Velcro Gaiters

I've got some nice hiking gaiters, but they are a bit tight over my boots, so was thinking of getting the next size up.  The tightness makes it a chore trying to zip them up.

So whilst looking for some new gaiters, I noticed that outdoor research make some spiffy velcro ones, that basically mean I can take them on and off quicker as well. 

Although my current gaiters have a velcro bit to hide the zip, its only thin when compared with the outdoor research one, and wont hold the gaiter in place.

So my question is, does anyone have experience / preferences over zip or velcro on their gaiters, and does anyone other than outdoors research make such a wondrous thing?

Mountain Hardwear do (or at least did) them: the Ventigaiter.  They close up the front with Velcro, and I find them much better than zips.  Less of a faff on and off, easier to adjust high lacing (or in my case ski boot clips) and no real downsides (I guess it'd possibly need replacing before a decent zip???).

Ventigaiters have (as the name suggests) a vent for those hot days if you don't want to take them off, and they're also available in a range of sizes.

Pete.

Snap!

Pete's right - they're a fab piece of gear. Be very annoyed if they are no longer made

Some Rab gaiters have a velcro fastening.

Rab Latok

It works well and should allow you to make your gaiters fit well which hopefully makes you less likely to catch them with crampons.

For a colourful gaitor take a look at dirtygirlgaiters.com in the US- really for keeping stones out not water.  Wear them if you can take the comments. I will be wearing a pair this year.

Add gaiter(sic) quickly when typing or who knows what you will get!

SD wrote (see)

For a colourful gaitor take a look at dirtygirlgaiters.com in the US- really for keeping stones out not water.  Wear them if you can take the comments. I will be wearing a pair this year.

Add gaiter(sic) quickly when typing or who knows what you will get!

 hadn't seen sight nor sound of those gaiters - so I emailed the company I bought them from yesterday and received... no answer!  So I phoned them up today and they said I wont be getting them as OR wont be shipping until April.  So I asked them to cancel the order.

No apology for not contacting me to let me know, although they did say there were "just about to email me"

The company in question was FTMC.co.uk, don't know if anyone else has any dealings with them.  Are they generally ok?

They did say that they haven't taken anything from my card as that isn't done until they dispatch the goods.... but I would rather they just didn't advertise stock they don't have.

Along the lines of the Dirty Girls, I have a pair of OR Spandex ankle gaiters, with a velcro fastening front (an earlier version of this, I think), which I rather like for XC skiing, and for keeping rubbish out of my shoes when walking - a lot of the time, it's too hot for knee length gaiters.

In wetter conditions, I wear proper gaiters, and my wee son wears these quite happily.

There is no point at all in a zip on gaiters. They add weight, add bulk, break, increase the getting on/off time (ooeer) by ten times, and provide no benefits.

Berghaus make the best gaiters on the market. They are their basic XCR gaiters. They are zipless, fit over plastics and mountaineering boots, are completely bombproof, waterproof (I've waded with them on for eight hours up to the shin and didn't get wet) and cost about £20 less than the rivals. Ones like the OR Crocs are pretty cool but they weigh loads and cost far too much for something that is designed to be kicked, trodden on and stabbed with crampons.

Or another view (don't know date of review):

"From TGO:

The Berghaus GTX gaiter ought to be a bog-standard gaiter suitable for all, but a couple of elements put me off. First, without a zip to support it, the 2.5-inch velcro-style front fastening tends to gape slightly when your leg and foot flex, and snow clumps on the hook and loop. This is true of most Velcro-only front fastening gaiters. Second, the underfoot strap is adjusted from inside the gaiter. It keeps each strap from flapping and catching on crampons but it means you have to fully open the gaiter to make adjustments. Adjustment is also by Velco-style strip, and those strips are already starting to clog with mud. The Berghaus GTX Gaiter is split into a waterproof/breathable XCR Stretch calf/shin section and an area of tougher fabric around the boot for abrasion protection. That XCR extends down behind the ankle where abrasion protection is unnecessary thus improving breathability; I've experienced no condensation problems."