Chippewa 17-inch snake boot review

The standing disclosure applies: Chippewa's snake-protection claim is Chippewa's own, nothing in this category is independently certified, and we have tested nothing. What is different about this boot is how it is built.

The Chippewa snake boots

The pull-on, the laced Cutter, and the women's Cottonwood - priced live.

#1 · Buy-once leather, resoleable

$434.95·Amazon

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Chippewa 17-inch Pull-On Snake Boot

Chippewa

8.1/10★★★★☆

An old-fashioned American-built pull-on with snake protection. Expensive, heavy, and the only boot here you would expect to resole twice.

Published specifications

Protection claim	Snake-proof construction to full shaft height (manufacturer)
Shaft height	17 in
Upper	Briar Pitstop leather
Construction	Goodyear welt
Closure	Pull-on

What it does well

• Goodyear welted, so it can be resoled rather than replaced
• The leather is heavy enough to shrug off briar that marks nylon boots

Where it falls short

• The heaviest snake boot here, and it feels like it by mid-afternoon
• Premium price, and a break-in measured in weeks

Our rubric

Coverage

9.2

Comfort

7.0

Waterproofing

7.6

Durability

9.8

Value

6.8

#2 · Lace-up Chippewa coverage

$449.95·Amazon

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Chippewa Cutter 17-inch Snake Boot

Chippewa

8.3/10★★★★☆

The laced Cutter, which solves the pull-on's one real problem: you can tension it to your foot, so it walks properly.

Published specifications

Protection claim	Snake-proof construction to full shaft height (manufacturer)
Shaft height	17 in
Upper	Leather
Outsole	Slip-resistant
Closure	Lace-up

What it does well

• Laces plus Chippewa leather is a serious long-term boot
• Slip-resistant outsole is better on wet clay than a western heel

Where it falls short

• Still heavy
• Lacing 17 inches with no side zip

Our rubric

Coverage

9.2

Comfort

7.6

Waterproofing

8.0

Durability

9.4

Value

7.4

#3 · Women who want leather, not rubber

$404.95·Amazon

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Chippewa Cottonwood 15-inch, women's

Chippewa

8.2/10★★★★☆

One of the very few women's-last snake boots built in leather rather than molded rubber, at 15 inches instead of a scaled-up 17.

Published specifications

Protection claim	Snake-proof construction to full shaft height (manufacturer)
Shaft height	15 in
Upper	Leather
Last	Women's
Closure	Lace-up

What it does well

• A real women's last, which is rare in this category and is the main reason to buy it
• 15 inches tracks better with a shorter calf than a 17-inch boot

Where it falls short

• Expensive, and stock is thin in both directions of the size range
• Heavy leather needs breaking in

Our rubric

Coverage

8.8

Comfort

7.6

Waterproofing

8.0

Durability

9.2

Value

7.2

Almost every snake boot in this registry is cemented or direct-attached: when the sole wears out, the boot is finished. The Chippewa is Goodyear welted, which means the upper is stitched to a welt that can be unpicked and a new sole stitched on. A cobbler can do it; many have for a century.

That changes the arithmetic. A $450 boot you resole twice over fifteen years is cheaper per year than a $200 boot you replace four times - if you actually get it resoled, and if the upper lasts that long. Chippewa's heavy Briar Pitstop leather suggests it will.

The Cutter is the one we would choose of the three for hunting - laces let you tension a heavy boot, and the slip-resistant outsole is better on wet clay than a western heel. The Cottonwood is notable simply for existing: a genuine women's-last leather snake boot is rare: snake boots for women.

• Weight. These are the heaviest snake boots in this registry, and you feel it by mid-afternoon. Welted construction with heavy leather is not light.
• Break-in measured in weeks, not days. Heavy full-grain leather at 17 inches is the least forgiving footwear here: how to break in hunting boots.
• Price. Premium, and the pull-on is at the very top of this category.
• Heat. Same as every snake boot, with more leather to hold it.

Someone who buys footwear expecting to keep it, hunts heavy cover where a nylon-panel boot gets shredded, and does not mind weight. If you are the kind of person who has a cobbler, this is the snake boot for you. If you want a boot you will replace in four years anyway, the Rocky Lynx does the job for a third of the money.

1. Clean after every hunt - mud left on leather dries it out and abrades the grain.
2. Condition with a beeswax paste a few times a season. It is non-membrane full-grain, so wax is the right product: how to waterproof hunting boots.
3. Dry slowly, never with heat. Heat is what kills welted boots: how to dry hunting boots.
4. Resole before the midsole goes, not after. A cobbler can replace a sole; rebuilding a collapsed midsole costs far more.