Soo, I'm sure that the question as to what gaiters to buy has been thrown up many times and answered many times.. but I cant find any articles here on them so I'll ask again. With winter approaching it's decent timing at least.

I've got some DG gaiters for my trail runners for 3-season use. But I'm looking for a winter pair of high water proof gaiters for snow as well as off trail 4 season use. Durability is important.

I'm considering the OR verglas and the cascadia. From what I've been told, the verglas material will be more durable (3 - layer 50D ripstop ventia with a 500D cordura boot section). as opposed to the cascadia that has a 2-layer 70D gortex paclite leg and 8 oz packcloth boot section, which if I remember correctly is comparable to 430D?

Anyways - I'm just looking for a good, waterproof gaiter that will be able to handle a good bit of abrasion.

Anyone have any suggestions or experiences? Thanks for any input.

Johnny Duke

All those gaiters are heavy

You might want to try DG gaiters and they may work okay

Depends on the snow

Hi Johnny,

I've got a pair of Verglas gaiters that I bought at REI while cramped for time before a Patagonia trip a few years back. I would have researched and bought lighter gaiters if I'd had the time, but needed a pair ASAP. As it turns out, I liked them quite a bit. Paired with a pair of Garmont Eclipse GTX low tops and Marmot Precips, I put them through a full day of post-holing in chest deep snow with running water beneath and stayed perfectly dry. I've since repurposed them for ice climbing, and they've served me equally well in that capacity (though the uppers have needed repair a few times from careless crampon attacks).

As a winter hiking/climbing gaiter I'd consider them if you'll be using crampons. If you don't anticipate a lot of crampon usage I'd probably try to find something lighter and more compact. The abrasion resistance on the lower parts is overkill for what you'll encounter on the trail.

Hope this helps,
Emmett

I don't do a lot of snow hiking, but the Verglas has worked well for me. A pair is under 8 ounces, they are tall and keep stuff out. Have to make sure you get the velcro matched up. Plus they can be bought fairly inexpensive.

Last year I did several hikes with the Verglas, Salomon XA Pro 3D (went up one size), silk liner socks, GoreTex socks, wool socks, Kahtoola aluminum crampons/MSR Ascent snowshoes, and Schoeller fabric pants. It was a great combination for me.

Winter is the only time I use gaiters anymore, except occasionally I use a pair of DG's.

My wife and I have the OR Cascadia gaiters and use them for X-country skiing and for snowshoeing and also with Kahtoola Micro-spikes.

We are very happy with them. My only comment would be to size DOWN one size from the recommended OR chart. I think they assume you are using plastic mountaineering boots.

Ok thanks for the insight.I've got some DGs for trail use. I would be using these off trail and for cold wet (ie snow) conditions. What do you guys recommend for gaiters that are more compact and lighter? The ORs weigh in at 7 and change for the verglas and 6 and change for the cascadia.

The Cascadias sound like the ticket for your needs (again, assuming no crampon use). You might also check out the OR Rocky Mountain gaiters. They're a little lighter and come in both high and low versions depending on what you expect to encounter.