Mountain gaiters - yes or no

[Affirmative]

I'm leaning towards no since I know my boots/socks will get soaked anyway at some point.

What are your opinions about them for a thru-hike?

[colorado_rob]

Gaitors just add weight to your feet, a big energy sink. Keep in mind that if you do the whole AT, you will be lifting each one up about 5 million times. "they" say: one pound on your feet is like 5 pounds on your back, and I believe this completely. I see gaitors out there that weigh a pound or so. Ouch.

If you must wear gaitors, at least use the ultralight ones, like the dirty girls or something similar.

[Slo-go'en]

Where and when? AT thru hike stating in the spring? If so, YES. Since your from SoCal, you may not realise exactly how wet and muddy the AT can be until it dries out in late May or June. Knee high gaiters will keep the bottom of your pants cleaner and prevent a lot of water from running down your legs and into your boots.

Once it warms up and dries up for the summer months, you can send them home. Although it might be worth keeping them and treating them with tick replent and hiking in shorts with the tall gaiters. That could go a long way in keeping those pestly little bugs from crawling up your legs.

[Conure]

Slo-go'en, what brand of knee high gaiters do you recommend?

[Affirmative]

I'm actually from New Jersey and I expect the AT will have plenty of surprises waiting for me. I'm coming with the mentality of accepting the fact there will be cold, sleepless, wet nights and days where the concept of dryness will become a cruel joke as I wipe away tears with an even wetter apparatus in a redundant but proud manly fashion.

But i'm giving the gaiters a second chance to make it into my gear list because I think there's a real possibility these particular ones have been crafted by elves from Middle Earth. My invisibility cloak is not being considered because I'm self conscious about looking stupid.

[Slo-go'en]

Slo-go'en, what brand of knee high gaiters do you recommend?

The ones I use are made locally from coated nylon by Ragged Mountain and are pretty light. The name brand gaiters like OR's are definately too heavy except for winter use. I didn't bring any on my hike down south last spring and regreted it. In fact, I broke down and bought a pair at Fontana Village dispite the high cost to get me through the Smokies and was very glad I did.

[Conure]

The ones I use are made locally from coated nylon by Ragged Mountain and are pretty light.

Thanks for the reply. I went to their site but apparently they either have no stock or have ceased making them. As a point of curiosity, how much do yours weight?

[SunnyWalker]

The gaiters that seem to work real good on the AT, and this from reports of AT thru hikers are the: Dirty Girl gaiters. Don't let the name throw you off. They are very lightweight, easy to use and work very well for what you will face. Also they are very reasonably priced. Adios!

[Drybones]

I'm leaning towards no since I know my boots/socks will get soaked anyway at some point.

What are your opinions about them for a thru-hike?

It's not the water you want to keep out, it's the acorns, gravel, leaves, dirt, ets. I bought a pair of OR lightweight gators, hiked 14 miles with them and never used them again, tried the Dirty Girls and now never hike without them, you dont notice you have them on...I highly reccommend. IMO, they'll help with blisters also by keeping grit out. I had an acorn in my shoe once and didn't want to stop just to get it out, thought I'd wait until the next scheduled stop. When I did stop and take the shoe off the acorn was gone, ground into dust and absorbed by my socks I'm guessing.

[DeerPath]

The ones I use are made locally from coated nylon by Ragged Mountain and are pretty light. The name brand gaiters like OR's are definately too heavy except for winter use. I didn't bring any on my hike down south last spring and regreted it. In fact, I broke down and bought a pair at Fontana Village dispite the high cost to get me through the Smokies and was very glad I did.

My OR tall gaiters only weigh 7.5 oz. total, and my short gaiter are 4.5 oz.

[Slo-go'en]

Thanks for the reply. I went to their site but apparently they either have no stock or have ceased making them. As a point of curiosity, how much do yours weight?

Ragged doesn't seem to list much on thier web site, they mostly just sell out of thier retail store. Guess you'll have to drive up to North Conway, NH. Or maybe give them a call...

You would make me go find them (pause as I dig through the boxes of junk) Ahh, here they are - 5 oz for the pair (talls), with residual mud.

[Conure]

My OR tall gaiters only weigh 7.5 oz. total...

I've been eying these for awhile now on the web, weight factor is lower than most other high gaiters and construction quality seems good. I'm hoping REI has some in stock that I can see for real when I go there in the next week or two (closest one is 180 miles from me, so it's not just a quick, in town trip).

Ragged doesn't seem to list much on thier web site, they mostly just sell out of thier retail store.

Wow, 5oz is lighter than a lot of short gaiters! I've sent them an e-mail inquiry, so I'm just waiting on a response from them now. Thanks again. I'll let you all know what I hear : )

[Pedaling Fool]

I'm leaning towards no since I know my boots/socks will get soaked anyway at some point.

What are your opinions about them for a thru-hike?

For me it has nothing to do with wet feet; your feet are going to get wet no matter what...

For me it's all about keeping the dirt/peebles/twigs...out of my shoes. I hiked the first 1,000 miles without gaiters, then decided to buy some small ankle-high cheap gaiters when I got to Harpers Ferry and I no longer hike without them.

So I recommend you do the same; do the first 1,000 miles without them, then make a decision.

[Pedaling Fool]

BTW, after hiking 1,000 miles without gaiters and then suddenly putting them on my feet I never noticed the weight. Just more proof that worrying about weight weighs more on you than the actual weight

[Blissful]

Having just hiked in snow without them and getting ice an snow inside my tral runners and nearly causing frost bite, I recommend them for the first part of the hike (in snowy conditions only)

[Another Kevin]

Gaiters for snow, deep mud, tick infestations, and bushwhacks. I think that's most of my hiking. Like an earlier poster, I wear OR over-the-calf ones.

[aficion]

You can get an elastic strap with clips on each end and just strap your pants legs down. Works for me...light and cheap.