What are the best Ice Fishing Boots?
Really depends on your style of fishing. If you just sit in one spot and don't move much and don't have a shack to warm up in then I would want the warmest boot you can get, I would not worry about weight. I tend to hole hop and a lot of the lakes I fish I have to walk on so my Lacrosse Aeroheads I bought for hunting are warm enough. If I can drive on the lake I have my hub style shack with a heater so again the hunting boot is good enough. It doesn't take that much moving around to keep warm even on cold days. My holes are usually within 30 yards of where I set up and that little walking from hole to hole does wonders. I get colder sitting in a deer stand when it is 30 degrees than I do ice fishing. And the Aeroheads are 18" tall so you stay dry and don't get snow over the top of them. I would try what ever boot you currently own and decide for yourself if you need a warmer/heavier boot. But I prefer a lighter boot because of my style.
Socks that wick moisture are key. I have been fishing in my LaCrosse Ice Kings for well over a decade and they keep my feet dry and warm. But they are far from light weight. Maybe newer versions are lighter. The boot I'm interested in is the boot that Ice Armor/Clam has recently come out with. Looks like they're made specifically for ice fishing. They're rubber and have a removable wool liner. Rated to -40 degrees. If it's any colder than that, I'll be in my chair watching something on Netflix. I have not seen any reviews on them yet so I'll probably just wear the old Ice Kings until next season when more info/opinions are out there.
Just my 2c
it all depends on the person to and socks. Start with good wool socks and go from there. My feet sweat so i wear lightweight smartwool socks to wick the moisture. Then i wear 800 gram thinsulate irish setter mountain claws. They are under 5 pounds for the pair, fit my feet great and have a wide toe so i can wiggle my toes to keep circulation in them. So for me that is the perfect boot. I had some rocky blizzard stalkers that im convinced one boot was missing thinsulate in the toe because two of my toes would always get really cold. It all depends on the person really. Also carry extra socks incase your feet get wet or really sweaty. Then you can wear dry ones and dry the wet ones on the heater.