Walking Forum
Main Boards => Gear => Topic started by: AFANASIEW on 10:10:49, 13/05/19
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I have a pair of Rab gaiters but, if you're going to wear them under waterproof trousers anyway, why not save weight by using mid- or ankle gaiters? Any recommendations?
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I bought a pair once, for me useless! I found this out the very first time I walked through wet grass, the area from the top of my short gaiters to my knees was wet through. I now secure them around my knees to make my normal length Rab gaiters that bit longer. I've only used them twice in this way, on the Glyndwr's Way when a field of wet grass was very long and when I had to walk through a large patch of wet sweetcorn plants.
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I bought a pair once... I now secure them around my knees to make my normal length Rab gaiters that bit longer.
Hmmm - my aim is to lighten my load, not to take two pairs! But it's a valid point - I reckon I've used gaiters in long grass on at least half the number of times I've worn them, i.e. not just for rain.
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If you are walking in boots then the end your waterproof trousers should be below the tops of your boots rendering your gaiters largely redundant except in mud. I wear gaiters far more often than waterproof trousers to: keep my trousers clean in mud, to keep my trousers dry in wet vegetation, to protect my legs from spiky vegetation, to defeat ticks. Long gaiters are far more effective than short gaiters which are really only good at temporarily converting shoes into boots.
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I wear gaiters far more often than waterproof trousers...
Ever wear them with shorts? My preferred attire.
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Ever wear them with shorts? My preferred attire.
I never wear shorts - nettles, gorse, thorns, ticks and, very rarely, sunburn. The arguments advanced for long gaiters still apply though as the hazards listed decrease with height.
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....................The arguments advanced for long gaiters still apply though as the hazards listed decrease with height.
Ahhh, advantage in being tall eh ? ;D
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I have a pair of Rab gaiters but, if you're going to wear them under waterproof trousers anyway, why not save weight by using mid- or ankle gaiters? Any recommendations?
Puttees.
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Puttees.
Presumably that'd be for steampunk hiking.
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Yes, and also trips to the Khyber Pass.
Actually, I wore puttees for the first five years of my army service and found them to be ideal for keeping water and nasties out of the boots. You could vary the ankle support by tightening or loosening too. We got issued more modern footwear for NI and after the Falklands you never saw puttees much.
Tying them properly and neatly was an art that some never mastered, subalterns fresh from Sandhurst being some of the more memorable.
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Yes, and also trips to the Khyber Pass.
They don't like it up 'em!
Still wear them? Tbh, you're not doing a good job of selling the idea so far. I can barely be a*sed to put gaiters on at the best of times.
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Actually, I wore puttees for the first five years of my army service and found them to be ideal for keeping water and nasties out of the boots. You could vary the ankle support by tightening or loosening too. We got issued more modern footwear for NI and after the Falklands you never saw puttees much.
Tying them properly and neatly was an art that some never mastered, subalterns fresh from Sandhurst being some of the more memorable.
I always assume puttees to be the longer 'bandage' type of strapping that you see in WWI photos. I thought that by WWII the army had dropped them in favour of the webbing type of gaiter that had small buckle fastenings.
Not that you were in either conflict Pitboot O0
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I wore puttees with my DMS boots in RAF Germany until at least 1990. People kept telling me to change my boots for the new pattern but my old boots were like carpet slippers so I stayed with them until the MOD finally developed a wearable alternative that did not cripple you. Since most of the time I was in combats I was also in an NBC suit nobody could tell anyway. My puttees were virtually self tying by the end.
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We had the short version which were strips of tightly woven wool about a yard long by five inches wide, with a cotton strap at the end. You put them on by starting at the flat end winding them at the top of the boot, from the inside of the leg to the outside, that's clockwise/anti clockwise depending on leg. The cotton end strap was wrapped neatly around the centre of the puttee and finished off by tucking it in on itself in a smart and regimental manner.
The trousers were then bloused over the top of the puttee. I could put mine on in a minute.
The average length gave you about four or five layers of flexible wool.
There were various colours, ours were khaki, tankies had black, LI and Ghurkas dark green, there was also a sand colour.
You will see early years photos in NI with the troops wearing short puttees, they gave way to specially acquired high leg black boots in around 1977/8, these were for street duty only, but us old sweats wore them if we could get hold of them.
I would not have them back, but they were better than the canvas webbing gaiters I had issued in training in 1973, mine were dated 1944! We had to black them and bull them so they were shiny, a complete waste of time and a b*ll ache, but that was the whole point.
We envied our American colleagues with their high black boots, but when I found out how much work they were forced to put in to make them shiny I was glad we had boots, DMS.
It was the Falklands conflict that finished off DMS boots and puttees, there were too many cases of trenchfoot, and the MOD had to dig deep to find better footwear for the troops. The Altbergs and other stuff that is issued today is a far cry from what we were issued, but at the time we knew no better and had to make do and get on with the job.
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While we're on the subject, I've never understood the point of gaiters with regard to wet. If it's raining or I'm walking through wet vegetation I put my waterproof trousers on. The only gaiters I get the point of are the very light, non-waterproof ankle gaiters which fell runners wear to keep stones out of their shoes. I wear shorts a lot of the time so this makes sense to me. What am I missing?
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Puttees were good against snakes too - I never got bitten once. In fact, they were so good I never even saw one while I was wearing them. Mind you - it could have been the blast proof doors helped a bit.
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That is a blast from the past, puttees that is ;D
Had forgotten all about them.
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While we're on the subject, I've never understood the point of gaiters with regard to wet. If it's raining or I'm walking through wet vegetation I put my waterproof trousers on. The only gaiters I get the point of are the very light, non-waterproof ankle gaiters which fell runners wear to keep stones out of their shoes. I wear shorts a lot of the time so this makes sense to me. What am I missing?
I wear gaiters if it's likely to be wet or muddy because they prevent water and mud getting into my boots over the top. I'm not confident that waterproof trousers would be as effective in that respect.
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While we're on the subject, I've never understood the point of gaiters with regard to wet. If it's raining or I'm walking through wet vegetation I put my waterproof trousers on. The only gaiters I get the point of are the very light, non-waterproof ankle gaiters which fell runners wear to keep stones out of their shoes. I wear shorts a lot of the time so this makes sense to me. What am I missing?
Snow down the top of your boots is what you will get if your gaiters are missing, Dave. :)
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Snow down the top of your boots is what you will get if your gaiters are missing, Dave. :)
Whereas in summertime... I might well follow Dave's example and use waterproof trousers instead of gaiters for wet grass.
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Snow down the top of your boots is what you will get if your gaiters are missing, Dave. :)
I've never had a problem with that. Except in the most minor way when walking through very deep but slightly wet snow for a long time. I can see the point of them in that case. What does perplex me though is seeing sunday ramblers walking along pretty good paths in summer with gaiters on and big heavy boots which look about 20 years old.
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I was doing a 26 mile training walk Saturday when I came across a Howard and Hilda couple wearing the works, including gaiters and waterproof jackets, not to mention the de rigeur poles - on a perfectly dry day. Got the kit, might as well show it off!
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I was doing a 26 mile training walk Saturday when I came across a Howard and Hilda couple wearing the works, including gaiters and waterproof jackets, not to mention the de rigeur poles - on a perfectly dry day. Got the kit, might as well show it off!
Are more charitable soul might think that H & H were experienced walkers who had not long set off and were feeling the cold and knew that their route would need gaiters.
If I know I am likely to need gaiters I often put them on beforehand. I can do it in more comfort and before my boots get mucky. I also walk with the de rigeur poles, I prefer them, doesn’t make me a bad person. Mrs N does not run as hot as me and often wears her jacket when I am already down to my base layer top.
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What does perplex me though is seeing sunday ramblers walking along pretty good paths in summer with gaiters on and big heavy boots which look about 20 years old.
Why should we not wear gaiters on Sundays?
How often do we have to change perfectly comfortable boots.?
When we do purchase to meet regulation age what weight do they have to be?
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Why should we not wear gaiters on Sundays?
How often do we have to change perfectly comfortable boots.?
When we do purchase to meet regulation age what weight do they have to be?
1. Wear them if you want to. I reserve the right to be perplexed.
2. When they're worn out. If they aren't worn out in 20 years, then you can't be wearing them much.
3. I don't understand this question.
Point is: big heavy (therefore sweaty) boots on a fine warm day, when strolling along a metalled path in a country park, strikes me as odd. To me it looks like the wearer has put on their walking uniform with no regard to whether it's suitable. But to each their own...
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Dave, I've only got one pair of boots that have to do for everything all the year round. Sometimes you will see me wearing my big leather boots (they're big because my feet are big, wouldn't fit otherwise) on a metalled path - but you may not see me when I turn off it and head off across country. Of course I could carry a change of footwear.................
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All my shoes and boots are big and wide, whether they are made of leather or not. If they weren’t this way, it would be very painful for me.