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If the safari means long walking, this is a good topic to really work through. Obviously it is less important for the guy who basically road hunts and bails out of the rig every now and then to knock off a critter.

I myself cannot wear just any old shoe anymore. I do not have "foot problems" at all, but one of my legs is 1-inch shorter than the other and over the years I developed severe back problems until I altered all my shoes. All my shoes require a lift in them which I make for some types while others, as in the case of all my many pairs of White's, are custom built for each foot. Any inserts, orthotics, etc obviously must fit shoes that might be purchased overseas. Something to think hard about for those who need add-ons.

I walk many miles each week here but almost every mile is in one of my Whites. They are dead heavy but at the end of the day there is no foot pain at all. I've hiked or hunted in a lot of differing African terrain and 27 years ago I had a pair of lugsole Chippewa ankle boots I really liked in the fairly rough and uneven terrain in Congo. They weren't too heavy but on the fairly rough ground provided good support and grip. That time I did a lot of running and those boots helped a lot.

Really knowing what the terrain is going to be like will help a guy make the right decision. I've never heard of typical tourist hunting terrain in Africa that is as demanding as what I have here at home where just about every make and model mentioned so far would have a pretty short life expectancy. The generally flat or undulating ground hunted over there shows in the general choices listed in the thread. Having said that, there may indeed be special circumstances where classic no-sock velskoens would be hunt-wreckers. I know that where I lived in the Karkloof mountains north of Maritzburg a real-live boot helped a lot, and areas in the Drakensberg would be demanding on footwear, but most of the common destinations don't tax a boot or shoe much.

I think I have a special neurosis for footwear. I grew up without any decent shoes and I remember the years wearing my cowboy boots jammed with newspaper to keep the snow out. If misery sometimes breeds insanity, the Whites company has made a good therapist...

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