Gaiter recommendations

[NicksMaint]

I have a pair of Outdoor Research gaiters that I have used over the years. They have provided excellent service during warm weather. This winter, I bought a pair of insulated pants and to my dismay, the gaiters will not velcro shut properly due to the extra pants material and my winter boots. Does anyone have a suggestion of what gaiter my offer extra room to accommodate the winter girth! TIA.

~NicksMaint

[lumberzac]

I can't help you, but if you find something please let me know because I have the same problem and have been hiking gaiterless for the past two winter seasons.

[AdkWiley]

I just picked up a pair of OR rocky mountian high gaiters. They fit well over my winter pants , which is great becuae my pants are a littel too long for me so they keep every thing together up in there. They are liek the crocs but lighter and the botton cuff is elastic so they fit to whatever boot your wearing. The botton instep strap is also liek the crocs with the buckle which is nice becasue i feel the elastic straps arnt as durrable. The uppers are gore-tex also which is a plus and have the velcro closure and a strap witha plasic locking buckle to cinch the top. Like I said I jsut got them durring the winter so have yet to try them in the summer but i think they wuld be fine for the warmer seasons also. I guess there are Rocky Mountian hihg Gaiter but are "Pack cloth" which seem to be different so make sure you check eveyrthing out. I picked mine up when I was visiting family Down in Albany at Adirondack Paddle and Pole. They had a wide selection in stock so I was able to see which ones would work best for me and my needs. hope this is of help!

[Slamdog]

I've got the EMS gore tex, velcro closure (about $45 I think) and I can fit them over my winter pants (which have minimal insulation). They seem to have plenty of room though. Good luck.

[fvrwld]

I had to buy a larger pair of gaiters to fit over my winter pants and boots. I think any kind will work, just in a larger size. There are gaiters that have a wider bottom to accomodate plastic mountaineering boots but these will probably be too wide for regular hiking boots.

I like my Mountain Hardwear Altitude Ventigators for winter because they are super crampon-proof. They are a bit overkill for the summer. Towards the end of last summer I ended up buying a pair of lower gaiters for summer use.

[Kevin]

My gaiter of choice (all seasons) is the Outdoor Design XCR-EME Gaiter (L). Fits fine over my large 13 boots and full gortex winter bib/pants.

http://www.greatoutdoorsdepot.com/od-x-creme-gaiter.html

http://www.outdoordesigns.co.uk/gait_xcreme.html

[JClimbs]

Get the OR Crocs...take your bulky pants with you and get the size that just fits onto those when the velcro strips are barely adequately mated.
OR's Crocs have a much wider velcro strip than the Rocky Mtn ones, so they adjust over a much wider range of clothing density. You can overlap the velcro by at least halfway for 'nothin' but thin pants, and you can underlap them by at least halfway for super-layered super-cold stuff.

[JClimbs]

BTW, Peregrine Outfitters used to make a Faux-Croc Gaiter, though I've only seen one, sitting in our shop. It's an XL, so if that is your sort of leg size it might do for you. There's only one there and its the only one I've ever seen... It too has a wide velcro strip on the front and is in fact a pretty good copy of the Croc (nope, no GoreTex tho!).

[NicksMaint]

Thanks everyone for the information. I ended up getting some gaiters from REI (Mountain Gaiters), as a friend had them and let me try them for fit before I actually purchased them. I think they were one of many suggestions that would have worked though. The sizing for the REI model is a little different in that it goes S/M or L/XL. I went with the L/XL and there is plenty of room to fit my insulated pants and Columbia Bugaboo boots that I am using for winter. My normal OR gaiters are M, so there is probably merit in the reply from fvrwld above.