I don't see a whole lot about the clothing people take to Africa, i.e. types, colors, brands, etc... I've heard some places aren't camo friendly. Is this true? I know it depends alot on where you go and what time of year you are hunting, but are there any suggestions? Say, pants, long sleeves, desert camo pattern... Shorts, Short Sleeves, best brand name so you can impress your buddies What about footwear? Light and tough? Leather, nylon, waterproof? Boots at 7", 10" 12", snakeproof??? Just looking for experience on what works and what doesn't.

You will get many answers but here is what I have worn thru 3 safaris (Tanzania, Namibia and S. Africa) so far. Jeans or Dockers ( I like olive best but..anything dark) LONG everything ( you can make long short but not vice versa) and for footwear...New Balance walking shoes...the same ones I wear each morning on my walk. You will need broad brim hat, real leather gloves, a good fleece jacket with Windstopper inside is even better and you will be pretty well fixed. Always take gaiters for grass seeds, flies, small rocks and twigs. I also take a Bug Tamer jacket with hood in case I am in fly country. It may be the most important pc. of clothing I take!
I spray all clothing with Repel before packing and that helps with ticks, skeeters, etc.
Take anything that will keep the hot sun off of you and you will most likely need a jacket for the early and late runs in the open safari car.
Might think of knee pads if you think you may have to crawl a bunch.

I wore Wrangler jeans and work shirts (dark gray and brown jeans, tan and olive shirts). I almost took an old silverbelly resistol hat, but where I hunted it would have been spending way too much time pulling it away from the thorn branches, so a cap did me just fine. I wish I had taken gloves, some of the mornings were pretty cold, and there was a fair bit of crawling around and getting thorns in the hands (knee pads would have been helpful for that too).

I would have never thought knee pads... Good suggestion!!

ManCannon,

This subject has been covered quite alot in the past so if you use the search function you will find some useful info.

Also, if you haven't done so already take a look at Terry Carrs "Packing List" its near the the top of the "Hunt Reports- Africa" forum. This list is virtually the African Hunters bible of what to take..

I only have a couple of trips under my belt, but from observation I would say most folks take way too much clothing...you simply don't need it as laundry is done virtually everyday even in the bush camps..three sets of hunting cloths are plenty but again read Terry's list for more details..

As to colours ect, most seem to recommend olive or loden greens or browns, but a minority of folks like lighter shades/colours due to the heat. The simple answer is ask your outfitter/ph a head of time...

With regards materials, cotton seems to be the favourite, but I confress I found my shirts of medium weight cotton got a bit clammy from sweat..a couple of poly cotton shirts and trousers were noticably more comfortable..

In fact, I think if I were doing it again I would go with poly-cottons or even pure synthetics simply because they evaporate the sweat quicker and are generally lighter...what ever you choose though, it must be quiet and that can be an issue with some synthetics..

Regards,

Peter

Wranglers or Dockers, khika shirts like Dickey or whatever is the cheapest..long sleeves and light weight....

Greens are bad in Tanzania as the dark colors draw Tetsis like flys to honey..

A pair of tennis type walking shoes, I like Roper Horseshoes and if you have weak ankles then maybe a hikeing type boot is in order...I always take a pair of Farm and Ranch Georgia brand boots, they don't cost much and they are as good as that high dollar stuff thats hyped with BS...Most of the African wear on the market is for suckers playing the game, but if that turns you on the have at it..

A good baseball cap cannot be beat IMO...A down vest and a heavy wool sweater, bush jacket and your on your way..good quality socks and a pair of 6" unlined gators are worth their weight in gold..

You have come to the right place to ask this question!
If you want the very finest cotton clothing available for Africa since the demise of Willis-Geiger, please check my website http://www.long-grass.com. The fabrics are made of the highest quality cotton that is soft, supple, and durable. Call me if you have any questions!

Happy Safari,
Melody

ManC,
I wore shirts of british tan I stayed away from the white colored tans...Stayed away from dark or olive green bugs like them especially tsetse flies like them...I wore merrill shoes like desert boots and I put a gel insert for support...I wear smart wool sox and my hat has mesh all around for cool and shade all around...
I am going to be wearing athletic sneakers also on my next safari in July 06...Found a place where they fit you and watch you walk on a treadmill...They are the best pair I ever owned...
I also spray clothes with a pyrthin spray to kill critters...pig skin leather gloves...
I donot worry about snakes..

Mike

Personally, I don't like to wear camo on safari.

As far as footwear goes, I like bird hunting (upland) style boots. They are light weight and made for walking long distances. The soles are usually pretty quiet and don't have a real aggressive tread pattern.

As far as clothing is concerned, the use of pants or shorts is pretty much dependant on your own personal choice.

There are lots of sources of clothing for safari. Melody's Long Grass Outfitters, L.L. Bean, Orvis and Cabelas. There are good buys at discount places (though their product line often changes) like The Sportman's Guide and Sierra Trading Post. You also find clothing at the military style stores like Brigade Quartermasters.

I have worn a lot of different clothes on safari and my favorite selections are:

Pants - L.L. Bean's Tropic-Weight Cargo Pants

Shirts - Cabelas' 100% cotton Soft Canvas Trail Shirts

Shorts - Cabelas' Trail Shorts (5" inseam)

Socks - I have 4 pair of socks that I use only on safari. They are a discontinued style from L.L. Bean. One shouldn't overlook the importance of good socks and one should be prepared to pay the price for quality socks. My wife wore some Smartwool socks on safari this season and liked them.

Regards,

Terry

A lot of people like the pants that can zip off into shorts. These do work well in much of Africa, but in Tanzania they are too thin for the tsetse flies. When sitting the bugs will bite right thru on your thighs and knees. Some variety of light-brown jeans work much better.

quote:

Originally posted by ManCannon:
I don't see a whole lot about the clothing people take to Africa,

John Taylor's outfit was not seen much at all.

Carharts make good thick long sleeve shirts. Just plain old Wranglers work fine for pants. If you want a "Hero" picture with the traditional short pants, take a pair in your pack for the pic. If you want scars from thorns and bug bites wear them while hunting. My Mama let me wear long pants when I was 5 years old, I've never had a pair of short pants on since then.
Get a pair of long gaiters, keeps the bugs out of your britches and seeds out of your socks.

Heavy duty leather work gloves. If you enjoy pulling stickers out of your hands, forget them.
Knee pads are nice, put a pain in the butt. However I will take some next trip.
Justin, low top, soft sole shoes. I've got arthritis and thats all I wear.
However, if you are fashion conscious, or hung up on the "African Hunting Mystic", forget all the above.
You will need to buy from all the "correct" outfitters.

I don't like to wear camo on safari, either.

These are my favorite safari clothes.....

My favorite jacket is the "Brooks Range", from Barney's Sports Chalet, Anchorage, AK:
http://www.barneyssports.com

Orvis "Bush Shirt" and the "Buzz Off" version of the Bush Shirt are superb traditional-style safari shirts that are really tough to beat.
http://www.orvis.com

Another great safari shirt is available from:
http://www.texassafarihuntingproducts.com

I prefer Russell's "Safari PH" boot:
http://www.russellmoccasin.com

I always have a set of Churchill's "Western" gloves, #462EB -- these have saved a lot of thornes and assorted abrasions.
http://www.jrcglove.com

For pants, Levis 501s do the job, and yes, you can get these in dark olive.

For a hat, I like any good ball-cap in dark olive or black..........

AD

With only ten days to go and after reading all the suggestions here, I guess I will have to go out and buy a new wardrobe.

One of Rays points is the best. Whatever is cheapest. Sure the higher price stuff looks good in the photos, but everyone is looking at yoru trophy anyway. Dickies, dockers, jeans, neutral color shirts, comfortable boots/shoes.

Have fun. Save some clothing money for another trophy.

Don't forget gaiters.

I have used Boyt canvas gaiters and they work well. I have just bought some new gaiters from She Safari and I like the design better because of the Velcro (easier to put on or take off than the Boyts). Don't care much for the decorative "pocket" on the gaiters from She Safari, so I just took it off.

Regards,

Terry

I don't think you are going to get any "bad" advice from people who post here and many if not most have spent a lot of time in different parts of Africa. Personally, after living many years in Central Africa, West Africa, the Horn of Africa, Madagascar and still spending one third of each year in East Africa, I can tell you that there is not "one" recommendation to give. Sort of like saying,"What clothes for North America?" Depends on where and when you go. Most of the posters here have experience in the southern African region during the austral winter. This means relatively dry, cool to cold in the evenings and early mornings, warm to hot during midday. But if you are going to the Central African Republic or southern Cameroon to hunt Bongo, some of what has been said here will not be the most appropriate. It will most likely be wet, hot, in the shade of dense forest and muddy underfoot. There will be a lot more mosquitoes and no tsetse flies. You can forget the wool socks and the total sun block in my opinion. If you are Chad it will be different (desert conditions mostly) and if you are in southern Sudan it is sort of like the Everglades in the summer. Lots of variety in other words. The best advice is: take the bare minimum and what you are most comfortable in. As for me, I think that a medium gray/brown color is the most neutral and more difficult to see than some camo. Just look at a Kudu skin and try to find the same color. A pair of cotton gray colored work overalls, while a long way from safari chic, are incredibly versatile and comfortable.

I'm wary of cheap clothes, just as I'm wary of cheap rifles, binoculars, and scopes, especially when I'm on an expensive safari 10,000 miles from home, and you need the same three shirts, pants, and your set of hunting boots to stay together for that entire time.

One of my friends took a set of Browning boots ("The Best There Is" ) to Africa, but the soles were glued on somehow (not stiched) and one of them came off a week into a three week hunt. He had to use his travel shoes to finish the safari, which was no fun.......

I've had buttons come off the Shrilanka-made "Serengetti" shirts Cabela's sells, and I've had these unravel at the seams as well. The pants are no better. They might look like safari clothes, but they're not built like it.

It may not seem so, but your safari clothes get beaten up pretty badly. Between the thornbush and all the washing and ironing with coal-filled irons, they take a beating, so don't take quality lightly. Safari is a poor place to cut corners on clothes or gear, and stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime, as usual, is false economy.

You don't need to look ridiculous, as if you just stepped out of New York City's Holland & Holland store and are trying to emulate some victorian-era British subject, but safari clothes are like anything else, you have to ask yourself, "Is the BEST I can do?".........

AD

I am by no means shilling for Cabelas but I have been wearing the "safari" clothing (same pants and shirts) for 5 trips plus here at home for hunting and general wear. I have had no problems oh yea they have some thorn holes etc but they are in the duffel packed for this year.

I repeat...broad brim hat! Good leather gloves, Bug Tamer jacket is nice, knee pads may be necessary and always gaiters. Some large bandanas are always good to have for multiple of uses.
Outside of that...just regular clothes you would hunt in at home but towards the Less White colors.

If I'm surprised at anything I'm surprised at how much cotton is being recommended. I got away from cotton for sheep hunting and loved the difference. After a while in hot weather cotton is soaking wet on me and stays wet. I wear Wranglers half the time in Mumbai, but I won't be wearing them when I'm hunting in Zambia. Same issue. Keeps me too hot and feels heavy when I've been sweating a bunch.

I'll be wearing the same things I hunt in when I'm hunting Canada, southwestern U.S., Venezuela, South Africa, etc. I'll layer to stay warm, and peel them off when it gets hot. I tend to like backpacker stuff and stuff for bowhunting in warm weather, probably made from polyester mostly. Camo mostly, for sure the pants and cap.

I'll be wearing bird hunting Danners with Gore-Tex. I think they are about 6" high.

I'll have some Uncle Mike leather gloves, a neat little Remington rubberized mask that wraps around my cheeks, nose, ears and the rest of my face, and velcros in the back if it's too cold early in the morning. I love that little thing. It weighs about 2 oz. and wads up in your pocket when not being used.

The gaiters sound interesting. I tried them years ago mule deer hunting in heavy snow. They were too noisy. I'll give them another look. I'll wear a camo ball cap with the bill in the front like a normal person.

I've only bought two new items for the hunt, the 375 H&H I just got and a Browning shirt with Reactor pad so the H&H doesn't beat me to death when I sight it in.

Sounds like a fashion show as opposed to a hunting expedition...I wear the same thing on safari that I wear in my pasture, Wranglers $35.00, British tan shirt or Chambray shirt $18.00, boots in the $60.00 range but ones that have served me well for everyday use. Walking shoes (Tennis type) as much of Tanzania may require wading across some knee deep water, except in Saeeds case its armpit high! ....

In line with what Allen said about quality. I live near a Bass Pro so over the years I have bought a lot of their branded clothes under the Red Head label (most all on sale).

The quality is lousy. Not worth the few dollars you save. Might as well spend a few more dollars and get something that will last.

Oh, I no longer buy any of Bass Pro's branded clothing. Even when they are on sale at 50% off.

Regards,

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by T.Carr:
I have bought a lot of their branded clothes under the Red Head label (most all on sale).

The quality is lousy. Not worth the few dollars you save. Might as well spend a few more dollars and get something that will last.

Oh, I no longer buy any of Bass Pro's branded clothing. Even when they are on sale at 50% off.

Regards,

Terry

Agreed.

I must admit that I dodn't listen to Allen on this one and I should have. I purchased my shorts from Cabelas that although comfortable, every single one has had the attached pockets' stitching unravel. I had my seamstress double stitch them but not before I gave Cabelas Customer Service an earful! jorge

I have a traditionalist mentality, I guess. It always irks me to see guys going to Africa hunting in North American camo or blue jeans.

Plus, I want my pictures to look cool!

tagsafari.com/

Its funny, I still wear my Africa garb here in the States and it drives my wife nuts. She says "Do you have to dress like you're on safari ALL the time?"

"Yes I do Honey, yes I do."

I've got bad ankles (one has been reconstructed), so I prefer a leather boot, at least 8 inches high, with the Vibram Huez sole.

I went to Namibia in May and got most of my clothes from Goodwill and thrift shops. Greens and browns in good heavy weight slacks in cargo style. Shirts were all long sleeve.Probably had less than $30 in all slacks/shirts. Wore wool socks and liner socks all the time with no blisters. Kids got me a Tilley for Christmas. Worked fine but I also took a brown ball cap. Knee pads are a great idea as the sand is hot and rocks are sharp! Another great idea was the cooling bandanas that Walmart sells - they really work on hot days. I also took a good pair of medium duty hiking boots which gave me great traction and were relatively light.I also agree that I took more than I needed but I gave most everything except the clothes on my back when I left - another good idea for gifts for the staff.
John

Back in 1993, I bought some Willis & Geiger shirts and a jacket from Mimms (Harry), when he had his old shop, I think they were liquidated in 1999, but after 5 safaris, they still look as good as when I bought them. They are the best safari clothing I have ever used.

T wore my comfortable well worn camo pants and dark tan or green short sleve shirts. Quiet, comfortable and lightweight.

I wore brown Wranglers and Cabelas trail shirts for the majority of my two (yeah just two, so I'm no expert) safaris. I think the most important consideration is comfort (I wear jeans everyday even in southern NM summers, so that's what I'm comfy in) and the color matching. Earlier this month I hunted the flat plains of the Free State and much of my clothing was too dark. Try to get some idea of what the terrain will be like, then match colors accordingly. Same goes for shoes - think comfort. You'll probably be walking a lot, and a well broken in pair of comfortable hunting shoes will be worth their weight in gold, as will good socks. I use synthetic socks (no cotton, something like smartwool). This is especially important if you wear GoreTex shoes, as they synthetic socks are made to wick away the moisture that is inevitable with GoreTex liners.

I guess I fall into the low-tech side of things.

LL Bean jeans in a olive or sage green. Tan or green t-shirts from Wally world and a green Nosler or DSC baseball cap.

A pair of Cabellas leather boots that I wear nearly every day at the ranch backed by some Nike Airmada hiking shoes that have held up well and are light weight.

I also use a Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt so I don't have to take off my belt at every damn airport check point.

One thing George Hoffman warned againt is the "shine" of new clothes. I wash the hell out of anything new before I leave to knock the "newness" off.

One man's choices:

Trousers:

5.11 Tacticals

Shirts:

Filson Feather Cloth

Boots:

Ecco Track IV Highs

Oh, and I almost forgot. My lucky baseball cap and, if I'm feeling cocky, my broad brimmed Stewart Granger hat.

Long grass outfitters has well designed high quality Safari type clothing. I wear safari type clothing for every day work wear just because it comfortable and I like it plus it irritates certain people. Safari stile clothing was adapted from Early military clothing mostly British and German. In other words (Army Surplus). If you live out west most farms and ranch clothing is durable and comfortable. If you want something special for safari talk to long grass they are very nice people. They also make deluxe shooting sticks. I don’t know just what I will wear next year when I finally go to Africa. At least one pair of wranglers will be on the list
Doyle

The Cabela's pants were OK. The Russell PH boots are superb.

I really, really liked the Tag shirts ... and so did the PH's. They are well built, have pockets and loops in the right place, etc, etc.

Kept hitting overhead branches with the broad brimmed hat ... changed to a baseball cap (AR logo of course).

Sturdy is an issue. Comfy is an issue. Color is an issue. PH sent message before the hunt to leave all white at home ... including socks.

Take sneaks for camp.

The 5.11 Tactical pants mrlexma recommends are excellent. We just outfitted our investigative section with these and they are great. My only concern is the bagginess in the lower leg. It may make for noisy walking. A pair of brown Wranglesrs is hard to beat.

Think about the clothing material if you are going to a remote camp. A lot of synthetics will scorch or melt when they are using irons fueled by hot coals. That is one reason most folks wear cotton.

I wear dark greens and browns as I've found khaki make hunters too visible. But, I haven't been to teetse fly country. Ray's and Retreever's comments have me wondering if I should change for my trip to the Selous. Are there any other colors that are tetse fly attractants?

Remember if you hunt with John Sharp you can go without a shirt but you will need a good headband.

Scott,

I compare khaki colors with a British tan or British khaki others tend to be too white...
Just shot the boomer the other day at 50yds, one inch high left and right barrel and one inch to left an one inch to right...I am very pleased with it...


Mike

Mike

Definatly stay away from the whiter Khiki color...Go with the british tan, its a little bit darker. The color of dead grass is what we're after here....I like 100% cotton shirts of about any kind, they are soft and suck the sweat away from your body and the wind creates an air conditioner effect.....

Taking this a step further I concur with the cotton thing for Africa....Gary Neese's Outdoor world has IMHO the best shirts on the market for African hunting. Stay away from ultra-lightweight Nylons as they tear easily nd melt t your skin when small pieces of burning grass touch them....Yes you might as well count on doing some burning if you are a serious buffalo hunter!

As for pants / shorts 5.11 Tactical / Bill's are the best I've found. The pockets are deep, don't develop holes and they are designed for hard use. Plus the look god on the plane or in the field!

JW