gaiters: MLD lightest/best?

I don't know if the Superlight Gaiters are the lightest, but I have been really happy with my LightSnow Gaiters. They do a great job in the rain and my buddies always made fun of them, until we started postholing through some large patches of snow. I pair them with a ULA Rain Wrap to get full coverage. I really can't speak highly enough of the combo.

I use Integral Designs Shortie gaiters due to the reinforced instep patches because I'm rough on gater insteps. Comes at a slight weight penalty over the MLD at 2.5.oz. A bonus is that they come in green.

+1 on the ID Shortie. The reinforced instep area and the increased durability it provides in my opinion are worth the minor weight penalty.

I have used both. I would give the nod to the MLD in terms of design – better cinch and plastic toggle for attachment to the shoe. However, I have worn holes on the inside of the gaiters, precisely where ID has the additional durability patch. So for use on scree, etc, get the ID versions.

Does this happen to you shortie gaiter users??? I have a pair of MLD short gaiters (I'm sure the same will happen with all brands) and they slide down to my ankles leaving a lump of excess fabric that seems unnecessary. Sure if I really tighten them they stay up a little longer, but after time they slide down to the top of my ankle, becuase they only go as high as the lower calf. After that happens I need to retighten the upper string to prevent debris from getting in. I guess that's why we have those Dirty Girl gaiters? To me they'd seem better. I have no affiliation w/Dirty Girl gaiters.

HairlessApe wrote: "I guess that's why we have those Dirty Girl gaiters? To me they'd seem better. I have no affiliation w/Dirty Girl gaiters."

I love my dirty girl gaiters, but they're definitely not waterproof.

Yes John, that can happen, especially when going uphill. The only solution for me has been to not pull the gaiters up to max height to begin with. I leave a bit of slack in the gaiter and then cinch the top strap. The strap is then tightened around an area of less circumference on the leg and as well, the additional slack does not encourage as much 'movement' in the gaiter. I hope that I have explained that reasonably well.

If you want to go ultralight the first thing you should do is trash your boots and then get Dirty Girl gaitors or Simblissity.

"If you want to go ultralight the first thing you should do is trash your boots and then get Dirty Girl gaitors or Simblissity."

Yes, drop the boots. But no on the Dirty Girl gaitors. The OP wants waterproof for the rain.

Correct….Dirty Girls are not Waterproof. I just read that on their website. I thought I'd give them a try, but the site clearly states they have none that are waterproof.

Pick the right gaiter for the job.

I have the dirty girls, ID eVent, and an old pair of OR Verglas.

Pretty much I no longer use any of them except in snow. I do a lot of cross country dirt/desert hiking, and don't get that much debris in my shoes so the dirty girls are just extra weight for me. I do get a LOT of fine dust/dirt through the mesh of my shoes, and gaiters don't really help except keeping the extra dust/dirt out of the area that gets in below your ankle.

If it is wet, my trail runners are going to get wet anyway, so no benefit there either.

Snow is an exception. Sometimes the ID, other times the OR, depending on what kind of snow I expect to encounter. In snow, I have found Rocky GoreTex socks to be more valuable to me, but some kind of gaiter is beneficial too.

Keep in mind that all of this is based on using breathable trail runners, which is the norm for most of us; and a lot of us also use them in the snow too.

I use dirty girl gaiters all the time. To deal with snow, I sewed some loops into my softshell pants. Tie some shockcord through the loops: insta-gaiters.