I love my low gaiters but I don't love replacing the instep string/strap every 100 miles. I recall someone saying that they put the string around the heel of the shoe, but has anyone found other answers?

What about a more durable material? Wire? Heavy fishing line?

Try using bungee cord for the string, but thread it through heavy plastic electrical sleeving or even heavy heatshrink tubing. This usually works wonders.

If you have an eyelet each side, just feed the bungee cord through from the inside and tie a large knot on the outside. This lets the edge of the gaiter get close to the ground.

Cheers

You could always hand-stitch Velcro to the shoes (loop) and gaiters (hook). It's perfect for stretch gaiters. For best results use a full 1" or 1.5" width, at least 3" long on each side.

I haven't tried this, but I remember reading somewhere about adventure racers who would drill a horizontal hole through the sole (or maybe midsole) of the shoe. Thread the gaiter strap though the hole and the outer sole of the shoe protects it.

Cheers,

-Mike

Merrell has just come out with a new shoe called the "Overdrive" that has an intigrated gaiter that works exactly the way that Mike describes.

http://www.onlineshoes.com/search_results.asp?gen=w&searchstring=Merrell+Overdrive&adtrack=gaw&term=Merrell+Overdrive

Roy

I had an instep strap give out while I was hiking. Before I could replace it I noticed that the gaiters worked just as well without it. Since then I have continued to use these gaiters with no instep strap.

I cannot recommend doing without the strap in all cases, but suggest you try it with your own gaiters.

Wire worke really well, most people here just use light/medium galvinised wire that is just left attached to both sides of the gaiter. If you use a lost of different shoes with the same gaiters then it is a nuisence as length adjustment is difficult.

Clever ideas all around. I also enjoy that most of these solutions would probably solve my other gaiter-related pet peeve; the nylon accessory cord I have been using accumulates so much snow and ice that I have avoided using my lows altogether in the winter.

There's an old pair of trail runners in my closet that will go on the chopping block shortly to test the "drill and thread" solution.

I looked at the Merrell site and some others. I didn't see listings for a giater it go with the shoe, but they did mention the small d-ring at the toe end of the laces and the slot in the sole for the gaiter strap to go though. Simple and good.

It's a little frustrating that the manufacturer's do the job of designing the stuff, but the retailers don't include the gaiters.

"What about a more durable material? Wire? Heavy fishing line?"

Ding! How about weed-eater line? I wonder if a toggle would hold on it.

Wire, spectra cord, it doesn't matter. All the instep strap replacements will wear out over time. Usually the gaiter explodes during use at the more inopportune moments.

I like the results of my experiments drilling holes through the midsole, but the straps still fail via abrasion when in rough terrain.

So now, I use stretch gaiters, usually OR Flex Tex (most durable of the lot that I've found) and stitch them directly to the upper of the shoe, leaving the velcro front and front tab free to do their thing.

There is a cottage company who makes a gaiter that does not have instep cords. I will have to track down the name and website.

Found it....

http://simblissity.net/levagaiter.htm

Edited by jshann on 06/02/2006 07:56:31 MDT.

Dirtygirl gaiters velcro on - great colors, too.
http://dirtygirlgaiters.com/

The only other options are to stitch the gaiters permanently to your shoes or use a twist of bobwar (that's barbed wire - which is what we fix everything with down here).

Edited by vickrhines on 06/02/2006 08:16:28 MDT.

Ah thought you Tex-ans would jes nail 'em on :)

We have a Microsoft gaiter due out here in Seattle, but it won't be out until the end of Summer.... no.... Fall, oh heck, next Spring. It had some secuirty issues.....

"Ah thought you Tex-ans would jes nail 'em on."

Only when we go barefoot.

One DIY possibility doesn't use nails, but pins. Poke a ball-ended pin into the shoe's EVA outsole, horizontally in the heel area. Punch a small grommet through the gaiter in the same area. The pin & grommet will prevent the gaiter from sliding up the shoe, provided the gaiter is tensioned forward using a lace hook. Carry some backup pins on the trail.