Snake Boot Advice
When 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: