Fri, Feb 11, '05

    Today my prototype "Wind- Beater Toe Boots" ride to work with me.

My Significant other, Charles, likes to hunt, but he doesn’t want any part of the beast he has killed. I don't really care for hunting purely for sport, so I keep the meat and it saves me tons every year and is better than beef. One year I saved a hide and tanned it. Since I had no other use for the tanned hide, I decided to cut it up this year and make something out of it even if it did not come out. Enter the "Wind- Beater Toe Boot". I composed inner tube rubber for the sole and "hair- on" hide for the tops. They should baffle the wind, thus helping me keep my toes warm. If they work well enough, I’ll sew them to the wind -beater uppers, that wrap around the bootleg like ordinary leggings. I’ll look like an Eskimo in mukluks, but I’ll be warm.

    Prior to this I have been using an upturned sock with the instep cut out so my boot heel can stick through. The socks are "Rohner" socks of pure wool from Switzerland that Charles won’t wear because they are too short.. They don’t last forever, but they work while you wear them. I also have the standard mineral activated heat packets inside the boots but the drawback there is that they make your feet sweat and then they get cold. But it’s all the wind. No wind, no chill. The hair on the hide will baffle the wind and ward off the chill.