Recommended snake proof gaiters?

[Edward John M]

Not always Roger

A lot of reported snake bites are youngsters along pathways in suburban tracks along the creeks, our wonderful Melbourne “Long gardens”

 

My youngest daughter being one of them, Brown snake, juvenile about 300mm long, a bite on the top of the foot, interesting talk with the doctors in the Royal Childrens Hospital afterwards, i seems as if in some species the venom of juvenile snakes is more powerful than in adults to make up for the lack of volume produced.

It was a hot day, kids were paddling in the creek and therefore no shoes or sox, the doctors concenscus being that if shoes and sox had been worn nothing would have been noticed although young A*** did see the snake strike.

So boots/shoes and sox topped by heavy gaiters should offer enough protection in most instances, even for tiger snake males in the mating season when they get very agressive and territorial.

In 40 years of walking I doubt I’ve seen more than a dozen snakes while walking, although there are some well known areas where they gather to catch the morning sun and number in the hundreds if not in the thousands, parts of Kozzie NP come to mind

[Roger Caffin]

Um. Children are a worry.

Yes, we see quite a few in Kosci NP, although many of them are still in cold-torpor early in the morning. Could they attack when it’s sub-zero? I don’t know, and have never asked.

But if you really want to see lots of snakes, try the sandy banks of the Coxs River in mid-summer. There’ll be a red-bellied black snoozing in the sun every 150 m – which I guess is about the size of their territories. I think they live on the frogs.

For the non-Australians: the red-belly is a large (up to 2 m) venomous snake with a potentially fatal bite and a quite fast movement. Just not quite as aggressive as the Brown.

The funny thing is that bushwalkers around here know they are there, keep an automatic eye open for them, detour around them without fuss, and both sides get on just fine.

Cheers

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I vote for the Cabela’s CHAPS because if a big snake gets your popliteal artery (back of your knee) you sir, are dead within less than 30 minutes. I has happened.

Wish I had at least those chaps in 1980 with I was building (not maintaining but building from scratch) the 9 mile Snow Creek section of the PCT in California.

We had rattlers almost every day, especially in early morning when they were out sunning. One guy wore leather chaps and three years before in northern CA when trail building a rattler bit him in the chaps and got its fangs stuck for a while! He was not envenomated.

[DriCamp]

After spending some time researching options for lightweight snake gaiters, I’m seeing Turtleskins advertised at about 11 oz and CrackShot Corp Snake Guardz advertised at about 12 oz. The Crackshots are about half the price of the Turtleskins.

(The info in this thread is still valid so no apologies for thread resurrection.)

[Daryl and Daryl]

I’m really jumpy about snakes and avoid areas where I know they are common.

Gaiters would not have helped in most of the close encounters I have had, however.  Once I almost sat on a pile of rattlesnakes at the base of a Ponderosa Pine.  Another time I noticed, fortunately, that the snakes were relaxing in the sage brush at about my waist level.

Another time I was backpacking with a group  and rattlesnakes would cross our path from time to time.  I’m not usually very observant but the snakes spooked me.  I was walking so slowly and looking so hard I had trouble keeping up with the group.  Sturdy gaiters (or stove pipes) would have helped but I was still wearing lightweight shoes with mesh outers.

Farside had a cartoon “lupaslipaphobia?” The fear of being chased by wolves around a kitchen table on a freshly waxed floor.  I can imagine something similar for snakes.  Shorts and shower shoes, knee deep grass, sun glasses, ear plugs, at night,  etc.

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