Gaiters Wear Them Or Not?

[Brian]

Have been looking through the many photos I see many not wearing Gaiters whilsr not so many are either wearing the full knee high ones of those smaller ones that keep the mud etc out of ones boots.

Would like to hear from those who have undertaken the Trail and thier recomendations are in relation to gaiters?

Brian

[Mrs Moo]

Hi Brian

My daughter is in the army and her CO (who has walked the track) advised us to wear the short ones that keep the mud out of your boots only. I will be going with his advice, because living in the tropics as I do, I can tell you the knee-length ones would be really hot and sweaty in the humidity.

Cheers
Mrs Moo

[Boss Meri]

Whatever you choose I suggest you train in them. I purchased the longer ones and when I walked I found they ended up giving me a rash. After about day 4 I just wore my long trekking pants and disregarded them altogether. The rash took ages to go away and that area of my skin was tender for some time afterwards.

But hey, its what works for you. Like I said train in whatever you intend wearing as I didn't and paid the price.

In some areas there is long grass which is why I guess some people would choose the longer ones. I also found them tiresome to put back on not being used to doing this. Fortunately I had a personal porter who immediately knew how they were supposed to go on, but for the novice this was even tricky.

When the track is very muddy it does keep the mud from getting into your boots so still a must to have them.

As you can see in the photograph below, my friend Bev wore long gaitors and did not have any problems whatsoever and I heard no complaints from her.
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[justinpeters]

hi brian,

i completed the trek in november this year and i wore the longer gaiters and i would recommend them to everyone. I bought decent 'gore tex' quality gaiters and i did not find them that hot or uncomfortable to wear at all. (this trek is 80% mental and 20% physical, if you think that it is going to be a problem it will, i had no problems at all with the longer gaiters, infact I preferred them).

What i SAW when i was on the track was the short gaiters are poorly secured to the leg/boot (if at all) and i had the advantage of if there was an ankle high (or a bit higher) deep creek/river or sloshy thick swamp mud i could walk straight through without any problems or dirt mud water getting into my boots.

In my opinion the small amount of heat you may or maynot feel extra from longer gaiters are the least of your challenges. after a long wet day trust me you want the INSIDES of your boots and feet as dry as possible.

if you have any other questions regarding the trek i am happy to help

regards, jp
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[Wings]

Good Mornig,
I was a member of trek # 390 in October 2007.
I wore long gaitors – the gortex variety.
Other trekkers in our group wore short gaitors.
But
All of us wore gaitors of some variety.

None of us found them uncomfortable.
All of us agreed they were essential.

The amount of mud they kept off your legs and boots made them essential.
None of us suffered attacks from leeches, but we did see some trying to attack our gaitors.
The number of tree roots on the ground that were cleverly placed to trip you up mean that when you fall over you won't scrape your shins

In the evening we would wash our gaitors in the streams and the amount of mud that came off them was mind boggling.
In the morning we would start walking at about 6:30, so the gaitors usually hadn't dried out from the previous evening's wash and were still wet. Still they were not uncomfortable and were warm within two or three minutes walking.

My advice: buy them ( I recommend long ones), take them, wear them, wash them each night to keep the press studs from clogging up.

You won't regret having them. You probably will regret not having them.

Cheers

Wings

[Ricko]

Having attempted the track in mid November this year (the cyclone that hit PNG closed the track whilst we were on it) I wore short gaiters. I originally got some mid length ones, but found them to be a bit uncomfortable. The ones I got cost about $10 and just covered the socks and kept the mud out of the boot/socks. Even when I ran through some of the muddy parts of the track following some of the local kids. Others on our group had similar ones and they worked well.

[justinpeters]

Hey Ricko, i completed the trek in mid november this year.
Did u walk out of Kokoda on say the 11th of november or so?
I have a funny feeling you were in the group heading up to deniki/isurava on approx that date? If so We crossed each other on the long hot walk into kokoda (if you remember crossing a trekking group).

Thats funny, we all felt really sorry for u guys (as we were "seasoned trekkers") and your fun had just begun. We felt even more sorry once the storms came, we got stuck in Kokoda for an extra day or so then heard about the treks stuck on the track. Glad u guys got out ok.

jp

[jckresq]

I wore gaiters, short length variety. They did help keep mud and stones out of my boots. Suggest you practice before hand in them walking in hot conditions, and then practice taking them off and on with your boots a lot.

I am not convinced either way long or short as I only walked in short. I did not receive extra damage to my lower legs by not wearing them so not convinced long ones are needed.

[Waza]

Hi Brian

I hope you don't get too confused about what size gaiters to wear after reading all your helpful replies. No doubt all respondents had success with the gaiters they actually wore and all I suggest is that you perhaps thouroughly trial what you think you take yourself
My Brother, his Son and I all wore plastic ones (from ebay for $1) and they are as good today (nearly 3 years old) as they were on the Track. They are excellent to wash (dry in 5 minutes) and easy to put on and you just pull them up whilst you put your socks and shoes on and then pull them down back over the top of your shoes.
May I also suggest that you rub vaseline in between your toes and around your heals, I did and didn't have any feet/shoe problems.

Cheers

Waza (Trek 83)

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