Around the Spend - Ford Ranger

What does being a Ford Ranger owner say about you?

If you’ve ever told your dinner guests, “I’ll just bring the Range round”—only to roll up in a Ford Ranger instead of a Range Rover—you’ve likely gone from being a bit David Beckham or Frank Lampard to more of Dawie Beckmann or Francoise Lambrecht in their eyes - which is often a good thing. It simply means you’re more rugged, more South African, and more nature-conscious.

While drivers of the British marque may harbour secret fantasies of being recognised in public and pursued by the paparazzi, the Ford Ranger driver yearns for a quieter life out on the actual range, far from the red carpet and tabloid headlines.

The Ford Ranger & Game Rangers: South African Heroes

The word Ranger, itself, has many meanings (and was even a car in SA in the 60s and 70s, made by the Big Blue Oval’s sworn enemy, General Motors). In Australia, a ranger (pronounced “rang-ah”) is someone of the ginger persuasion. There are also Black Rock Rangers who act as “mediators” at the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert. A job prerequisite is that you speak fluent psychedelic, no doubt.

However, when you mention the word Ranger in South Africa, people think of Game Rangers, one of our most noble and respected professions - and a job Ford Ranger drivers often dream about. They would rather be showing Belgian tourists a giraffe than showing sales projections to a full boardroom. Or seeing the sunset over a watering hole rather than watching it set over a parking lot near theirs.

On average, when comparing Car Insurance quotes from leading brands using hippo.co.za, our customers save R455pm. When comparing multiple products like Medical Aid or Personal Loans (loan ranger anyone?) they save on average R570pm.

Essential Gear Every Ford Ranger Driver Needs to Look the Part

1. Binoculars

Even just strung around your neck, the right pair of binocs makes you look like you know what you’re talking about. They can be used to scan the plains for roving herds or for bird spotting in your backyard—even if you’re only checking out hadedas at a braai in Blairgowrie.

Best Binoculars for Ford Ranger Drivers and Aspiring Game Rangers

The Nikon name is synonymous with quality binoculars—although they insist on calling them “sports optics,” the PROSTAFF (which is confusingly also a type of tennis racquet Wilson makes) seems a great option, coming in at R3 495, which, with your Hippo savings, could be yours in 8 months.

For the more cost-conscious customer with excursion expert ambitions, there are these Bushnel all-purpose field glasses for about half the price.

2. An Ash Bag

After consultation with an actual Game Ranger, this item may come as somewhat of a surprise. What is it you ask? A bag full of ash? Yes. That’s exactly what it is. The ash usually comes from the previous night’s boma braai and is stored in this handy satchel, which for full Ranger effect, should be worn around the waist, attached to a belt. It is used to accurately see which way the wind is blowing when tracking animals or trying to stay downwind from a pride of predators.

A quick browse around the internet only got us this mauslin bag which apparently is useful for making yoghurt but not holding ash, we don’t think.

We’re pretty sure you can use any bag -except a plastic shopping one because you’d just look daft- even those ones that contain the pegs for tents or this offering from Temu which at R326 will only cost you a month’s saving with Hippo. And you get 3 bags to choose from. We would recommend the smallest one for the ash bag.

3. A Torch

For nighttime game drives or just looking for something in a garage cupboard during load shedding, a torch is a must for any aspiring game ranger. You don’t want to be using the torch function on your phone when out in the bush, it just doesn’t look right.

Our Best Torch Picks

This LEDLENSER comes in at a whopping R4999, which is about a year of savings when using Hippo.

This far more affordable option from the same brand comes in at a less blinding R299 and can be yours after just a month of saving.

4. Sturdy Walking Boots

The Ranger’s rugged go-anywhere capabilities are legendary, and you need the same from your boots—for comfort and protecting yourself from anything—from blackjacks to snakebites.

While the traditional SA classic velskoen is great for “dans, werk en kerk” you might want something a bit more hardcore when you’re out there amongst the elements like these Freestyle Bowhunters for about R2000 (yours after saving your Hippo savings for about 5 months).

5. A Notebook

This may seem somewhat of a surprising addition to our Ford Ranger Game Ranger must-have list, but taking field notes is an absolute necessity. You can scribble down anecdotes, where animals were last seen or just your guests’ names if they’re particularly tricky ones to remember especially if they’re Finnish or Japanese.

Moleskine is a long-standing classic for anyone from poets, playwrights, and authors to explorers, adventurers and rangers. Their iconic ruggedness can be yours for only R359 in classic black.

However, if you really want to look the part you have to go with the American brand FieldNotes which were conceived with the great outdoors and national parks in mind. They’ve come with a dazzling number of varieties over the years and at only R320, you can look just right when you write.

6. A Survival Knife

“That’s not a knife, this is a knife” Crocodile Dundee once famously said—and if you want to be a serious Ranger and survive you need a serious survival knife—besides just your Leatherman (7 months of Hippo savings) or Swiss Army knife (1 month of Hippo savings) which are essential too.

For that real Ranger look and practical uses like cutting things or just trying to pin it to a tree from 10 yards away check out the Sendero from White River Knives. The price is rather sharp too (R6 700!), but for a serious kit you need some loot -which can be saved with Hippo over 14 months.

Save with HIPPO Insurance

Want to save while gearing up like a real game ranger?While it is well-known to Rangers that the Hippo is one of the most dangerous African animals in the wild, with our easy-to-use website hippo.co.za there is absolutely nothing to worry about, except saving money on your car insurance.

No matter what you drive, you can get comparative, competitive quotes in a couple of minutes and save bucks to spend money on the things you actually like—like looking like a Game Ranger, even if you’re not!