Snake Boots

[BrownA5]

Let me start by saying.... I hate snakes!  While they look great on a new bow, I certainly have no desire to discover the poisonous kind "up and personal in the deer/turkey woods".  Where I used to live in upstate NY this was not a problem.  Five months ago we moved to Kentucky and this is now on my mind as I start thinking about Spring turkey.  Any thoughts/recommendations on snake boots?  Someone I met recently here in KY said not to worry about snakes.... Apparently it is too late for that!! 

[Wudstix]

If you have a good hog population the snakes kinda lay real low.  Even run from foot noise in the bush.

[Sam McMichael]

I've been wearing a pair from Cabels's that I no longer remember the model number. They are comfortable and warm, so I wear them in cooler weather. Luckily, I have never tried out their effectiveness in dealing with snake bite. This thread interests me a lot, because I will soon need a new pair. These are about worn out, but have lasted over twenty years. I'll probably go that route again. Like BrownA5, I don't like snakes at all.

[Tradcat]

Oh come on Sam! Where's your sense of adventure? lol 😂

[Pat B]

Wudstix, I've also heard that rattlers don't rattle as much in hog country which is a scary thought to me.
I've hunted the S.E. US(GA, SC, NC, from the coast to the mountains) all my hunting career and never seen a poisonous snake in the wild while hunting. I know they are there but I never see them. I do wear snake boots during snake season, just in case. I think I got mine from Cabelas too, many years ago.

[Jim Wright]

I live in Louisiana and we have all four species of poisonous snakes here. Up front, I like snakes, to me they are interesting creatures and as a kid I had them as pets. For what it's worth there are 330,000,000 people in the U.S. and each year approximately 7,000 of them are bitten by poisonous snakes. On average 7 of them die.

[Car54]

I'm on my second pair of the Danner Pronghorn snake boots.  Very comfortable and TALL!!(17").  I gotten real lazy with these boots on,  I hardly even look where i am stepping.    Some of my friends like the zip up snake boots,  I have the lace up, and I'm fine with them.   

[darktater]

I have a pair of LaCrosse rubber snake boots. Kill two birds kind of thing, and they are the most comfortable snake boots I've had.

[Sam McMichael]

Tradcat, you know I'm old and boring. A great adventure now is a glass of scotch after a slow paced practice session with the longbow. But as for snakeboots, I don't need the latest and greatest popular names. Most of them are probably made in the same Chinese factories, anyway.

[Wudstix]

Have Chippawa, but think made out of country.  Had then @4 years.

[BrownA5]

Jim Wright pointed out that there are only 7 deaths per year from snake bite.  I probably would be one of them but simply from fright! 

[Flingblade]

If you like cowboy boots Justin makes a square toe roper style snake boot with zip up sides.   

[kopfjaeger]

I wear snake gaiters. I can wear them with any of my boots.

[arrow30]

i just got a pair last year, havent got to really ware them hunting.
just around the cabin for a couple days for a break in. 
been some rattlers killed around there and i got a cottonmouth a couple yrs. ago,
and seen another while i was fishing from my kayak.
  so i figured i better get some for sneaking around the creeks and hills, especially during low light hours. where visibility is less.
really light weight and pretty comfortable.

  rocky snakeboots

[howl]

When hunting you need to watch where you will step so you don't make too much noise. If you watch where you step you shouldn't have a problem with snakes. Same goes for where you put your hands when sitting down to call up a turkey. I hunt turkeys about twenty days per year. Never have worn snake boots. I have seen snakes, but I've never stepped on one.

You will probably want some knee high rubber boots first thing in the morning so you don't get soaked by dew on grass, and for crossing creeks. As above, there are rubber snake boots. They're just heavier than standard is all. Muck makes the best rubber boots.

When working in the woods, you are not watching where you step. Heavy leather work boots and snake chaps are the way to go. I've had the same Rattler brand chaps since the mid-90s. Never been struck, but they're great for briars, too.

[Gdpolk]

I wear Vaprateks (may be spelled wrong). I got them because they are super light weight and feel almost like a boot/sneaker hybrid in the soles which I like for the mountains. I've been struck probably 6ish times in them in the past 3 years that I've owned them and had zero punctures.  One of the places I hunt has a lot of timber rattlers and copperheads. I'm NOT a fan of the snakes.

[Wudstix]

Pat B; they may not rattle due to hogs or heat.  Also, they tend to run from foot steps in the grass in hog county.  Snakes are a delicacy for hogs.

[keng]

I've been wearing the irish setter vaprteks for two years. They are the most comfortable boot I ever owned, but starting leaking during my third trip and the waterproof warranty is only six months. I like them enough that I ordered another pair to rotate and hopefully have a dry pair every morning

[Sam McMichael]

Ever since I stepped on a copperhead several years ago, (was not wearing them) my snakeboots have become my standard outdoor boots. In the south, I have seen snakes come out in winter when we have a short warm spell. How about you guys with zip up boots, do the zippers work well? I have had zip boots, but not snakeboots, that did not work well.  My current boots will need replacement soon, and I might like a zip up model if they work well. I'm skeptical of them.

[BrownA5]

I appreciate all the input that has been given regarding this post and the experiences that have been shared.  Just confirms to me again that I am on the right track/thought process.  I will research the different options that have been suggested.  I have been doing a lot of reading about Chippewa's snake boots, specifically the moc toe model.  The comments and ratings have been really good.  Seems like they tend to run large so keep that in mind if you are considering them.