Fang and Pit-Viper Boot Protection

  • Snakes in Florida and elsewhere are part of life, if you hike, hunt or camp in wilderness areas – go prepared.
  • You’ll need comfortable, waterproof boots to insure your safety in thick brush and swampland.
  • Medical treatment for a venomous snakebite can exceed $100,000 – the cost of protective boots is an investment in your safety and financial security. 

By Forrest Fisher

When I approached retirement age in snow country, my better half and I considered finding warmer weather during the chilly, deep snow season of Western New York. We looked west, south, and finally, deep south, finding a rental we used for a few months each year for five years. We discovered that Southwest Florida offers a continuous supply of warm days and nights from January through April every year. These are the heavy lake-effect snow months of eastern Lake Erie landscapes; our house was only a few miles from ski resort country. Moving south unlocked new adventures and challenges, more than the sunny beach life, especially since I like to fish, hunt and hike in the bush country wherever we travel.

Thick-bodied eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are fairly common in south Florida and in many areas of the southern USA. Stay aware when hiking. Marvin Grant photo.

We discovered that the southwest Florida critters of the outdoors were to be respected, and we needed to learn how to be better protected when going into the wildland areas of the area. Poisonous spiders, lengthy alligators and crocodiles, flying insects, and heavy, thick snakes are relatively common when you leave the settled civilization areas here.  If you’re careful when walking a well-traveled hiking trail, you can see many of the larger critters, but the venomous snakes are so well camouflaged that they easily disguise their location as you travel the wilds. Especially when hunting in the jungle areas for deer or turkey.

These Irish Setter Terrain snake boots pull out easily when you step into muck. I like that for walking in Forida swamp land.
Stay out of the woods in snake and bug area without one of these kits in your pocket. They are carried at Walmart, Bass Pro, and other stores.

So, our first addition to outdoor gear was footwear. After a lengthy search for snake-tested boots, we settled on the Irish Setter Terrain boots. I like them for many reasons, but the biggest is that they are pit-viper tested, and the internal protective Snakeguard liner runs from the toe to the top edge of the boot. Many venomous snakes down here are enormous in physical thickness and length. Copperheads, eastern diamondbacks, timber rattlesnakes, pygmy rattelsnakes, water moccasins, coral snakes and others are among the common venomous snakes here. Nobody needs to worry about boot puncture from venomous fangs and sharp-pointed cactus-like palmetto brush with razor edges. The old phrase “snake in the grass” is not uncommon here for actual snake sightings. We carry a Sawyer Snake Bite kit with us whever we go because it works for bug bites on the beach too.

Next, the camo patterns they offer are perfect for all-weather hunts, we like the photorealistic 3D imagery of the Mossy Oak® Obsession camo.  The pattern has the best visual concealment for whatever species you’re hunting.  The boots are waterproof with their impregnated leather and fabric panels that combine to make them something I need for a long life.  I regularly walk in streams and swamp land, and my feet must stay dry. Above that, I’m abusive with my footwear because I have really big feet, and I often purchase footwear in a smaller size that is not nearly long enough for my clodhoppers.  I need a size 14 boot wide boot. Very few companies carry this size, but Irish Setter does. The boots also needed traction because I frequently amble around in these nasty, swampy areas. What’s cool about the Terrain snake boots is that they not only are waterproof and have traction, but when you step into a muddy creek bottom of silty muck, these boots pull out easily. I’m not sure how they did that, but these boots have the easiest “pull-out” force of any of my rugged boots, where I experience loving life outdoors.

In Florida, we hunt wild boars, too. These wild pigs are tough, and they hide in the thickest areas of the Florida underbrush. So do many varieties of snakes. Locals advise everyone here to come prepared to “dig around” when boar hunting on your own.

The old phrase “snake in the grass” is not uncommon here for actual snake sightings, especially when you’re hiking and hunting.

Wild boars, like Florida whitetail deer, have a good scent detection mode. If you smell like a human, the boars will smell you coming a hundred yards away, and you’ll never see them. If you’re sitting in a ground blind, you’ll wonder if any boars exist where you are because they will go around you. These Terrain boots come with an exclusive scent control formula that is added to the boot materials, killing the bacteria that cause odors. This feature ensures that your boots remain odor-free, reducing the chances of detection by animals with a keen sense of smell. Problem solved.

Among other ‘most important’things I like about these boots are two more things. I have worn knee joints from 30 years of jogging. I never missed a day, rain or shine. Jogging allowed me to control the pressure of daily business meetings over all that time, but my knees took a toll – six miles a day wore out those ball joints. These boots are made with a cushy, high-rebound material in the heel and foot that provides relief with every step. These boots were made for comfort, I should know.  Even the internal materials seem to stretch in every direction, providing a padded-like feel to them. With these boots, you can walk for miles without feeling the strain. The day becomes a comfortable and relaxed outdoor experience.

The initial dose of antivenom for a snakebite can be $40,000 to $70,000. The cost of medical care for a venomous snakebite can vary depending on the type of snake and where you are, but it is often more than $100,000. These boots cost $239 retail, less during hunting season sales. But who cares about the cost of boots when the other option to save your life is in six figures? With these boots, you’re investing in your safety and financial security. I like that.

After three years, I have almost worn out my first pair, but they have hundreds of miles on them. These boots are the Irish Setter Terrain 2746, if you go looking.

Honey, can I have the credit card?