I don't see how you guys can stand fishing cold weather in stocking foot , whether it be neoprene or breathables . The lack of air surrounding your feet with stocking foot makes it impossible to keep your feet warm . I fish cold season with Cabelas hunting boot foot neoprene waders , thinsulite insulation in the boot plus the air around your foot keeping some body heat circulating helps your feet stay warm and dry. I laugh at guys with stocking foot fishing beside me cause after 20 minutes in the water , they're dieing to get out , cause they can't feel their feet !!! Bin there .. done that , frozen toes can only be warmed if you get the darn things off and let warm air surround your feet and then that awful stinging sensation kicks in , no more , no way . Insulated , boot foot for cold cold water all the way .
There is a LOT of truth to getting cold feet with stocking foot waders in the winter months. Anybody who has issues keping there feet warm in the winter needs to listen closly to Notta.....With that in mind you really have to ask yourself if your actaully going to need to be in the water for a duration of time or just a few moments here and there. I find 90% of my winter fishing can be accomplished from the shore ( KEEPS US OFF EGGS TOO) The brush and grasses are all but gone and accessability to the water is far easier then it is in the early fall. I use the Simms extreme cold socks and found that as long as my boots aern't done up too tight my feet stay warm pretty easily if I limit my time in the water, I have a new weapon for this year to try in the form of Thermacell remote heated insoles. If they work like they are presented to these bad bouys should make being in the water a breeze
having the ability to push a button and warm the feet back up to a comfortable level should sufice. I guess it really boils down to being able to get what you need with the budget available, making poor choices sucks and having a resource like this board to help is what informative decision making is all about. Cheers