Archive for Snake Boots
Snake Boots Offer Excellent Protection
Posted by: | CommentsI receive quite a bit of e-mail from time to time about boots (I have another boots site as well), and some of them bring up some really interesting points of view.
One reader recently pointed out that, while most hunters and outdoorsman are concerned about being bitten by a venomous snake, the truth is, you are far more likely to be bitten by a non-venomous snake. While I had some doubts about that info, I decided to do a bit of research on the topic.
According to data from Wikipedia, there are an estimated 45,000 snake bites in the U.S. annually. Of those 45,000, around 8000 are venomous bites. This means that 37,000 people are bitten in the U.S. each year by non-venomous snakes. Interestingly enough, my home state of North Carolina has the highest number of reported bites in the US, averaging 19 reported bites per 100,000.
So the reader was correct and his point was: snake boots will protect you from most any snake bite whether venomous or not.
Obviously, I'd rather take a bite from the non-venomous water snake in the top picture than from this big Western Diamondback Rattler. With snake boots, you don't have to worry about the species.
The “Perfect” Pair of Turkey Hunting Boots
Posted by: | CommentsFor many years there have been debates, both in person and online, regarding the "perfect" pair of turkey hunting boots. One the first questions that people ask are "why won't my regular hunting boots work for Turkey hunting?"
Well, they might work just fine, but take the following 2 things into consideration:
#1 - Temperature - Most turkey hunting is done in the spring when temperatures are going up. Depending on the geography you hunt, it could be anywhere from 50 to 80 degrees on a typical hunting day during the season. Most hunting boots are built for colder weather hunting so they will probably be to warm to use for turkey hunting. I wore a pair of my cold weather boots one year turkey hunting in South Carolina and I was miserable as my feet were sweating so bad I couldn't stand it. In most situations, boots used for turkey hunting will need to be lighter and less insulated.
#2 Snakes - Springtime in most areas means the possibility that snakes are just coming out after the winter. this means that the possibility of encountering a venomous snake increases. It's vitally important to understand that standard hunting boots may offer the wearer some protection from snakebite, but nothing compared to the protection guaranteed by true snake proof boots. Case in point: A good friend of mine who bowhunts happened to step on a large water moccasin (also called a Cottonmouth) while walking out of the woods. He was wearing standard hunting boots when the snake whipped around and struck the toe area of his boot. While the fangs didn't penetrate into his foot, they did penetrate deep enough into the boot to inject venom on his sock. The next day he was at the local sporting good buying snake boots.
While these 2 points are a "requirement" for a good pair of turkey hunting boots, I would definitely take them into consideration when buying boots. Although I don't get to turkey hunt much anymore, my personal pair of turkey hunting boots is a pair of Justin 18" non-insulated snake boots.
 Rocky 7534 15 Lynx Waterproof Snake Proof Boots Size 95 W  US $93.49
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Snake Boot Advice
Posted by: | CommentsWhen entering areas where you might encounter venomous snakes, a good pair of snake boots can be worth their weight in gold. Snake boots are basically just hunting boots that feature a hardened layer of puncture resistant cordura that would repel a bite. If you hunting in the U.S., you really only have to be concerned with 4 species of venomous snakes:
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Rattlesnake |
Copperhead |
Coral Snake |
Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin) |
When shopping for snake boots, be wary of any boots that indicate that they are built to defend against any specific species of venomous snakes. For example, boots that are marked as "rattlesnake boots" or "copperhead boots". These style of boots are misleading in that they infer that only this specific boot model will stop a bite from a particular species. The largest venous species in the U.S. are the Eastern and Western Diamondback rattlesnake. A large speciment may have fangs that are 1" to 1.5" in length. Any snake boot produced by a reputable boot company should be able to stop a bite from any U.S. based venomous species. This is really a marketing ploy aimed to sell specific boots.
Consider a snake boot that covers all the calf area up to just under the knee. Snake boots of this style offer the most protection in the event of an attemped bite higher on the leg. It would really stink to have on lower cut snake boots and take a bite just over the top of the boot.
Take a look at this brand of snake boots being tested:
Snake Boots?
Posted by: | Comments
What are the best snake boots? I'm very paranoid about snakes when I'm hunting, so I need some good ones. I'm a size 7 1/2 in women's boots.