Irrational Foot Fear?

[FlyAK]

Okay guys, this may sound ridiculous, but is anybody besides me also concerned about cactus going through their boots and annihilating their feet?

I've hunted in NC, AL, and AK, and have never had to deal with cactus like when pronghorn hunting here in CO. I dont know if I'm being irrational or not, but every night when I take my boots off, I spend 45 minutes pulling iron-like cactus spikes out of my boots with tweezers out of concern for both my feet and longevity of my boots.

 

[D S 319]

Boots no, trail runners yes. just wait till your picking em out of your buddies butt.

 

[FlyAK]

Thats the thing- I wear light Salomon boots when im chasing the speed goats and they just dont offer tons of protection. Yeah, I've already had cactus crotch low crawling through that stuff. Not super pleasant.

 

[Brandon.miller.4]

Nature of the beast in cactus country. Keep on chuggin along and pull em when they poke!

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I've got hundreds of pinholes in the bottoms of my Altra Lone Peak 6's from cactus in the Pagosa Springs area and I've put hundreds of miles on those shoes since and none have worked their way through yet. Those are some nasty cacti down there!

 

[JS.Fletch5]

Get leather boots.

 

[RuggedYogi]

Definitely not worried about them puncturing boots. Even with trail runners on, I would only be worried about them going through the sides, not the sole.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

100% legit at least based upon my personal experience in TX, NM, AZ, and Mexico.

I had multiple pairs of "single use" boots that have cactus spines broken off in the soles. With each step, you get poked and as soon as you let up, the broken off spines go away. They all got tossed once home.

 

[yfarm]

Before Russell boots was sold they sold turtleskin insoles for this specific reason. Could contact them to see if are still available. Number of companies sell puncture resistant insoles for work boots. Agree if you hunt in cactus you need all leather boots. Not unusual in South Texas to see cholla needle sticking in the shafts and feet of my snakeboots.
As an aside, went to a mule packing school last September in the Gila. One afternoon we rode to below a cliff dwelling, one rider demounted and promptly sat on a small prickly pear. Spent a half an hour pulling thorns out, best technique turned out to be a piece of duct tape applied and ripped off.

 

[bruceleroy]

Boots no, trail runners yes. just wait till your picking em out of your buddies butt.

Just dont get caught doing it with your teeth...lol

 

[FlyAK]

I appreciate everyone’s input. Maybe I’ll just start wearing my crispis for pronghorn as well. I was just avoiding using them to stay lighter, faster, and cooler. I was also concerned that the leather would also take a beating from the cactus and didn’t want to destroy them prematurely. Maybe that’s an unfounded concern.

Although I really like my Salomons in the August heat. And I haven’t actually had anything go all the way through yet. We will see. Stuff to think about. Thanks guys.

 

[Gerbdog]

Ill vote here for leather boots also, ive been on long hikes and had cactus spines through the side of soft shoes... makes for a rough time for sure

 

[11boo]

I worry more about those dang snakes. Last time I used trail running shoes for antelope I darn near stepped on a rattlesnake.

 

[wapitibob]

One in the btm and one in the side, fun day.

 

[Gerbdog]

follow up to add... no way, its definitely not irrational... take care of your feet. That's old wisdom and i would say that takes people out of the field faster than anything else in the elk woods next to altitude sickness... blisters, thorns, not letting them dry properly, etc... Take care of your feet!

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Get leather boots.

I second this train of thought.

 

[SDHNTR]

Who would put up with that? Get better boots! It’s insane to continue to deal with that.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I pulled hundreds of them out of my knees pronghorn and muley hunting in SE MT over the years. Had severel penetrate my light weight boots too. Yeah, not pleasant.

 

[Dos Perros]

I'm concerned about cactus spines, but I'm not really worried about consequential damage they could cause. At worst, they are painful, and then you pull them out and you're done. I've crawled over more than I'd care to admit. Sat on them. Stepped on them with just socks on. They're a hazard but not something to fear.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I’m more worried about crawling up on a prairie rattler, been there done that, don’t have the underwear anymore to prove it!

Have you ever had a cactus spine poke through a Solomon boot? I haven’t…