"I like the integrated gaiter, even trudging through deep volcanic scree on the Mono Craters it kept most stuff out of my shoe. It does prevent you from wearing your own gaiters though since the laces are covered."
I have CrossLeathers. I like the covering over the laces as it does a good job of minimizing stuff sifting into the shoe. However, gaiters are still Required for all of my hiking. The covers over the laces make attaching gaiters a only little harder –
I drilled holes, stuffed in some stout thread, pulled the thread loop out to the heel, captured my "gaiter loop cord", and pulled the end back through the hole. I then repeated that with the other hole and tied the ends into a small loop(I used a Fisherman's Knot).
