Big hands, big feet, big pogies, big shoes

Well I think my shoes are done. Whatever. I'm tired of dealing with them, and they are better than 2008 when they worked fine, so they are done.

Here are the challenges:

1. Cold. -50 possibly.
2. Overflow / walking through water
3. Comfort on the bike
4. Comfort off the bike (hiking many hours in them)
4a. Deep snow

Cold. Solution to the cold is really just getting them big enough to put on several layers of really warm socks and still have lots of wiggle room for blood flow. Solved that problem with size 50 wide Lake winter shoes.

Overflow. Solution to water is a complete 3mm neoprene bootie glued to the outsole. I then cut all reamaining neoprene off of the tread. Totally waterproof.

Comfort on the bike. This is a bit of a problem. They are too big so my foot slops around when pedaling hard. Slight crank rub due to excessive neoprene insulation. Things to live with.

Comfort off the bike. This is pretty good. I can still get to the BOA adjustment and make them snug enough for walking without rubbing holes in my feet.

Deep snow. I got some OR Verglass gators. I was going to glue them to the outside of the boot with Barge Cement, but I didn't. They are just too hot. It it's above 10F this setup is too warm. In 2008 it was +20F at the start. These should be good at keeping snow out of my loose boot cuff when walking in deep snow. If the snow is over 16" I've got problems.

On a related note my new pogies from EPIC are bomber so my hands should be good. And that's nice, cause if I loose a bunch of toes at least I'll be able to open a beer bottle and work the remote.