Cabela's Scent-Free Snake Boot Review

Here is a quick review of the Cabela's Scent-Free Snake Boot.  This product is located at http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0036167830748a&navCount=1&podId=0036167&parentId=cat280030&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20564-cat20570-cat280030&catalogCode=QZ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat280030&hasJS=true
It should be noted that I am in no way affiliated with Cabela's.

About 4 weeks ago, my girlfriend bought me these boots.  I had been reading quite a bit about scent control and rubber boots.  Also, one of the places that I hunt is in a flood plane, so I am constantly worried about running across a cotton-mouth.  So, I asked her to go ahead and get me these boots for our anniversary.

The boots themselves are pretty comfortable as far as rubber boots go.  I generally wear 2 pairs of socks with them, and I have not gotten any blisters or anything like that.  In reading the comments on Cabela's website, I was worried that I might have some difficulty with that.  I have used these boots for quite a bit of scouting, sometimes a couple of miles of walking at a time, and have never had any trouble with them.

Right when I took them out of the box, I was smacked in the face with an overpowering smell of rubber.  I guess it takes some time to air them out, but one month later, I am still smelling the rubber.  It is not as overpowering as it was right when I opened them, but I still catch a whiff every once in a while when I am sitting in my tree stand.

As far as scent control goes, they seem to work extremely well.  The first day I hunted with the boots, I walked to my stand, climbed up the tree and started hunting.  Not too long after day break, I had three deer (1 doe, 1 spike, and 1 4 point) walk down the trail I had taken to my stand.  Not one of them even broke stride.  None of them smelled the air, got spooked, or paused for a minute.  I even had the 4 point walk down to the bottom of my stand and sniff the tree steps.  He was not alarmed, and kept on walking, stopping to eat a leaf now and then.

I used to hunt with some cloth boots, and I have never had deer come down the exact trail I took to the stand, and I definately have never had one get directly under my stand and not spook.  So, I was pretty pumped and amazed that they did not even smell my presence.

As far as a the snake proof part goes, I have yet to run across a snake (thankfully), so I cannot speak to whether of not they will stop a cotton mouth.  I hope I never have to test this.  I will say that the knowledge that I have snake boots on definately makes my scouting more productive because I can just walk through the woods without having to constantly check to see where I step.  I am deathly afraid of snakes, so the peace of mind is well worth it.

All in all, these boots are well worth the price ($69.99).

Pros:
-Scent control is awesome.
-Not uncomfortable.
-Peace of mind for snakes.

Cons:
-Rubber scent takes a while to go away.
-Climbing tree steps is a little dicey.  Not too bad, you just need to pay attention to what you are doing.
-At first, they were a tad bit loud when walking.  Just break them in and that will go away.