Courteney boots are about done

[rookhawk]

Gentlemen,

This is Jim from African Sporting Creations and we are the US Distributor for Courteney Boots. Gale Rice is the owner of that fabulous company and she is happy to refurbish/resole your shoes/boots for essentially the cost of the components. Best way is to carry them over there and drop them off at the start of a two week safari and pick them up on the way back as shipping to Zim is expensive. Even if it comes back in one of my quarterly shipments (happy to do that) to the USA, my cost to include it is $60 per pair as in addition to air shipping I also have to pay clearance, duty and local delivery. To get them to you from Ohio to TX for example is another $20-25 via UPS ground. Another option is to order soles from me and get someone to sew them on locally who is used to working on boots as they need HD equipment.

In terms of whether or not they are worth it, I might be biased, but I still have the original tyre tread sole on the Selous that I purchased back in 2003 before I was their distributor. Based on my pedometer, I have put close to 10,000 miles on them. In all fairness, some of it is my daily 5 mile walk on pavement. Amazingly, they still have a little less than half of the tread left. The run-flats on my wife's Sienna mini-van only got 12,000 so we are on track to surpass that number.

I like the suggestion of treating them like sharks teeth and always having another set (or two, three or four) in reserve. Moisture is the #2 killer of leather (#1 being drying them out too close to a heat source) and if you rotate two pairs every other day they will last much longer than twice as long as one pair worn every day. If you wear the same pair every day the leather never gets a chance to dry out. I have the Safari in Hippo 8 years old and they look good as new and have just over 4,000 miles on them and they have the less aggressive cleat sole.

We are bringing two crates filled with more than 200 pairs to the DSC Show and we have four booths (listed as 3334 on main street and we are usually across the aisle from the NRA booth.

Jim

Quick anecdote about @African Sporting Creations

My kids all have Courteney boots that I did NOT buy from Jim at ASC. There was a liquidator in the states that somehow obtained a TON of Courteney boots that were made and labeled for Westley Richards. At any rate, the auction house liquidator dumped them all on eBay...all except the tiny sizes and the women's sizes. I approached the auction house and low-balled them saying I would buy every pair they have left so my three kids have selous that will work for them from age 8-11 with hand-me-downs going from child to child. Jim and ASC got not a penny of my money.

Jim is such a gentleman, I mentioned while buying his shooting sticks (you all should buy his shooting sticks...they are awesome!) that one of my kids boots had a broken speed lace rivet. Jim was kind enough to have Gale Rice send the replacement hardware to him in one of his cargo shipments and ultimately sent it to me free of charge at his expense.

If you look at an ASC catalog, you'd think he was in the African Product business...he's not. Jim is in the service business. The logistics business. The warranty business. He is the means to receive goods and services that are otherwise unavailable due to import/export rules, or wire transfer issues, or supply chain delays, or warranty problems, or distribution barriers or logistics complexities. Bottom line, if you buy from Jim at ASC you are paying him to get these remarkable products into the USA and available for sale with a functional warranty.

He even helps out people that aren't his boot customers as my testimonial above described. That's why I give him other business because if his firm doesn't flourish...these products don't exist in the USA anymore.

 

[tarbe]

Quick anecdote about @African Sporting Creations

Jim is such a gentleman

He even helps out people that aren't his boot customers as my testimonial above described. That's why I give him other business because if his firm doesn't flourish...these products don't exist in the USA anymore.

Agree 100%.

 

[TByrd]

Agree 100%.

Just this! Spot on...

 

[Red Leg]

I own three pair. Love them obviously and use them extensively. So much so that a couple of pair of Russell’s went to Good Will just a few months ago. I personally think Courtney’s are a bargain. A hand-crafted boot by say RM Williams will start around $500 - JB Hill’s around $750.

 

[African Sporting Creations]

No offense with you buying EL boots in Zim. Our business folds if we do not have a US Fish and Game license so play it all by the books and call them if I have any questions.

Simply contact us at info@africansc.com for custom orders

Jim

 

[rookhawk]

No offense with you buying EL boots in Zim. Our business folds if we do not have a US Fish and Game license so play it all by the books and call them if I have any questions.

Simply contact us at info@africansc.com for custom orders

Jim

That's a fair point to mention, Jim. Walking out of Africa wearing a new pair of elephant boots sounds great, but if you get caught you can be charged with a mega-ton of violations. Lacy Act and a US Ban on your hunting privileges in 46 States for 5 years doesn't even scratch the surface of what happens to you. CITES violations. USFWS violations.

If you're going to be a criminal and risk jail/prison/5-figure fines, you might as well be a big crook and try arms, ivory, or ilicit drug trafficking. A pair of boots seems like too little reward for too much risk.

Jim's boots in the USA were all legally imported and inspected by USFWS if they happen to contain regulated leather products. Those permits aren't cheap and the bureaucracy is long! I folded up a small leather hobby-business I had decades ago due to these same onerous regulations!

 

[CBH Australia]

Just returned from Africa in my Selous boots. They worked out OK and may have been quieter than what the PH and tracker wore, I’d like to think so anyway.

 

[BenKK]

Just returned from Africa in my Selous boots. They worked out OK and may have been quieter than what the PH and tracker wore, I’d like to think so anyway.

Welcome back! Looking forward to reading of your adventure!

 

[Lane579]

I feel I’m pretty well set on hiking/hunting boots. I’m a Danner fan for sure. Used a couple pairs of Arcadias at work for 20+years with a couple resoles and I use an uninsulated mid for warm weather, and an 8” 400gr thinsulate for cold weather.

However, I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting a pair of black Courteney Vellies for daily “business casual” wear. Just haven’t committed yet and I’m not real sure on the best place to order.

 

[African Sporting Creations]

I feel I’m pretty well set on hiking/hunting boots. I’m a Danner fan for sure. Used a couple pairs of Arcadias at work for 20+years with a couple resoles and I use an uninsulated mid for warm weather, and an 8” 400gr thinsulate for cold weather.

However, I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting a pair of black Courteney Vellies for daily “business casual” wear. Just haven’t committed yet and I’m not real sure on the best place to order.

This is Jim from African Sporting Creations. We are the Courteney distributor in the USA. We can handle special orders with a 150 day delivery time. If you do not want to wait that long we stock three different Vellie models in Ohio.

 

[Jason Miller]

Bought mine in Zim in 1996, still have them. At the rate that I wear them they should last about 3 lifetimes though. LOL. Oh, yeah. They were $30 US at the time.

Funny, bought mine in 1997 in Zim, still have them

 

[Hillcountry63]

I've got two pairs of Courteney's, one from 1999 and another from 2018. First pair look as good as the second and both are in good shape....I use leather conditioner and bees wax to keep them in proper order. Also, about to invest in my third pair, just because.

 

[rookhawk]

I own a LOT of their footwear. My favorite pair is my original custom selous pair (combat boot height) which is now a product they offer as a standard item. The reason they are my favorite is they were worn down completely over the course of ten safaris or more, plus US hunting trips. I had Courteney rebuild them with new soles, insoles, laces, and leather conditioning about a year or two ago. That service cost me $30-$40 which is a true bargain.

They are now like-new, only the leather fits me better than any other boot since they have so many miles on them.

If any of you have an old pair of Courteneys, I strongly recommend getting them rebuilt as it is a far more comfortable boot than a brand new pair.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I agree with IvW, get a new pair. They changed the last a few years ago and they are now more domed over the toes, more comfortable. I have two pairs of Safari's and wear the new ones daily. I fitted custom made inner soles so they fit properly and are comfortable.

 

[VertigoBE]

I have one pair of selous, that I never really needed to break in much. They were very comfortable from the beginning. Love them so much for Africa that I’m having a second selous pair being built.

 

[Jason Miller]

That's a fair point to mention, Jim. Walking out of Africa wearing a new pair of elephant boots sounds great, but if you get caught you can be charged with a mega-ton of violations. Lacy Act and a US Ban on your hunting privileges in 46 States for 5 years doesn't even scratch the surface of what happens to you. CITES violations. USFWS violations.

If you're going to be a criminal and risk jail/prison/5-figure fines, you might as well be a big crook and try arms, ivory, or ilicit drug trafficking. A pair of boots seems like too little reward for too much risk.

Jim's boots in the USA were all legally imported and inspected by USFWS if they happen to contain regulated leather products. Those permits aren't cheap and the bureaucracy is long! I folded up a small leather hobby-business I had decades ago due to these same onerous regulations!

Hmmm this is interesting.... I guess I need to be more careful as I purchased my Elephant boots back in the 90's and wear them back and forth to Africa six or seven times a year. Sometime in 2023 it will be my 50th time to Africa and I have worn them probably 80% of my trips. I would seriously hate to get in trouble, wonder how many times they check peoples shoes?

 

[Fark]

Gentlemen,

This is Jim from African Sporting Creations and we are the US Distributor for Courteney Boots. Gale Rice is the owner of that fabulous company and she is happy to refurbish/resole your shoes/boots for essentially the cost of the components. Best way is to carry them over there and drop them off at the start of a two week safari and pick them up on the way back as shipping to Zim is expensive. Even if it comes back in one of my quarterly shipments (happy to do that) to the USA, my cost to include it is $60 per pair as in addition to air shipping I also have to pay clearance, duty and local delivery. To get them to you from Ohio to TX for example is another $20-25 via UPS ground. Another option is to order soles from me and get someone to sew them on locally who is used to working on boots as they need HD equipment.

In terms of whether or not they are worth it, I might be biased, but I still have the original tyre tread sole on the Selous that I purchased back in 2003 before I was their distributor. Based on my pedometer, I have put close to 10,000 miles on them. In all fairness, some of it is my daily 5 mile walk on pavement. Amazingly, they still have a little less than half of the tread left. The run-flats on my wife's Sienna mini-van only got 12,000 so we are on track to surpass that number.

I like the suggestion of treating them like sharks teeth and always having another set (or two, three or four) in reserve. Moisture is the #2 killer of leather (#1 being drying them out too close to a heat source) and if you rotate two pairs every other day they will last much longer than twice as long as one pair worn every day. If you wear the same pair every day the leather never gets a chance to dry out. I have the Safari in Hippo 8 years old and they look good as new and have just over 4,000 miles on them and they have the less aggressive cleat sole.

We are bringing two crates filled with more than 200 pairs to the DSC Show and we have four booths (listed as 3334 on main street and we are usually across the aisle from the NRA booth.

Jim

I have a pair of elephant hide Courteney boots. I just got back from an elephant hunt and used them every day. Effectively,they are only 7 days old. I didn`t bring back the jar of cream they give you with the boots and I`m not sure how to care for them.Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[edward]

i keep a good pair of shoe trees in them and use a good leather cream on them.

 

[Fark]

I own a LOT of their footwear. My favorite pair is my original custom selous pair (combat boot height) which is now a product they offer as a standard item. The reason they are my favorite is they were worn down completely over the course of ten safaris or more, plus US hunting trips. I had Courteney rebuild them with new soles, insoles, laces, and leather conditioning about a year or two ago. That service cost me $30-$40 which is a true bargain.

They are now like-new, only the leather fits me better than any other boot since they have so many miles on them.

If any of you have an old pair of Courteneys, I strongly recommend getting them rebuilt as it is a far more comfortable boot than a brand new pair.

How much was the shipping?

 

[rookhawk]

How much was the shipping?

An airline ticket to Africa x2. As you'll note above, Jim at ASC offered to be an intermediary on this activity in the US for a modest sum.