Well, I'm sure like most people who have purchased this item, I didn't really give these the acid test. In other words, they were not struck by a snake. To be sure i had plenty of opportunities, as I bought these for the sole purpose of wearing them when actually going into timber rattler country and actively seeking out the snakes for photography and to observe them in their natural habitat. The expedition was a success,my companions and i located 30 rattlers and a couple copperheads. However, I didn't feel inclined to put the guards to the test as far as trying to entice a snake to try and tag me. I'm confident that the guards would have stopped a bite, but what if he had set his sights a bit higher? I'll let somebody else determine the guard's effectiveness in that department. So, I'll just run through the physical sides of the product. They fit well, I guess I have average-sized calves and they wrapped around them nicely. And there was room for more if I had needed it. I wore them over jeans. they were warm, but not terribly so. The temperature was in the 80's and the hiking vigorous, but they didn't slow me down. My being unfit did that job quite well. I wasn't uncomfortable in them, and you'd have to expect a bit of heating due to the nature of the product. I do think they might have been a bit clammy if worn on bare legs, again, that would be the nature of the beast. I think that some comfort must be sacrificed in return for solid protection. I found little use for the elastic bands included within the guards, they didn't seem elastic enough to really make much difference. I did not use them, the outside straps tightened up sufficiently. However, the bands did not impede the use of the guards by not being attached, so that was no big deal. They offered protection from the knee down to the top of my shoes. I wore tennis-shoes, which may have been the only weak spot in my defense if a fang could penetrate them. I'm not sure if they could or not, and I wasn't going to put them to the test either. The Real-Tree camo didn't make much difference to me, but I guess it did make them look more "outdoorsy". I guess stylistically I preferred them like that, but I was hunting snakes, not walking down a model's runway. But the camo was a nice touch, and maybe useful for somebody who might be hunting in territory where snakes are active concurrent with hunting season. So I'm okay with that. Finally, the point that might be most important. The fasteners. They seemed pretty sturdy to me, but, keep in mind that they ARE plastic. I tried to be fairly gentle with them, they did not seem like they were going to be inclined to break. however, this is based on only using them a few times, so I am unable to evaluate their sturdiness with any real deliberation. I'll stick my neck out and say that if care is taken and the user does not abuse them or try to force them, they should hold up for a while. Once properly tightened down, the guards did not move around on my legs or rub uncomfortably. I'm not sure whether this would be the case while wearing them on bare skin, but given the brush I waded through, I would not have wanted to wear them in that manner anyway. One other bonus that I had not considered when making the decision to purchase the guards was that they handily let me go through briars with out a scratch on my lower legs., which was a pretty frequent thing on the hikes. The briars didn't leave a scratch on the material covering the guards as far as I could tell either. I didn't drop a star because I found a flaw, but I just didn't think i should give them the full five-star treatment based on the limited time I used them. At the price, even if I only used them for a single outing, I think they were worth it. I've read that snake-bite treatment can start at around 25,000 dollars, so I just considered the money spent as an insurance premium. Bottom-line, I was satisfied with this product, based on the limited time I actually used them and felt secure during that time. And there were a lot of BIG rattlers present, so that was the important thing.
