The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

LuckyLuca wrote:

Loop Erimder wrote:I'm sure they'll be snapped up quick


Aldigaiters ...........

I'll get your coat!

Already had it on

Barbour Gaiters for last Christmas as a pressie from Mrs Barbulus..gaiters are very nice...very effective.....very dry in heavy dew and allows me to wear walking boots - comfortable. A bit of a pain to get gaiters on and off but lightweight and certainly keep the old trousers dry in a morning dew and long grass. Having said that...Barbours are about £ 34 which I think seems a bit pricey and as you can get Hunter wellies at a great deal at present and they are also actually pretty comfortable for walking as well given tailoring etc....I am not so sure I would fork out the £ 34 for gaitors although they are a welcome gift....the Aldi deal seems to good to be true so snap them all up !!

If possible, I prefer lightweight Converse Army walking boots for Summer and mid calf height Converse Army walking boots for Winter.....personal choice of course....waders for wading......and sometimes Hunters if really really muddy.....otherwise it is boots and maybe gaitors for a heavy dew morning....

regards

Barbulus

I've had a reasonable amount of experience of gaiters over the years. The original style which zipped up the back, had a strap under the sole which went under the heel shank and a lace or elastic around the top worked reasonably well, but it does depend to a degree on the style of the boot. The little clip at the front which clips on the laces works better with a boot where the toe piece is small and the lacing extends right down. My Matterhorn boots are good for this. Normal style boots where the lacing only goes as far as the bridge of the foot, they work not so well. The strap under the sole can be an issue too. They can be leather, nylon or wire. The first two are ok if the boot has a heel and they fit into the shank area snugly. If however you have a wedge sole ( like the Matterhorns for instance) the strap feels uncomfortable and will wear quickly. Wire I'm not keen on as it can wear into the sole of a boot costing hundreds of pound - not good.
I used to do reviews for an online angling review site and used to get gear sent regularly to test and report on. I was given a set of gaiters to wear and review. On putting them on all seemed good - green goretex type materiel= good, Velcro up backs=good, nice easy draw string with toggle at top= good! wire on bottom=hmmmmm. On closer inspection the wire could not be tightened up suffiently and try as I might I couldn't get them to work. It was a design flaw. It was like walking around with two loose rabbit snares attached to your feet. I alerted the tackle company which supplied them and to say they were alarmed would be an understatement. The didn't make them, just imported them, stuck their logo on and sold them on. Apparently there was a couple of containers full negotiating the South China seas at that moment, UK bound. So watch out for cheap green goretex gaiters with the logo's removed at car boot sales

The berghaus style ones which have a rubber tight fitting welt around them work to a degree but tend to pop up at the front leaving the toe exposed. In the army we resorted to putting rubber glue on the tip of the sole at the front of the boot in an attempt to keep it in place.

There are some designs out there which function by a rib around the bottom of the gaiter engaging in a receiving indented welt on the boot sole, but they can only be used with a specific boot and the cost of both the boots and gaiter can be eye watering.

Hope this helps

Having watched many people struggle with gaiters at the start of a days shooting and even more at the end of the day, they are not for me. I've fallen into shallow water a few times lately and the water has never entered my boots, they are laced up tightly. I never wear wellies.

On the farm my granddad always referred to Wellies as 'ankle breakers' and on sloppy banks they certainly can be. I agree they can be a bit of a pain to put on but walking into the house with mud caked trousers gets me told off so its worth the effort.

I wear gaiters when shooting in the frosty weather when the mud has mostly frozen solid. My walking boots are warmer than wellies (although my new top of the range wellingtons are wonderfully warm) and trecking over frozen broken ground is safer with some ankle support. I don't like the scratchy sound of nylon and many other synthetic fabrics so now I'm saving up for some buffalo hide ones. For me, the big advantage of gaiters apart from keeping trouser bottoms clean and dry, is the protection they afford from walking through brambles and other low undergrowth were thorns and other nasty things may scratch and bite!

Troutbeck

Hang on a minute...I have a pair of WW1 artilleryman's leather gaiters still in a packing case after the move to France. Now THAT's traditional! Must sort them out.

on that german auction place you can find gaiters (Gamaschen in german) from the swiss army,
canvas or very traditional in leather (5 to 7 €)