canadian army mukluk should work about as well as this one.
My own pick would be the Nokians for wet snow condtions, the sami for extended cold trips (-15 C or colder) on skis, the Luddans as a decent compromise that will work ok in wettish snow and excellently on dry snow.
The home made mukluks (or possibly the sami boots) for snowshoes.
In every case plenty of socks (2-3 pairs of heavy wool socks, plenty of changes). In the mukluks and sami boots I also use a felt liner.
I have four different winter boots, each with their own pros and cons.
Nokians: warm, will keep you dry even in slush, wet snow and overflow on lakes and rivers. But they will collect dampness, being a waterproof wellie. Removable liners is a must, some use waterproof "VB" socks (or breadbags) to retain the moisture before it reaches the wellie itself. Can be used with normal ski bindings. Quite heavy. The kaira is ok if you remove and dry the liner each night, and do your best with the boot iself but the damp *is* a problem.
Luddan A felt boot, made by Skråmträskskon. Basically a felt boot, with a rubber sole and some leather around the lacing, etc. Warm, very light, will ventilate, but is of course not even remotely waterproof. Only works with special ski bindings (Tegsnäs Epok or Olksogens jägarbindning, or persumably the Berwin).
Sami fur boots A sami style fur on boot, all reindeer, no extra sole or anything. Very, bery warm in cold weather, nice with the proper kind of ski bindings (Tegsnäs, etc), but not at all good in wet snowm, and will dies quickly on bae ground.
Mukluk style moccasins Made after the Connover pattern, suede and canvas. Very, very light, very warm, can't be used with skis (might work with the Siberian ski and binding, but that is only specualtion). Not waterproof, but a bit more resistant than the Luddans (once you get over the rubber sole of the Luddan). Fast drying. The famous Canadian army mukluk should work about as well as this one.
My own pick would be the Nokians for wet snow condtions, the sami for extended cold trips (-15 C or colder) on skis, the Luddans as a decent compromise that will work ok in wettish snow and excellently on dry snow.
The home made mukluks (or possibly the sami boots) for snowshoes.
In every case plenty of socks (2-3 pairs of heavy wool socks, plenty of changes). In the mukluks and sami boots I also use a felt liner.
