Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Think I found my boots for safari......

Converse 6" desert boots. Spent 1 1/2 hrs. trying on different sizes. Settled on the 6" soft toe version. Found them at Gander Mtn., in Indy. I've been wearing them everyday, and they feel as good on my feet, as anything I've worn for the last 3 yrs.

http://www.uscav.com/ZoomImage.aspx?CatID=548&ImageURL=/prodinfo/enlarged/31543L.jpg


maddog

They look like winners. It's amazing when your feet meet the right shoe.

Best thoughts.
imlvt

The real deal with them ..is how soft is the sole?
Quiet is the key for stalking......

They look just right maddog...but you may need those little seed guard gaiters( ask your PH) I forget what they call them..
I wore pants long enough to cover the tops of ankle highs and or ran a ring of duct tape around the tops...

to me, the soles feel pretty soft. But most importantly, they feel good on my arthritic feet.


maddog

I like soft soles too, but we have encountered some thing like the sand spurs you find in Florida in some areas, and spent some time picking them out of soft soles with a pocketkinfe...still rather pick them out than crunch them with a hard sole on a sneak...

I will be wearing pants long enough to go over the top of those boots. NO SHORTS! The ph said gaiters wouldn't be necessary.


maddog

I bought a very similar pair from a company called Altama but mine are without the zipper and velcro. How have you adjusted to that,maddog?

Also, are they true to size?

Well, can't really say about "true to size", the are an 11 1/2 med. width. I kinda like the zipper thingy, although before trying them on I didn't think I would. I've worn them everyday for the last 5 days, and my feet aren't as tired and burny, when I get home at night.


maddog

maddog..that zipper idea on the side is skookum for todays travel through airports..Ive got a pair of desert boots made like that I use in dog training...just plain handy for security checks...

Seems like petulant details to me!

I've got the special forces version of those which are higher on my "summer vacation" to the MidEast in 2005. The feel like running shoes, wear like iron, great boots.

Do yourself a favour and get yourself a second pair of a different type...

I would recommend a pair of smart leather chukka's that you can use primarily for travelling ect, but will do double duty as a hunting boot if the need should arise.

Prior to my first trip to RSA, I found a pair of traditional safari boots (made in Zim) styled after the Courteney safari boot. They were just what i was looking for and was surprised to find them on sale in the UK. I tried them on and wore them for a couple of weeks prior to leaving and they were fantatstically comfortable.

However, when I got to RSA and started to hunt in them, I hated them...The sole was too thin and not shaped correctly to support the arches in my feet and the leather uppers were simply too soft, and provided no support.

Luckily, just before I left, I'd spotted some cheap no-brand light weight Desert boots and bought them to travel in.

By one of those strange quirks, it turns out they were ideal, and I finished my hunt using them..

So on any important hunt, I am a firm believer in having a Plan B as far as footware goes. If your rifle or bino's stuff up, you'll probably be able to get a loaner off the PH, but if your boots go unserviceable, your pretty much buggered if you don't have an alternative...

Chuck, I like the 6" ones so much, that I'm thinking about getting an 8" pair, before spring. Then I need to throw out several prs. of old boots, that are pack ratted away in my closet.


maddog

What would make you buy a 8" rather than another 6"? Will you use 6 or 8 for your hunt?

isaac, may take both so I can put on fresh boots, every other day. But, the 8" pair might get used at home for work in the summer. I work with farmers, and do a lot of walking in corn and soybean fields. I figured I'd wear sneakers for the trip, and take 2 prs. of boots for the hunt. That is the only item I'm over packing on, because of my feet issues.


maddog

Thanks. I learn a great deal from the folks who've BTDT.

You'd be well to notice these little things Bob..makes traveling through airports much easier on trips to Africa.....


Oh, and BTW- theres a million and one other details yet to go over for trips to Africa...PM me if you happen to be up at night thinking about what they could be.....

I think I've covered them all....two or 3 times. It beats studying 4th amendment cases.

'Course, most of us don't find tying shoe laces very taxing or much of an ordeal but I appreciate it is difficult for some....just saying...