This article sounds like someone's version of a poorly thought out 'good idea'.

Their version: "By leaving your boots on, there is no way for the water to escape, and it slowly makes your feet cold, or even frozen and frostbitten... Mors is actually wearing 3 pairs of wool socks, and the outer socks will start to freeze and form a "boot", while the inner pairs will keep you comfortable."

Okay, I'm reversing the above two sentences:

"Mors is actually wearing 3 pairs of wool socks, and the outer socks will start to freeze and form a "boot ... By leaving your boots on, there is no way for the water to escape, and it slowly makes your feet cold, or even frozen and frostbitten."

This sounds like a new version of the old harmful fairy tale of scrubbing frostbitten feet with more cold, wet snow.

I'll pass.

Sue

Ok, I e-mailed Randy and Lori Breeuwsma of Karamat Wilderness Ways shortly after I started this thread asking for more information about the article about wearing only wool socks on their site and the following is what they sent in reply:

"Mors (Kochanski) has 4 DVD's out on Wilderness Skills and on the Clothing and Sleeping Bag DVD he talks about the wool socks, they need to be pure wool and he usually wears 3 pairs. It needs to be below freezing and -10 degrees Celcius (14 degree Fahrenheit) or colder is best and then he proceeds to step in the Lake water. If people don't believe that it works they are wrong. Many of the students on the winter course have done this and myself and my family have also tried this. People can purchase the DVD's on Wilderness Skills through Karamat Wilderness Ways and we also have other DVD's available on plant identification."