Gaiters at a glance
- Low trail gaiters
- Roughly 1 to 2 oz
- Tall gaiters
- Roughly 6 to 12 oz
- Wear point
- The underfoot strap
Two very different products
Low trail gaiters are a few grams of stretch fabric that bridge the gap between your sock and the shoe collar. They exist for one job: stopping scree, sand and trail grit dropping in. Anyone who has emptied their shoes four times crossing a talus field understands the appeal immediately, and they weigh almost nothing.
Tall gaiters are a different item entirely. They run to just below the knee, usually in a waterproof or heavily coated fabric with an underfoot strap, and they seal your trousers to your boots against deep snow, sustained rain and soaking brush. They are warm, they are not light, and they are worth every gram in the conditions they were bought for.
How they attach, and why it fails
Low gaiters usually hook to the laces at the front and to a small adhesive patch or a hook on the heel of the shoe. The heel attachment is the part that fails: adhesive patches lift after enough wet mileage, and a gaiter flapping loose at the back does nothing at all. Shoes sold with a moulded gaiter attachment point solve this properly.
Tall gaiters use an underfoot strap or cord, which is the wear point. Anything running under a boot is being ground into the trail with every step, and a cord will part on rock in a season. A replaceable strap is worth looking for.
What this means when you're choosing
- A moulded heel attachment on the shoe rather than an adhesive patch, if you can get one
- A replaceable underfoot strap on tall gaiters, since that is what wears through
- Breathable fabric on trail gaiters, which sit against a shoe that is already warm
- Full-length side zips or wraps on tall gaiters, so they go on over boots you are wearing
The common mistake
Buying tall waterproof gaiters for dry trail
The two types solve different problems. A tall waterproof gaiter on a dry summer talus crossing is hot, heavy and no better at keeping grit out than a twenty gram stretch sleeve. Match the gaiter to the thing you are actually trying to keep out.
Common questions
Do I need gaiters for hiking?
Not usually on maintained trail in dry weather. They earn their place on scree and sand, where low gaiters stop you emptying your shoes constantly, and in snow or soaking brush, where tall ones keep your legs and feet dry.
Do gaiters make waterproof boots more waterproof?
They stop water going in over the collar, which is how most people actually get wet feet in a boot that is technically waterproof. So yes, in the way that matters, though the boot itself is unchanged.