Snake Gaiters -worth it?

[kenjacobsen]

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.

[CannondaleKid]

@friendofThundergod
Should'a been wearing gaiters!

[kenjacobsen]

A mountain biker landed on one today and was bitten.

Yeah, here's some good info from the article in the PHX paper:

""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.

[Thoreau]

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

[Mies]

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.

[Pivo]

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!

[big_load]

this was the 5th time he had been bitten

I think he's doing it wrong.

[hikeaz]

................... What are the odds of getting bit twice by a rattlesnake?

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...

[chumley]

Three things to note: Bitten on Right thumb, admitted to being an idiot, and drum roll please... this was the 5th time he had been bitten!

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

[chumley]

Back on topic. Gaiters would not have helped this guy. True fact.

[azbackpackr]

@chumley
Yes, whatever happened to antivenin? It's what I want them to give me if I'm bitten!

[Pivo]

Also, this guy doesn't deserve the new antivenin

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".

[Alston_Neal]

Also, this guy doesn't deserve the new antivenin.

Unless the side effect is male sterilization and then it's a win win.

[toddak]

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]

@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.

Rattler coiled around 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.

[kenjacobsen]

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.

[Grasshopper]

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.

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

[Pivo]

@Grasshopper
3000 dollars a dose for antivenin.

[Alston_Neal]

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

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".

[CannondaleKid]

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.

[RowdyandMe]

@Pivo
That’s why I don’t carry any with me when I hike or go out drinking!