Trail Runners vs. African Ranger Boots: The Need for Tougher Gear

What we’re talking about today is a South African-made armored and enhanced version of one of the most popular boots on the entire planet.

Trail runners are cushioned, lightweight, and lined with Gortex. They allow you to easily fly over rough terrains and trails as you go for a run.

But what if we had to build trail runners for African Rangers, one of the most dangerous jobs of all time, where one of their biggest duties, of course, is to stop poachers? Regular trail runners wouldn’t do – they’re not armored enough, they’re not tough enough.

We need to be able to run over giant thorns, chase hurt animals, and run over fire sometimes, of course. And the boots we’re talking about today are what you get when you need to make a trail runner for an African Ranger. They’re very cool.

The Dangerous Life of an African Ranger

African Rangers are in an all-out war. It is estimated that two to three African Rangers are killed every week by poachers in Africa.

And on top of all that, African Rangers oftentimes don’t have adequate food or equipment they need to protect, for lack of a better term, some of the most legendary creatures that Earth has to offer – the big fat ones, the small skinny ones, the quick ones that go underground.

Meet Gareth Crouch and Jim Green

Gareth Crouch is a third-generation shoe and boot maker and a former walking safari guide. He owns or is part of, I don’t want to say the wrong term, both Crouch Footwear and, more importantly, the brand that we’re talking about today, Jim Green.

This boot is not just the brainchild of Jim Green – this is an amalgamation of recommendations from the African Rangers on what they would need in a perfect boot. It is built by them, and my favorite thing is South Africa has one of the most famous boot silhouettes in the world. You’ve seen it, you know it, you love it, you’re probably interested in buying it, and this is simply an armored version of that. And today, we are diving into that.

Today’s Deep Dive Agenda

So, without further ado, let’s hop into today’s agenda. Number one: Jim Green is not named after a man. It’s named after a tiny frog along South African rivers that is often eaten by fish. We’ll jump into that real quick – I mean, hop in.

Number two: the Veldskoen (Vellies) are considered the greatest boots ever designed for arid climates.

It’s also the great-grandfather of Jim Green ranger, but more importantly, when I say the last name of the guy that brought it to Britain and the US, you’ll go freaking nuts.

Number three is, of course, the African Ranger itself. We’re going to focus on how this boot was “armorized” from the original boot it was based on. I’m just making up words left and right today, but essentially, the boot that this is based on is now considered a casual boot – it was sneakers before sneakers. So, how do you make that into an armored trail runner?

And finally, we always have to answer the question: are they worth it? These boots are probably a lot cheaper than you think when you compare them to other boots of this type, but still, I don’t know if they’re worth it for absolutely everybody, so we’ll get into that.

The Story Behind the Name: Jim Green the Frog

Jim Green is not the name of Gareth’s father or grandfather or anything – it’s the name of a small frog that stands near South African rivers and then gets eaten by fish. I wanted to figure out what specific frog it was ’cause Jim Green is a nickname. Couldn’t find that out. I’m hoping Gareth can send me a picture of one of the frogs, and then I’ll identify it, but I think it’s the Natal Cascade frog. Fun fact: the mating call of the Cascade frog is a faint series of low grating clucking noises – that sounds sexy.

The Felon Fy: A Boot’s Historical Journey

In the 1940s, while serving on the staff of the West African Brigade in Burma and India, a man was given a chore by his family: while you are serving, look for boots and shoes that are cool that you can take back to our shoe factory. That man, who has a very recognizable last name, found the Veldskoen, which is Afrikaans for “a field shoe.” I think – I don’t speak Afrikaans, that was my best shot. He found the Veldskoen.

The shoe was originally worn by boar farmers and then was picked up by servicemen, but it was a very popular arid climate leather field shoe. It was the perfect shoe – kind of a boot. This field shoe or field boot was made out of roughout leather. It had two to three eyelets on it on average. It had a very thin, comfortable, grippy sole, and it was made using stitch-down construction so the bottom of the boot flared out. It was brought to England by a man named Nathan Clark – Clark’s desert boots.

Yeah, thanks. You heard it here first, or you probably heard it in a bunch of different places – you had 84 years to hear about it. Still, Clark’s desert boots brought the Veldskoen to England first. Then, more importantly for the popularity of it, they brought it to postwar United States of America, where people were like, “Oh my God, I hope someone invents sneakers soon!” Boom – Clark’s desert boots. They’re not super casual, but they’re still way more comfortable than regular shoes, and they have exploded in popularity.

Clark’s desert boots became the de facto face of that silhouette, of that design style, but they originated in South Africa and are still in the DNA of Jim Green boots. In my opinion, Jim Green makes its own Vellies, which are a different beast than Clark’s – it has a steel shank in it, an extra eyelet, and rough-out leather. I would say Vellies from Jim Green are what Boer farmers would still use as opposed to desert boots, which are something that you’d wear really more for a dress reason.

Building the Perfect Ranger Boot: Eight Key Features

Okay, so the question becomes: how do I take Vellies and upgrade them until they become the perfect African Ranger boot? Again, my theories here, here’s a list:

Number one: I keep the three eyelets that the Vellies have, but I add two speed hooks so I can tighten the boot on the foot and increase stability when running.

Number two: instead of soft, floppy leather, we upgrade to very thick, robust leather, and what we have here is wild buffalo hide that’s even thicker and more robust than standard African Rangers. More on the wild buffalo hide in a second – Jim Green does some crazy things to get this leather.

Number three: pad the ankle. This not only is more comfortable, but it also helps seal your foot in more when it’s tied tight and protects your ankle from things that may hit it.

Number four: instead of having a floppy regular tongue, you can gusset it so it’s less likely for water and debris to get into it as you’re running and on the move.

Number five is to take your already durable boot and reinforce it with two layers of leather where it counts – your toe and your heels, also around the eyelets.

Number six is to use stitch-down construction and stitch your boots together with 2.2-millimeter nylon threads.

Number seven: adding a toe and heel stiffener for added support and durability.

And finally, number eight: use a soft wedge sole so that way when you’re creeping through the African bush field, you’re quieter.

Two Origin Theories

So, to me, there are two possibilities; the second one is way cooler than the first. The first one is that the African Ranger was intentionally built off of the back of the Vellies, and it was just an armored version with tougher leather, a different outsole, a different eyelet count, and everything like that.

The second one, though, is if this boot was truly just a collaboration effort from African Rangers and Jim Green didn’t say, “Hey, this is the base of the boot,” then they came up with an upgraded version of the Vellies which is considered the greatest boot ever designed for arid climates and they only proved that statement even more by recreating the bones of the Vellies once again from scratch.

Comparing the Options: Trail Runners vs. Standard Boots vs. African Rangers

Price Point and Value Proposition

So then we finally get to the question: why so cheap, and are they worth it? Obviously, when I say “why so cheap,” I mean compared to other boots that are built in a similar way and have similar materials. Why are these costing lower?

Number one: stitch-down construction is a lightning-fast way to construct boots, so it’s cheaper, but coincidentally, it’s also really the best at keeping out debris and water and everything like that.

It’s not the highest grade leather, it uses synthetic materials, it’s not using Vibram soles or anything like that, and since this boot is 100% built in South Africa, when it comes to the US, it doesn’t hit import duties or tariffs, which can be a pain in the butt.

It’s really a boot built simply and very quickly with a specific use in mind. In order to keep prices down, these have to be affordable for African Rangers.

Even though one out of every ten pairs, I believe, is donated to an African Ranger, they still need to be affordable for the people who need them.

So would I recommend that you get these boots? Yes, but you have to know what that entails and what these boots are built for. To me, these boots are very function over form. They are very wide. They give your feet a ton of room, but the toe box isn’t super high. I would like it a little higher for me personally. The construction isn’t crazy, and the quality of materials isn’t insane, but these are just bulletproof tanks that should last you absolutely forever.

[Editor Mike here: when I say not insane construction or not insane leather, I don’t mean not good leather – it’s very, very good leather and construction, but it’s not insane like what you see on thousand-dollar boots is what I’m saying, but it’s very good.]

Their main purpose in life is to cover your feet and to protect your feet no matter what and to be very easily repairable when they no longer protect your feet. That is the DNA of this boot and that’s it.

The Wild Buffalo Hide Story

All right, and finally, my boots are made out of wild buffalo hide, and you may be thinking, “Did Jim Green go out and shoot a wild buffalo for these boots?”

Not at all – they actually did the opposite. I will read it to you from Jim Green’s lips:

“Each year, hundreds of buffalo are removed from our local reserves for disease and population control measures, with everything on the animal being utilized but the skin.

We decided something needed to be done. We sent out a skinning and salting team into a conservancy to gather and prepare these skins for our tannery. These skins were purchased from the reserve, raising much-needed funds for a byproduct that would have been disposed of.”

And that’s besides the boots, of course. That is why everybody on YouTube loves Jim Green boots – Rose Anvil, me, Carl Murawski… That’s not everybody on YouTube, but you know what I mean.

It is because unless Gareth and Jim Green duped us and we’re all fools, they are just a rock-solid company that makes a good product. They have a really cool mission statement.

Gareth just seems like he wants to go run in the bush field all day, and I love that – it makes for a really cool company, and you could see that in the DNA of all of these boots. So it’s a very cool, small brand.

Watch This Review

Thank You!

Anyway, with all that being said, thank you so much for reading from the bottom of my heart to the top of my eyes. It means an absolute ton that you read. I really appreciate it!

This article was adapted from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of his original content. Watch the full video here.

The Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!) starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail no bigger than a quarter. The two are set on taking over the world of fashion by creating a clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the best clothing out there, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has got you covered.