Mukluks boots

[kooba]

Does anyone know of a place where I can get a pair of Mukluks boots in the Brainerd or St. Cloud area?

[End of the Line]

You can buy them online from Stegers would be the only way I know of. But you'll probably need to try them on to make sure you get the right fit.

[Gadgetman]

Call Steger in Ely and they will tqake care of you. I have several pairs of them and friends have wanted to get them after seeing the ones I had. They called up there and got fitted over the phone, just be sure to know your shoe size and width

[Steve Foss]

Kooba:

Stegers started selling mukluks wholesale to retailers last winter, and there are several retail outlets in Minnesota. I'd try their Web site to see where the nearest one is to you, and if they don't list it there, call the store in Ely and ask. I know there are Twin Cities outlets.

I do not recommend ordering online, unless you really know your stuff. There are a variety of sizing issues.

If you do go online to order, here are some things you should know.

If you want them for the coldest possible weather (well, don't we all?), you'll have to buy them two sizes bigger than your shoe size. There'll be the wool felt liner, the felt insole (very important). Both these come with the muks. To get the warmest use, put a polypro sock (lightweight), against your foot, then a medium weight wool sock and a heavy wool sock over that. I have used the muks in -40 and been perfectly warm, but that's only really possible if you buy them big enough so that, after you have those socks on, your feet still can move freely within the boot. What makes these muks shine is their light weight and flexibility and the fact that they allow your foot to maintain ciruculation, but all that is ruined if they're too small and you have to pack everything into too tight a space.

Over a few years, the liners/insoles compact and lose their ability to insulate, and they should be replaced. That's true of any boot with such liners.

I have the model that went with Will Steger to the North Pole in 1986. They are now called the "Artic" style by the company. Only difference is, the expedition had them made big enough to fit TWO felt liners inside, and they had a custom insole provided by another company. My wife worked for that company in 1986, and worked for Stegers here in Ely recently.

None of the muks are totally waterproof, but a heavy application of silicone spray a couple times each winter makes them nearly so.

You may note I'm wearing them in my avatar, though they are mostly obscured by the walleye. Guy's gotta have his priorities, after all.