doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Off Topic: Boots for Namibia

I have three pairs of Courtney boots/shoes. The soles are about the most unforgiving soles short of being leather. The trick is a good insole and when needed, replace the soles with a soft vibram model. Extremely comfortable. Too bad you got to pay another $80 but what the hay…. I would not hesitate to take them on a safari, hunting trip, cocktail party etc.

I own a pair of the Hathorn Explorers. You can or could pick any vibram sole you wanted to put on them. They are lace to toe type boots, fully rebuildable and are very stable across uneven terrain. It’s one reason smoke jumpers, loggers, etc prefer them.
If a smoke jumper can wear them doing what they do, hunting in them would be easy peasy.
I for one can’t stand moc-toe type hunting boots. Every single pair I’ve owned (a pair of Filsons and another pair of Orvis) I wear the tops of the moccasin and the toe out quick. Blue stem, wild rye, basalt, etc are hell on those parts of the boots. I’ve never seen a moc-toe boot with a very aggressive sole either.
Moc-toes like Russels are definitely classic looking boots, they just aren’t for me.
I know nothing about Courtney boots. I would be concerned if was going to do any amount of real hiking over terrain wearing a boot where people say they can’t break them in over a span of years. If I was going someplace over seas on an expedition or expensive hunt, I’d probably have a good year in on the boots I was planning on taking with me and using. I’d make sure they were good and well broke in and that I could put at a minimum 10 to 15 miles on them without getting blisters, etc.
I’ve worn my Hathorns Chukar hunting, pheasant & sharptail hunting and have put miles on them. I know they work and keep my feet comfy. They aren’t my go to boot these days, I much prefer a modern type mountaineering or hiking boot boot for those jobs now.

Wear good hunting boots with support, and some type of gore-Tex. It will be chilly, if not cold in the morning, and you’ll probably be sweating your butt off by the afternoon. Believe it or not, there’s water in Africa, and a good chance you’ll have to walk through it. You don’t want to have to take your boots off every time, or have soaking wet feet. The terrain can also vary greatly, so that’s why I suggest a boot with good support. Also, start checking on what ammo will be available, how much you plan to shoot, and what ammo you can take in (11lbs etc.). Finally, have fun. If you haven’t been before, just starting saving now for your next trip as well. If it were easier to post picts, I’d show you picts from June during my recent Buffalo, plains game, mixed bag bird safari in Zambia.

It ain't hard to post picture here either. If you can manage the logistics of a trip to Africa... or even a trip to the local Wal Mart... then you should be able to post pics stored on your PC with ease.

First you choose an Image Hosting site. There are several that you can use for free. THERE IS NO NEED TO STORE YOUR PHOTOS THERE! !!! AND THERE IS NO NEED TO PAY ANYTHING!!!

Go to that site and upload the photo you wish to post here.

OK, I just stored that pic with the joke about spotting the blind guy at a nudist colony. I uploaded it to a couple different image hosting sites, and meant to click on "Preview reply"... but instead I clicked on "Post Reply".

I'll just blame that little faux pas on computer mouse dystonia... also known as "the Yips". Yikes, I hear it is more serious than a heart attack, and more contagious than the China Virus! Had I known that September was Dystonia Awareness Month, I would have sent someone "special" here a card.



Anyway, back on topic. After you have uploaded the pic you wish to post on the image hosting site, you simply find the BBcode or Hotlink for Forums and copy it.

Then you come back to this site and paste it into the Reply Box in the Thread where you wish to post it. Before submitting it, you can click on Preview Reply to make sure you did it correctly. But if you have computer mouse dystonia, be careful you don't make an errant mouse click!

If you wish to post more than one image in your reply, it's just "lather, rinse, repeat". It typically takes me about 20 seconds to post any picture I have stored in the Image File on my PC. And it takes just a bit longer to post pictures stored in the Photo Gallery of my Android phone.

BTW. I agree with Dustin about buying any hunting boots that take months or years to break in. Just hearing that makes me never want to try them. I bought a supposedly good pair of work boots once that seemed OK when I tried them on, but the longer I wore them, the more they hurt. I tried wetting the leather with alcohol and stretching them at the pressure points, to no avail. The moment I took them off was the best minute of the day. I suffered for about a month, and finally threw them away. They weren't cheap, but life is too short for crap like that.

Since then, I always say that if I ever hit the Powerball Jackpot, the first thing I will do is hire someone with feet the same size as mine. Their main job will be to break in new shoes and boots for me.

I hadn’t thought of having an insulated boot for Namibia, but, around these parts insulation is mandatory. For several seasons now, I’ve hunted in a pair of Irish Setter Chucka height boots. This limits me when the temps are above freezing, but, they have worked out well, otherwise. The pair I have are fairly light weight, something I never cared about 30 seasons ago, but, appreciate today.The Red Wings used to be good boots, but, I have found them to be hit or miss for a long time.

Agree with Dustin, I want NOTHING to do with boots that have stitches in the toe box. They don’t hold up for upland.

Best,
Ted

Thank you for that link to Dystonia Awareness Month keith
https://dystonia-foundation.org/september-2022/

You can add de la Tourette and Meige syndrome to your list of entertaining disabilities
https://infodystonia.com/2012/02/09/meige-syndrome/

and get some jollies from this video, which briefly includes Michael J. Fox's dystonia/dyskinesia from his Parkinsonism meds
https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/the-great-drug-debate



Have a great weekend enjoying the suffering of others keith. Does your Schadenfreude somehow give you joy? Does your sadism make you happy?
Does Dave think you are clever? Entertaining? Making valuable contributions to his Forum?

A family member suffers from cervical dystonia. I wish it was amusing but it's not. Gil

Spasmodic Torticollis. Fortunately Botox injections work well.
I will occasionally and inexplicably feel my head turning to one side but it's rare, but never while shooting despite the flinch.
My grandmother and mother both had an Essential Tremor and Head Titubation - somewhat different origin.

keith will get a chuckle from this too. Poor guy.

In the FWIW department, I wore custom Russell Moccasin Company boots that were light weight, 8 or 9" tall, Vibram kletterliff soled. They were also moccasin toed, which I don't generally like, for all the reasons given above, but they are just fine in Namibia. The cover isn't that dense there, and you won't wear through the top of the toes like you would in Iowa pheasant country for instance. They were not gortexed or insulated, and I did not find that a handicap at all. If I have to file a complaint about them for that job, it is that they are pretty soft on the bottom, the Vibram not withstanding. I can get foot sore on rough, cobbled ground, which is the norm over there (think New Mexico shrub steppe).