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How To: Make a GaiterNeed gaiters but left yours at home? Here's a simple trick for putting together a makeshift replacement in no time.
1: Untie your boots down to this point--at the break between foot and ankle.
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READERS COMMENTS
Page 1
I tried this, and it did not work so well for me. My pants are definitely long enough. I could not keep the lace around the top of my boot. It kept sliding up around my ankle and my sock. Trapping snow between my pants and socks. Bummer. The snow was 1-4ft in some places. Next weekend went and got some REI Desert Gators. They worked great, here in So Cal, its all you really need. Thanks for the idea though.
— Post Holer.
looks like a great way to ruin the cuffs of your pants.
— right
Fail. Anyone who's grown up in snow country knows that this idea is unlikely to work well since it won't be well attached to the boot. The point of gaiters in the first place is to wrap and seal the gap between pantleg and boot to keep snow/scree/dust etc. from working its way in as you move your feet and ankles. Tightening the pantleg, as with a shoelace, only helps if you're wearing bell bottoms...and thankfully, nobody does.
— Scott
The makeshift gaiters slideshow gave me an idea, Ok for some homemade snakeproof gaiters, one could use those flexible plastic thin cutting boards that one uses in the kitchen, either by themselves, or I am thinking of attatcing them. sewing or gluing them in to an old pair of military gaiters.
— Douglas Freeman
This for some reason gave me the idea of how to snake proof my used military wwII era gaiters. I am gonna try to sew or glue, one of those thin flexible plastic cutting boards that i use in my kitchen, into each gaiter. yea thats the ticket. it should work!
— Douglas Freeman
Nice thought, but I can't imagine having my boot laces so long that I could fully encompass my ankle and still have length to tie them. They would be far too long normally and would be snagging or uncomfortably tucked down into my boots.
— Chris
Hey Guys,
Thanks for your comments. This trick worked superbly for me when I left my gaiters in my duffel bag during this trip in Switzerland. We weren't expecting snow over this particular pass, so I left them in my bag down low. I don't recommend using this as a replacement for gaiters in general, but trust me, it can work like a charm in an emergency, temporary situation, provided that you have the boots and pants that will allow you to rig it properly, as shown in the slideshow.
— kristin, gear editor
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