O.K., I know by the name it's supposed to be thin, but...

I recently bought a pair of Thinsulate insulated "L.L. Bean-type" rubber winter boots from Cabela's retail store in Pennsylvania. After getting them home, I inspected them closely. It appears that the foot area has a rubber shell and a thin layer of fabric inside. The thickness of the boot in the foot area is only about 1/61 - 1/32 of an inch. Can this be insulated, or did I get an uninsulated pair by mistake? The boot is advertised as "400 gram Thinsulate." I would have thought that there would be a layer of insulation that would be, say, 1/4 inch thick.

Any suggestions?

That's 1/16, not 1/61.

If Filson's slogan is "Might as well have the best" then Thinsulite should be "better than nothing." Thats my biased opinion.Take a look at any pre WW2 ski photo, such as the famous shot of Hemingway. They all looked like the tubular Michelen man with a BIG, WARM smile on their faces. Look at any contemporary shot. People are stylish and svelt, coloured like peacocks and uniformly grim faced and cold. The bean boot is a combination of 3 systems; the rubber boot for slush and rain above @ 20 degrees F, the leather boot of summer fall and the traditional mukluc of leather and canvas for cold winter. The full winter Sorel-Bean boots employ a felt booty, a thick rubber and felt sole insert and optional extra sheepskin insert. Into this you usually insert a foot clad in a wicking sock liner and 1 to 3 woolen socks. Return the Cabelas. Buy a Bean or Sorel. Smile like Hemingway.He was young and poor, but it was good with the PSK tin bought at the tobacconists on the left bank thinking of next winter's skiing.

I should add that these are to be worn commuting to work in Philadelphia. The Winter temperature in Philly averages about 35-40F, with a low of about 0-10 F, which is rare. Last year, I wore uninsulated LL Bean rubber boots with very little discomfort. My worst case would be a massive failure of infrastructure in which I would have to walk about 30 miles home.

On the downside, I'm not as tough as Pappa.

The one item no Soviet citizen would abandon in WW2 were their winter boots. Stick a few pair of extra wool socks in your coatpocket. If you do walk 30 miles another pair on your feet and one for emergency mittens should get you home.

They're in my backpack.

Return the Cabelas, take better half to dinner with funds.

Chris here is a pretty good guy but take into consideration that the temps in Southern Cali are not the same faced by some of the rest of us. I live in the mountains just south of Pitt so my temps here should be similar to what you are facing. I don’t find it necessary to use the heavy Sorel type boots during the average winter day. A lightly insulated boot over good socks is light enough to move in but warm enough to keep warm. I walk about 5 miles a day in all weather and have settled on a good leather boot (very water resistant) because it is a lot more comfortable to hike in than the Sorel type boots. I add Yaktraxs for walking on ice and frozen slush and will only switch to a light Sorel type Bean boot when we get really heavy new snow or temps below 0F°.

I've got the arctic and antarctic service medal and completion of arctic survival school on my discharge papers. When I drove through WV somebody gave me a lump of coal. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> People who think California is palm trees and Pam Anderson should hike some of our backcountry in winter. Niether Martha Stuart or The Frugal Gourmet will ever recreate the Donner Party's winter cuisine <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I was thinking Chris, thats a pretty good combination you have there. Palm trees, Pamela Anderson, and the back country

Dreaming of the Cali life
Dean