Whenever winter comes in Sweden, I wear my Yeti boots. Without fail, I am stopped at least once a day by people asking me where I bought them.
Ironically it was not in a snowy country that I bought them, but in South Africa. Like Ugg boots, they were originally created for surfers to wear on sand, not in snow. But unlike Uggs, they love slush and snow – They take as much as nature throws at them and come up smiling.
They are incredibly warm (South Africa is so cold in winter that you ache and there is no central heating), waterproof and non-slip. Yet the most expensive boots cost a reasonable $126 without beading. Dael will repair every boot for free for the lifetime of the leather.
Here are my two pairs. The ones on the left are about 8 years old and the ones on the right are about three years old. They are worn daily in snow and slush for up to 7 months of each year. The pale ones cost me $72 and the darker ones cost me $108.
So, here come the details:
The boots are made by hand by Dael Lithgow of Yeti Leather. Dael and several families live at Zuvuya – a totally self-sustaining community in the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa. The ethos of Yeti Leather is:
Yeti Leather is a community based enterprise where old world techniques are combined with top quality materials. We fashion a product which is an art piece, yet can be used and enjoyed daily. All products in our range are meticulously hand-crafted, every stitch is pulled by a needle, every bead is individually strung. Our off the grid workshop in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal is peaceful and quiet compared to a modern assembly factory.
Yeti Leather is a family business, and when you buy Yeti you invest not only in outstanding quality and comfort, but in South Africa and its people as well. All our products are designed to last, are easy to repair and resole, and come with the unique Yeti workmanship guarantee:

Here is their website
Here is their catalogue
Here is how to place an order (they ship worldwide)
Here are some examples of their wares:





You can choose the colour and shape of the Zulu beadwork you wish to have on your product. The beads are fastened with strong fishing line and they never drop off. In 8 years I have never lost a bead.







Are there any outlets in Cape Town?
I have only seen him at various festivals around the country but Dael probably does send to outlets round the country – the best would be to contact him and ask. If you cannot find the mail address let me know and I can do it for you and let you know on this thread.
These look amazing – and like you would want to wear them all day every day 🙂
Oh these look awesome!
Janet, you have a talent and a practised eye for finding quality. Thank you for sharing your findings. These boots look marvelous!
My pleasure!
Yeti Boots = Beautiful workmanship! Functional artwork and lovely workmanship. You definitely find some lovely local SA items. One thing I never realized is that it gets cold in SA in the winter. I thought it would be warm all year round! Your mention of 7 months of snow in Sweden really made me think – I thought our winters were bad enough – sounds like yours are snowier and longer. Will have to check Lattitude and Longitude out of curiosity.
Yes South Africa gets extremely cold in winter. I have trained diplomats for postings there and they receive a letter which says ‘South African winters are cold. PLEASE take this warning seriously.’
These are so awesome! I love them! Thank you for providing the link to order! I def am!!!