Lot of good solid info. in this thread for sure. A couple things I would add is:
When walking in a ways, wear a sacrificial pair of cotton socks inside a plastic bread bag. Once in, pull your boots off and take the wet socks off leaving them in the bread bag. Your feet will quickly dry as you put on your sitting socks of wool and a thin liner first.
Spray your feet with anti antiperspirant so your feet don't sweat which adds to the cold feet. Works on the hands too, but tends to dry them out if done for several days in a row.
I layer a thin silk against my skin, then Merino wool next then a thicker silk or Merino wool depending on the cold. If I need more I go with wool or fleece next. But I like my outer layer to be unlined and water/wind proof. A wool hat is always a part of my head layer as well. Thin wool gloves get covered by thin camo gloves once the cold sets in to the wool. A muff is nice as it can hold the hand warmers. I buy the bigger ones not them little ones. If I re seal them in a baggie after use I can get a couple days out of the 12 hour ones.
Wool and silk actually work by absorbing liquid and will still keep you warm. The less liquid you sweat into them the longer they keep you warm.
I find great deals on old wool clothes on eBay and other market places. If I am moving all day nothing beats the wool. Virgin wool like Merino or Alpaca isn't scratchy. It's the recycled wool that is scratchy. My silk layer prevents recycled wool from being itchy against my skin.
Hope these help you from a guy who lives up north and spends time ice fishing in Canada as well.
