Re: GoreTex Boots or Not?
I don't like goretex garments for serious rain protection. They work OK in lighter rain but I've always found they eventually fail in serious sustained downpours. But I live in a wet area of the US so it may not apply overall.
In boots Goretex works OK up until total saturating wet conditions when I find that they start to leak a little around points of stitches from my experience. However, after a year or so all of my Goretex boots have leaked even in mild conditions. The membrane is just being worked on so hard through flexing I'm just assuming that it is failing. Whether it is failing on a seam or somewhere else I don't know. <span style="font-weight: bold">Also, foot perspiration makes the inside of your boots wet and Gortex won't solve it.</span> But overall Goretex in boots is probably a good idea but is not an end all. I also have rubber boats which of course don't leak but may be less comfortable in drier conditions.
As a backup if I know I'm going to be in super wet conditions I will put my feet with thin insulating layers into 1 Gallon Freezer Ziploc bags and then place those inside a wool sock and then into the boots. After a humidity equilibrium is reached your skin will stop sweating and they will stay dry. They will be impervious to water except if it comes over the tops. The freezer Ziploc bags have thick plastic and are really durable and you can wear them for some time like this and they won't develop leaks.
I've done this trick many times and on longer snow-shoe trips if I think my boots will have problems due to wet snow and my feet stay warm and dry. Carrying a couple extra ziplocs in your pack is always a good idea in this regard and for other reasons. Your boots can be totally soaked but if you have your feet in dry wool socks (or even damp socks) and the Ziploc bags you will stay warm as the plastic forms a vapor barrier and you will be protected from the colder water outside on the boots.
In fact, I also always carry a couple extra heavy contractor grade trash bags as well. They make excellent field expedient rain gear, emergency shelters and can be filled with forest duff if necessary to work as a sleeping bag/blankets in a shelter. They too are worth their weight to carry. I'd rather have a few trash bags than even those mylar space blankets people like. Trash bags are far more durable and versatile. IMO.
EDIT: This winter mountaineering FAQ discusses the foot in the bag trick:
http://www.winterschool.org/faqs.html#9
