Snake Gaiters -worth it?
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- kenjacobsen
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Feb 13 2003 11:28 am
- City, State: Tempe, AZ
Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Anyone ever try Snake Gaiters like these, and if so, are they worth the trouble?
https://www.farmandlandaccessories.com/ ... e-gaiters/
Personally I've almost stepped on a rattler a couple times now, so I'm wondering.
https://www.farmandlandaccessories.com/ ... e-gaiters/
Personally I've almost stepped on a rattler a couple times now, so I'm wondering.
- CannondaleKid
- Posts: 1428
- Joined: May 04 2004 8:39 pm
- City, State: Mesa, AZ
- kenjacobsen
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Feb 13 2003 11:28 am
- City, State: Tempe, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Yeah, here's some good info from the article in the PHX paper:friendofThundergod wrote:A mountain biker landed on one today and was bitten.
""Wherever the bite is, is where most of the damage is going to occur. And that means breakdown of muscle and skin, as well as a lot of edema and swelling," Brooks said.
Brooks said the most important factor when being bitten by a rattlesnake is to consider how much venom is injected.
As the Valley warms up, rattlesnakes are out on the hiking trails.
....
"In the warm deserts, rattlesnakes are most active from March through October. In the spring, they are active during daylight hours. As days become increasingly hot around early May, rattlesnakes become more active at night and spend the day in a spot of shade or a cool shelter," according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department."
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/lo ... 020169002/
Even if people don't die from them, there's apparently a lot of tissue damage involved (snake venom pre-digests its victim from the inside out), and the longer before the anti-venom, the worse the damage.
As for me, I ordered some snake gaiters for about $50 (with shipping).
http://cspforestry.com/products/rattler ... s-9020.htm
I'll keep them handy in my backpack and use them when I think I might need them –especially the next time I have to hike through a Cholla forest.
Last edited by kenjacobsen on Mar 03 2019 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
I can't even guess how many miles I've hiked in AZ (and compared to a large population here, I'm still a complete newbie.) I've seen more than a few rattlers over the years (my facebook feed is filled with rattlesnake photos from just the last year of riding), and while some encounters have been kinda close (most of those were while mountain biking) I couldn't see myself ever bothering with gaiters. Awareness goes a long way, and they usually give plenty of warning. Save for that one little bastards in Phoenix Mountain Preserve that didn't have a rattle.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qdtHqrr3475VPS2j7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qdtHqrr3475VPS2j7
Last edited by Thoreau on Mar 04 2019 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
I try to keep an eye on the trail. Even when my mind is elsewhere I've always seen them before I got too close. I've heard most bites happen when people are reaching where they are not looking (that and alcohol). Fun fact - the antivenin starts at 2k a vial depending and they start with 3 vials and go up from there. Lots of stories of $50K bills from the hospital out there. I read that Mexico looked at the problem and considered it a public heath issue and did a single buy for the whole country so it's considerably cheaper there.
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
In today's Republic: Phoenix man is first in the U.S. to receive new rattlesnake anti-venom https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/lo ... 062483002/
Three things to note: Bitten on Right thumb, admitted to being fascinated by snakes, and drum roll please... this was the 5th time he had been bitten!
Three things to note: Bitten on Right thumb, admitted to being fascinated by snakes, and drum roll please... this was the 5th time he had been bitten!
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
I think he's doing it wrong.Pivo wrote: this was the 5th time he had been bitten
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
It increases if you try and PICK THEM UP! http://ktar.com/story/2471480/phoenix-m ... e-patient/
Just walk AROUND the little guy! There's slow and then there is S------L------O-----W...
Last edited by hikeaz on Mar 07 2019 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
"The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient."
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GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
There. I fixed that for you.
Also, this guy doesn't deserve the new antivenin.
(I know language evolves, and antivenom is actually considered to be correct these days because we've capitulated to the lowest common denominator, but it's still antivenin to me!) #literally

33s over 45s
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Back on topic. Gaiters would not have helped this guy. True fact.
33s over 45s
- azbackpackr
- Posts: 8299
- Joined: Jan 21 2006 6:46 am
- City, State: Tucson AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
@chumley
Yes, whatever happened to antivenin? It's what I want them to give me if I'm bitten!
Yes, whatever happened to antivenin? It's what I want them to give me if I'm bitten!
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
It would be interesting to know how much of the older version of antivenin has he received total from all of his previous envenomations? That could very well be the reason he had the reaction to the old antivenin. However....I "am not no expert".chumley wrote:Also, this guy doesn't deserve the new antivenin
- Alston_Neal
- Posts: 1931
- Joined: Apr 19 2008 5:53 pm
- City, State: Phoenix, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Unless the side effect is male sterilization and then it's a win win.
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Earlier this week MTB-ing near Daisy Mtn I got within a couple feet of rolling right past / over a rattling, coiled, ready-to-rumble worm on the edge of the trail. Previously I would have scoffed at the idea of gaiters, but my mind is a bit more open now.
- CannondaleKid
- Posts: 1428
- Joined: May 04 2004 8:39 pm
- City, State: Mesa, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
@toddak
So you want to wear gaiters over the MTB armor you're already wearing?
BTW, I encountered my first rattler of 2019 today within a hundred yards of leaving the car. It was in a low bush about a foot from where my boot was while following a wild horse trail. I didn't see it until it started rattling with a fury, and when I looked closer I saw it had a mouse. Although the eyes of the mouse were open, I'm pretty sure it was already dead.
I had to wonder, as thin as the neck of the rattler was, how much work it would be to swallow it.
Oh yeah... as close as it was, it's not going to cause me to run out to buy snake gaiters.
So you want to wear gaiters over the MTB armor you're already wearing?

BTW, I encountered my first rattler of 2019 today within a hundred yards of leaving the car. It was in a low bush about a foot from where my boot was while following a wild horse trail. I didn't see it until it started rattling with a fury, and when I looked closer I saw it had a mouse. Although the eyes of the mouse were open, I'm pretty sure it was already dead.
I had to wonder, as thin as the neck of the rattler was, how much work it would be to swallow it.
Oh yeah... as close as it was, it's not going to cause me to run out to buy snake gaiters.
Last edited by CannondaleKid on Mar 07 2019 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
CannondaleKid
- kenjacobsen
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Feb 13 2003 11:28 am
- City, State: Tempe, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
OK, reporting back!
I got gaiters for like $50 and they're no problem at all to wear -at least for me.
I cinch them over my boots at the bottom and keep them loose at the top. That's it.
AND I nearly stepped on another one the second time I wore them –it was on the trail, coiled and ready to strike.
(Why don't those things just slither away like other snakes? Wouldn't that be easier?)
I want to be enjoying the scenery not watching every step in the tall grass that was everywhere this winter, so for me it's worth it.
Plus no more pulling Cholla spines out of my calves with tweezers.
I got gaiters for like $50 and they're no problem at all to wear -at least for me.
I cinch them over my boots at the bottom and keep them loose at the top. That's it.
AND I nearly stepped on another one the second time I wore them –it was on the trail, coiled and ready to strike.
(Why don't those things just slither away like other snakes? Wouldn't that be easier?)
I want to be enjoying the scenery not watching every step in the tall grass that was everywhere this winter, so for me it's worth it.
Plus no more pulling Cholla spines out of my calves with tweezers.
- Grasshopper
- Posts: 1684
- Joined: Dec 28 2006 5:06 pm
- City, State: Scottsdale, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
I wonder what the snake strike deterrent difference is between a $50.00 pair and Oregon_Hiker's recommend $150.+ pair?kenjacobsen wrote:OK, reporting back!
I got gaiters for like $50 and they're no problem at all to wear -at least for me.
I cinch them over my boots at the bottom and keep them loose at the top. That's it.

https://www.amazon.com/d/Shoe-Gaiters/T ... ikearizona
(Outside.. "there is No Place Like It!!")
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
@Grasshopper
3000 dollars a dose for antivenin.
3000 dollars a dose for antivenin.
- Alston_Neal
- Posts: 1931
- Joined: Apr 19 2008 5:53 pm
- City, State: Phoenix, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Well I read most of the 47 reviews and not one person was bit by a snake, so that seems to be a strike deterrent right there. Truth be told for a snake gaiter review I was hoping for more actual snake strikes and maybe something like "the last 5 miles I had 8 snakes hanging off of me".Grasshopper wrote: ↑Apr 26 2019 6:09 pm
I wonder what the snake strike deterrent difference is between a $50.00 pair and Oregon_Hiker's recommend $150.+ pair?![]()
https://www.amazon.com/d/Shoe-Gaiters/T ... ikearizona
- CannondaleKid
- Posts: 1428
- Joined: May 04 2004 8:39 pm
- City, State: Mesa, AZ
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
Wearing gaiters as a DETERRENT? I seriously doubt rattlesnakes care whether someone is wearing one kind of gaiter over another, or even whether one is wearing gaiters at all...
@Alston_Neal
I agree... seems to me strike-proof is a great deal more important than strike-deterrent.
@Alston_Neal
I agree... seems to me strike-proof is a great deal more important than strike-deterrent.
CannondaleKid
Re: Snake Gaiters -worth it?
@Pivo
That’s why I don’t carry any with me when I hike or go out drinking!
That’s why I don’t carry any with me when I hike or go out drinking!
Rowdy and Widowmaker