Gaiters - worth it?
Do you find when desert hiking, the extra sweat factor from gaiters is worth keeping the crap out of your shoes?
My wife loves them, I'm meh on them.
Same here for both of us. I put them in a hiker box in Independence after using them for 2 days, then bouncing them to Kennedy Meadows. My wife wore them every day of the trail.Originally Posted by Elaikases
Yeah, this. She loves her Dirty Girl gaiters, won't hike without them. I like eVent gaiters in the winter, but nothing otherwise.
Reminds me of a time I was doing a hike with an ultra runner.
Every time he got a stone in his shoe, he stopped to take off his shoe and remove the stone.
At the end of the day's hike, I took off my shoe and about 5-8 stones came out.
He saw this and said: "What"?
I told him I just move them to the center of the sole of my foot and keep hiking.
To each his own.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
I have flat feet. Doesn't work for me. Lol
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Though the norm for the PCT seems to perhaps favor wearing DirtyGirl gaiters, we did not wear any. We do hike in long pants, which helps keep some of the debris out. It really was not a big deal. Most of our dirt in the shoe was not from a lack of gaiters but due to the mesh on our trail runners which allows quite a bit of fine dirt to enter the shoe - our Salomons let a lot more in than the New Balance, but then on the other hand, the Salomons probably had more air flow to keep the feet cooler.
We found that the DirtyGirl gaiters, in addition to our long pants, was hotter due to less air flow. But as always, it is HYOH.
Don't leave home with my Dirty Girls! Would Definitely recommend for the PCT. Also, wash your feet at every possible opportunity. Even if you have NEVER had blisters the fine sand will act like 600 grit sandpaper. I had blisters by day 2 after ZERO blister on my training hikes up to 56 mile days. The sand is a killer as is the heat.
enemy of unnecessary but innovative trail invention gadgetry
Not sure those would work with my boots. I have an old pair of ORs that I was thinking of using, the classic, loop-of-string-under-the-sole kind.
Make certain any gaiters you choose to use are NOT waterproof!
I hate rocks and other debris getting into my shoes, so I almost always wear gaiters, often Dirty Girls.
I even use my Dirty Girl gaiters frequently when snowshoeing. They don't work at all for post-holing, but, on snowshoes, they work pretty well and are awesomely light and breathable.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
why NOT waterproof?
I was wearing out a pair about once a month. So I decided to see if I really needed them . Two of the most annoying weeks on the trail. Dont have to be dirty girl just light ones.
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For desert hiking in low shoes I have found the Activator gaiters to work well. They ride low on the leg and will protect the shoe from debris. They aren't water proof but do provide a little buffer against dew covered grass. I'm sure there are other gaiters like this but these work exceptionally well for me in hiking shoes or trail runners.
Last edited by Traveler; 01-16-2017 at 06:46.
I like my DG gaiters.
Never hiked in the desert but I loathe debris in my shoes.
Might be the way I shuffle but I always get stuff in my shoes.
My wife loves her DG gaiters, as most do, and I'm considering them for myself on our PCT quest here soon.... but, there must be some significantly different foot/ankle bone shoe seal geometry differences. So far, I only use gaiters in deep snow, for obvious reasons, but in regular trail conditions, I never seem to get rocks in my hiking shoes. Maybe one little pebble a week or so of continuous hiking.
But still, on the dusty PCT, seems like a good thing to wear, nice and light DG's, I agree, non-waterproof for maximum coolness.
Dirty girls
Stop and wash feet and socks every 10 miles if wearing mesh trail runners.
Never thought dirty girls were hot...wait..yes I have. But thats another story
Big change from AT where I can leave socks on for a week straight
Hah!
Their value may depend on if you wear long trousers, and if you're a sensitive little flower when you get something in your shoe.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
I am a big smelly rose! A small grain of sand feels like a boulder.
enemy of unnecessary but innovative trail invention gadgetry
The value of dirty girl gaiters depends not only how much crap you want to keep out of your shoes but how much crap you want to listen to..............
I have a pair that I wear depending on the situation, but I also have fairly thick skin
Not the flashy type myself.The value of dirty girl gaiters depends not only how much crap you want to keep out of your shoes but how much crap you want to listen to..............
I have a pair that I wear depending on the situation, but I also have fairly thick skin
DG's do come in a few mundane options.
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