Who wears shorts on Safari?

[Green Chile]

Thorns are not much of a problem.

View attachment 764383

Exactly and I will be wearing shorts when I host the AH group hunt this summer. I can't stand getting overheated. I have those same boots and gaiters.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Like sev we rsl of the replies. I wear shorts when I can and pants when it's to cold for shorts.

LOL.....

I take 2 pairs of shorts and at least 2 spare long mid weight pants. Along with 2 mid weight short sleeve shirts and 2 spare mid weight long sleeve shirts.

Ironically when wearing pants my legs get the most scratched up and when wearing shorts my arms get scratched up the most.

In four trips to Africa I have only found 1 tick on me, (knock on wood). I suspect I got it while helping to load an animal on to the bakki.

 

[meigsbucks]

I take two pair of long pants and two pair of shorts as well as two and two, long and short sleeve shirts. I wear one set of the long pants and shirt on the plane with a set of the shorts / short sleeve in my carry on. In Zim, I only wore long pants two days out of 14. In Namibia, a cold front settled over the area and I think I only wore shorts four days out of 10.
Whether wearing long pants or shorts, I always put on bug repellent and my clothes were sprayed with permethrin.

 

[Keelebilly]

In the conservative farming community that I grew up in men wear pants and only little boys wear short pants. It was a little weird to me to see all the South Africans wearing shorts in the dead of their winter. It was 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the mornings and they had on shorts with a thick kuiu puffer jacket and a beanie. Didn’t make too much sense to me. I was wearing long John’s under my long pants and was still about to freeze. Seemed like an ego thing

 

[BGGMKLR]

You're not hunting in Africa until you have some blood dripping down your legs. Buy some skin so soft sunscreen/bug replant and enjoy hunting in shorts.

Badges of honor indeed.
Best
Spike.

 

[baxterb]

In the conservative farming community that I grew up in men wear pants and only little boys wear short pants. It was a little weird to me to see all the South Africans wearing shorts in the dead of their winter. It was 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the mornings and they had on shorts with a thick kuiu puffer jacket and a beanie. Didn’t make too much sense to me. I was wearing long John’s under my long pants and was still about to freeze. Seemed like an ego thing

What did high temps reach? I will say 20 F is cold, but if temps later + sun were reasonable, they were adhering to the old credo "Be bold, start cold" whereby you dress for the highest temp you'll see - especially if there is any activity that raises the body temp - but that might mean you start off cold.

 

[Keelebilly]

It was usually 65-70 degrees around 2 pm. I never got hot, but would usually lose the long John’s when we came in for lunch.

 

[MacJenkins]

Just never know how many thorns and bugs will be. I take two pair of pants, 3 shorts, 1 pair of breathable boots, one pair of flip flops and one pair of more sturdy sandals like keen or berkinstocks. Did one elephant hunt/buff hunt in cheawore south in February that was so wet I did the whole trip either barefoot or in flip flops. The stock on my HEYM 470 swelled up a good 1/8-3/16” around and sticking out from the recoil pad. And it was a HOT hunt.

 

[BGGMKLR]

I am neither a fashionista, nor a historian, but am firmly of the mind that, the Daisy Duke/nut-hugger/shorty shorts fashion trend was firmly and indelibly established in Zim...during the Bush War...'64-"79.
Reminiscing back through photos of some of the roughest, toughest gentlemen I've ever had the pleasure to share a fire with, those rugby-esque shorts were clearly...and unanimously...De rigueur...for the times.
Best
Spike

 

[SStomcat]

Thorns are not much of a problem.

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Oh man! why would you do that?

 

[Adam Stevens]

My favorite thing of all time???

Telling my wife when I wear a certain pair of shorts I have. "I killed a Cape buffalo in these shorts"

Probably told her and family that 100 times in 5 years lol

I had 3-4 pairs of shorts on my Zim Sept hunt. Two were zipper pants you could take off that worked good too. Cool in the mornings.

 

[MacJenkins]

My favorite thing of all time???

Telling my wife when I wear a certain pair of shorts I have. "I killed a Cape buffalo in these shorts"

Probably told her and family that 100 times in 5 years lol

I had 3-4 pairs of shorts on my Zim Sept hunt. Two were zipper pants you could take off that worked good too. Cool in the mornings.

I love the idea of zipper pants just never found pair that are comfortable.

 

[Sarg]

I wear shorts as we all do, not sitting for leopard in July, but it does depend what country & what habitat, lots of Zimbabwe & East Africa is Ok, but if I’m hunting in the Rain Forest & regrowth/secondary forest of West Africa again, I might wear long sleeves & pants !

Oh forgot, yes it seems Water Buffalo hate hunters wearing shorts & worst if no shoes or shirt.

 

[Longwalker]

I would wear shorts if I could. BUT my grub white Canadian legs don't do well with African sun or thorns. This is my legs after one afternoon of stalking giraffe in Namibia. I find lightweight cotton covering my legs is much more practical while hunting. I do sometimes wear shorts in camp.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I wear these on most of my hunts. Unless I need waterproof or cold weather pants.

They are tough but relatively light.

https://a.co/d/05J1UPVO

 

[VertigoBE]

and tall socks I see!

Boots, socks and gaiters

 

[DWB]

#tickslivesmatters

 

[Muntjacer23]

I went to the Eastern cape in March expecting to wear trousers every single day but due to the heat I ended up wearing shorts for 5 of my 7 hunting days! Definitely worth bringing a pair!

 

[skydiver386]

Ok, which one of you is this? Shooting stance all wrong, shorty shorts and WHITE tube socks!

Only a Snowbird in Florida with white socks and sandals could be worse. You hunt Buff dressed like this and get charged, you had it comin to ya!

 

[joker2400]

Shorts whenever possible. Scratches are part of the experience.