When gaiters come to mind, I think of the ones that keep debris from getting down inside your boot. They only come down so far onto the boot itself. These go quite a step further than that. These are referred to as Supergaiters due to their over built design. They are common to mountaineering and are like over-boots in that they encase the entire boot. Their upper fabric is made from Gore-Tex, while the areas exposed to more scuffing and abuse are made of urethane-coated Ansotex, thus keeping the lower portion equally waterproof and resistant to wear. Sealing the gaiter to the boot is a tough, slightly stretchy gasket made of bullet-proof 5-10 stealth rubber. This is designed to mold into the boot's instep tread area, and around the heel and toe perimeter leaving the ball and heel of your tread exposed for grip.

From reading gear lists for mountaineering, (where supergaiters normally find themselves) a good design is one that is easy to put on and take off, and of course does its job of keep your boot dry, and if insulated, toasty warm. For climbing, they should not interfere with your crampons. Among the few brands I've seen suggested, The Wildline brand always showed up. I wanted to see how they performed both on a mountaineering boot as well as on hiking and backcountry ski boots. All these activities use gaiters to keep all things foul, away from your feet.

The way the rubber rand wraps under your boot tread's instep won't guarantee water from getting up into your boot. There are always little gaps due to the unique shape of the tread and the actual thickness of the heavy stealth-rubber. A tighter fitting rand may seal that in on some boots. I wasn't expecting these to keep me dry, walking around in shin-deep puddles and brooks. I just want to be stay dry when walking on wet trails and soggy underbrush. With the right type of boots, these super gaiters did just that.

I used these gaiters on backcountry ski boots, hiking boots and my stiff-soled mountaineering boots, and found the results ranged form positive to mixed. This isn't a negative about the gaiter, more than it is a point about trying to use a product for an unintended purpose. The Stealth rand of the gaiter, if it doesn't fit properly, or if the toe box flexes too much, will slip off the nose of the boot. This was the case for my Karhu backcountry boots (which had no real nose due to the binding system) and on a pair of new Waffle Stompers, where they seemed a slight bit loose-fitting. On an older model of Waffle Stomper, I used them to go on a wet hike in Strathgartney Park, and the gaiters fit and functioned beautifully. I had dry boots and dry, happy feet! Finally, I tried them on my Asolo mountaineering / ice climbing boots. These have stiff soles, with notches for automatic crampons. Again, the gaiters went on easily, and the gaiter's rand stretched snuggly around the boot's perimeter for a good, solid fit. With those boots, I hiked in the Brookvale area with plenty of corn-snow on the trails. The rands stayed put, and the boots stayed dry. I fitted my crampons to these boots for another occasion, with the gaiters in place, and the heel and toe bails adapted to the stealth rubber without problem. (A length adjustment was needed for the slight increase in size)

After using the gaiters in all sorts of conditions, I think the Wildline gaiters are a great product, though a little pricy. ($118 un-insulated, $140 w/ Thinsolate) Goretex is a nice feature, and the Ansotex bottoms are like a really tough Cordura material. That means that these should last a long time. Also, the Stealth rands are replaceable. Though these are more a specialty-mountaineering product than a hiking or skiing product, I'd pack them along as part of my rain or snowshoeing gear on a backcountry outing any day.

Be careful when you purchase them by size. They're sized according to boot perimeter, so measure your boot(s) and go a slightly smaller size than your measurement. The rand stretch is forgiving, and the more the stretch, I think the better they'll grip your boot, possibly fixing the toe slippage problems I encountered on some boots.

Given the gaiter's expensive price, I give these 4.5 stars out of 5.

Shannon Burt
East Coast Editor