Are Snake Boots Worth $$
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: Buffalo1
16-Jun-16
We are entering the heat of summer and snakes are an issue to be dealt with during the hot weather. I read an article yesterday that was printed in a SCI newspaper. Here are some interesting statistics in the article:
87% snake bites below the knee 67% snake bites ankle or below 8% snake bites on hand or wrist
Today I was in a store and saw some snake boots that for sale. There was an interesting piece of paper by the boots.
What are your thought on snake boots and their cost?
From: ohiohunter
16-Jun-16
Well I bet if you've ever been bit and kept your foot you'd be damned if you'll let it happen again. I can't say I'd invest in tall snake boots being as snake season is usually a hot one, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick up some chaps.
Just boils down to how often you have snake encounters.
From: Buffalo1
16-Jun-16
Are snake boots worth their cost?
From: fubar racin
16-Jun-16
I know from experience that my work boots and my wildland fire boots will stop a bite as iv had rattlers hit both I'd prefer to never test them again but they did the job once.
From: eddie c
16-Jun-16
we question the cost of snake boots but we don't question $100 set of arrows that we bust and loose at 3D shoots and hunting. lol. or we don't question the price of a good pair of boots to chase elk.
From: ohiohunter
16-Jun-16
Snake boots are tall and hot, most venomous north american snakes are in hot dry climates. Relatively speaking there are few snake bitten hunters combine this with limited snake boot quality and trail performance compared to other boots and you pretty much get your answer. If I were snake hunting in texas where Im elbow deep in reptile, well I bet I'll have some protective gear but for the avg guy putting in a 1-2wk elk or deer hunt they're a little excessive. Like I said, if you're worried pick up some chaps or gaiters.
Your hunt will likely end due to poor boots than to a snake bite.
From: dgilbert
16-Jun-16
Come to Texas and you would say YES!
From: dgilbert
16-Jun-16
From: ohiohunter
16-Jun-16
You can have texas, I hate to even drive through that state.
From: brantman
16-Jun-16
I bought a pair of Danners for 275.00 cheaper than a hospital stay
From: dgilbert
16-Jun-16
I wear mine year round even in OUR winter.
From: Jaquomo
16-Jun-16
If I still hunted elk in the low country in NoCo I'd invest in a pair of chaps, for sure. Part of the reason I quit hunting one good spot. boots, nope. Too hot and too tall.
I REALLY wished I'd had a pair of snake chaps when I hunted Australia. Friggin' red-bellied black snakes all over.
From: Bow Nut
16-Jun-16
If your extremities are worth $200 to you then YES!!!!. I have the Irish setter vaprtreks and they're more comfortable than most of my regular season boots. Where I live, there's an abundance of venomous snakes..... $200 is a small price to pay for added protection.
From: Rick M
16-Jun-16
Surprised I don't see snake gaiters? Maybe I should market them. Makes more sense than tough to walk in boots or hot uncomfortable chaps.
From: Ben
16-Jun-16
I have a set of snake gaiters I bought at a garage sale that are like new for $3. They cover from top of foot clear up to the knee. Couldn't turn them down for that. Guess I save 153,159.25! LOL
From: Rayzor
16-Jun-16
I wear them every time I go afield this time of year. I was his several times by a copperhead in the metatarsal area while wearing work boots sevral years back. Thankfully it didnt make it through th metatarsal protection. I bought snake boots shortly thereafter and have been wearing them regular through the warm months ever since. I also wear them to keep out the chiggars and ticks about as much as I do the snakes. I wear light pants tucked into them and spray down.
From: Ursus a. Horribilis
17-Jun-16
I was bitten by a copperhead a couple summers ago. Total hospital bill was over $60k. The physical pain alone was enough to ensure I wear high, protective boots in warm weather. Knee high rubber boots will get the job done.
From: LINK
17-Jun-16
My brother and his son hunt rattle snakes and my brother only wears normal height cowboy boots. This year he stepped on one he didn't see and it bit the top of his boot and they were enough. Had it been two inches higher it would have been on his leg. You don't need "snake boots" but it's the height that makes a difference. If you hunt around a lot of snakes, sure it's worth it. Personally I've never seen a rattler while walking.
From: Too Many Bows Bob
17-Jun-16
I'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.
TMBB
From: LBshooter
17-Jun-16
If in snake country, why wouldn't you wear them? That hospital bill is only expensive if you survive to pay it.
From: buc i 313
17-Jun-16
"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" as the saying goes.
Especially if you have a compromised immune system.
Buy the boots!
From: ohiohunter
17-Jun-16
"Knee high rubber boots will get the job done."
Good luck elk hunting in those! Like I mentioned its all relative, arbitrary statements will lead you exactly where they came from... no where.
Like I said if you opt for wonky crotch high snake boots over normal boots your hunt will likely end due to your feet, not a snake encounter.
From: AH
17-Jun-16
Picture is Texas in November.
If I were in Mississippi then boots or chaps would be on all the time from spring turkey season through mid deer season.
From: cityhunter
17-Jun-16
From: r-man
17-Jun-16
I feel safe with my Lacross boots , I am not concerned with hosp bill just with missing the rut.
From: Bow Nut
17-Jun-16
Ah... I think the snakes head might still be in your boot..... That's a good ole boy there !!
From: dgilbert
18-Jun-16
Here you go. http://www.danner.com/product/boots/jackal-ii-snake-boot-17-realtree-apg.html
From: Aftermerl
02-Jul-16
I bought mine when I started hunting turkeys in rattlesnake country. They did wonders to calm me and I was able to move around with little concern. Which wasn't the case prior to. BTW the way it was recommended to me that I make the purchase by the local. I asked when I noticed they all wore them.
From: wy buzztail
23-Jul-16
what is the expression they use these days?, "I call BS". having been billed for hospital services a great deal this last year I can tell you that you will never get a bill that looks like that, radiology, ICU, etc etc etc all bill separately.
this is a marketing ploy to sell boots, plain and simple, and it assumes you will be swayed to buy snake proof boots, chaps, pants, flamethrowers whatever the heck these guys are selling.
If they were selling hair brushes and hobnils they'd tell you how snakes, grizz and ex wives are all afeared of those too....#1 they are there to sell you something and make money, is this site advertising or ad free? Enough said.
Don't let the chrome distract you from it being a sales pitch boys.
From: wild1
23-Jul-16
Simple decision-making aid:
Google "rattlesnake bite" and then click on images on your Google page. Enough said.
From: DTala
24-Jul-16
I'm amazed at the folks that will post when they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about...
Lacrosse rubber boots, and any all rubber boot, will NOT stop the bite from a four foot rattlesanke (only size and kind I have actual experience with). I was bitten in 1985 right thru the top half of a Lacrosse Grange rubber boot. One fang right thru the boot into my left calf. Other fang made it thru the boot but stopped by tucked in camo pants.
Snake boots are well worth the money....
From: Mad Trapper
25-Jul-16
The first time that I hunted Texas in the spring, I wore full length chaps and boots. If I could have wrapped myself in protective clothing, I would have. I don't like snakes. Over the years hunting there, I eventually shed the chaps and have had a few encounters with buzztails. I would not hunt Texas without the boots though. I have used various brands over the years and settled on the ones with the full length zipper. They are much easier to put on and take off.
From: planebow
25-Jul-16
I started wearing them when I was hunting by myself in snake country. It made the wife worry a whole lot less. Mine are as comfortable to wear as any of my other hunting boots.
From: willliamtell
25-Jul-16
If I was in some other area thick with buzzsnakes I'd consider them or chaps. I do a heck of a lot of hiking in normal snake country and only see a rattler every couple of years (if that). Way more risky driving, and I don't wear a helmet.
From: kscowboy
25-Jul-16
My sister got hit by a rattler when she was outside in a commons area with her dogs near Boulder, CO last Friday. It was a dry bite but nailed her right in the calf. She and her husband are kind of the yuppie type, so maybe one of those "outdoor stores" will start marketing to the millennials with designer-type pattern chaps and gaiters.
From: LUNG$HOT
25-Jul-16
Here's a Colorado Prairie Rattler from 2 days ago. Not as big as some of those Texas Rattlers but still pack quite a punch I imagine. Yes buy the boots. I wear mine at work everytime I have to go in the tall grass.
From: dizzydctr
26-Jul-16
I bought a pair of Danner snakeboots for turkey hunting years ago and remember grumbling about the cost. I grumbled even more when the $%*(^) GoreTex liner leaked after the first year and I almost threw them away. I'm glad I didn't. I now wear them throughout the summer when I have to go in the weeds and brush, more so for ticks and chiggers than snakes. I tuck my pants legs in the boots and lace them up snug and then spray my britches and boots with permethrin. It helps prevent a lot of misery from bites. I now feel like the boots were a good investment as I have had them for years and they have a good number of years left in them. I guess you could call them my snake-tick-chigger boots. I just can't wade any more creeks with them.
From: Scar Finga
26-Jul-16
Snake Chaps, the low ones that go up to your knees is all you need. way cooler and way cheaper than boots. I live in AZ and kill rattlers every year while bird hunting. I wont hunt unless I am wearing them... All my dogs are snake broke and get a refresher every year. I have watched my dogs running birds and all of a sudden one will jump 5 feet to the side... I already know what's there... A rattler! Kinda cool and scary to see. A vet bill for a snake bit dog is round 2-5K depending on the bite. but when your talking about a dog that is worth 5-8K I would pay it.
So get your dogs snake broke if your live in rattler country. It cost around a hundred bucks and most trainers do refreshers for $25-50.00
Best regards,
Scar.
Scar.
From: bowbender77
26-Jul-16
I think that snake boots are worth the $$ when you consider the price tag for medical care. The Phoenix Fire Dept folks say the average cost for medical treatment on a rattlesnake bite runs about $100,000.00. Not to mention the potential permanent damage to your vital organs. I did an Axis deer hunt this month with an outfitter in Texas. He told me of a personal friend that was bit by a rattlesnake last spring. His friends medical bill came in at just over $300,000.00. Yes, thats three hundred thousand dollars and change. All I can say is snake boots are cheap insurance when your hunting in real snake country. Watch your step!
From: GF
27-Jul-16
My ER co-pay is $100. So whenever we're looking at something which is basically safety equipment, we convert the price into ER visits.
And you've gotta have boots. So it just depends on your exposure to snakes....
From: lewis
27-Jul-16
For me no hunted South Carolina low country all over Ms.Tn. All over Fl. Ga. If in the south I hunted there. But if it makes you feel better go for it Lewis
From: BULELK1
27-Jul-16
I go down and visit/fish those Big Mouth Bass @ my brothers place in Gilmore Tex-ASS
Trust me---
Buy the freaking Snake boots!! haha
Good luck, Robb
From: Too Many Bows Bob
27-Jul-16
The problem with snake chaps is they provide little, if any, protection for your foot. Legs, yes but if the sake bites the foot.....
TMBB
From: Scar Finga
28-Jul-16
They make several different styles, mine come down over the bridge of my foot and clip close to the toe of my boot. It would be pretty difficult and I would say almost impossible for a snake to bite the bottom of my foot. Most snake bites occur on the lower leg between ankle and calf and believe it or not the hands and lower arms are also very common areas that people get bit.
Scar.
