Hiking with Leg Gaiters

[Ramem7mm]

So I have some questions on leg gaiters and how people are dealing with the heat/ sweat build up from wearing gaiters. Early spring I was in Texas and wore gaiters for protection. Temps were in upper 60's/ 70's and my legs were soaked from the sweat after long hikes. I have not wore them in the cold yet where I had to walk a lot and but I was wondering when people wear them when its cold the heat build up is still going to cause sweat and moisture buildup which is going to suck for trying to stay dry in the winter.

What are people doing to help combat this? or just another thing to deal with?

 

[bigbassfish]

I don't really notice the moisture buildup as much when its cold out. If i can get away with it, I'll unvelcro the tops and get some airflow going just about any chance i get.

 

[Trimbandit]

I wear them on most all my cold hunts. The keep the snow out. I have never noticed any extra sweating. For reference I sweat very easily.
I have Peax and Kings gaiters. Both have been great.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

This time of year in AZ, when rucking or moving and setting targets I always have my snake gaitors on. There is no way around your calves getting a bit sweaty. Embrace the suck and rock on. And then when you get back to the shooting spot or back to the vehicle, it’s like heaven taking them off haha.

 

[Ramem7mm]

This time of year in AZ, when rucking or moving and setting targets I always have my snake gaitors on. There is no way around your calves getting a bit sweaty. Embrace the suck and rock on. And then when you get back to the shooting spot or back to the vehicle, it’s like heaven taking them off haha.

Ya I can understand what you mean. I was just thinking about it the other day where there is lots of discussion about moisture management etc but I just don’t recall much about dealing with gaiters so I figured to reach out and see what the consensus is.

 

[7mm-08]

I wear Outdoor Research Crocodile gaiters wolf hunting every week from December through April. My legs may sweat from time to time, which i have no memory of, but I rarely notice it because the benefit of keeping snow out of your boots and preventing the potential moisture wicking up your pant legs is far more beneficial. No way I'm hiking those kinds of miles in the same gaiters I hunt with in the snow in 60 or 70 degree temperatures. Use short, lightweight gaiters for that application. If you need protection from stickers or snakes, you may just have to suck it up and deal with the overheating issue.

 

[Marble]

I only wear them when it's really wet or when there is snow. I haven't needed them for dry weather.

Wearing them in those conditions has never caused me to have heat or moisture build up.

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[Macintosh]

Caveat, Ive worn short gaiters in extremely sandy/gritty conditions to keep stuff out of my boots, but never worn full snow gaiters in truly hot weather.
For early summer mountaineering Ive kept them in my pack until we got high enough where we were into conditions where they were helpful. Sometimes on a glacier I’ll leave the tops open so they breathe better, too. They sag this way, so thats not a perfect solution, but it can help when its warm and you arent sinking so deep that you are up to your knees—might help in your situation.

To me, gaiters are always a negative—weight, barrier to breatheability, etc. I only wear them when the alternative is worse, IE if I get a little wetter inside, I still stay drier than I would if I was postholing in snow and soaking my socks, etc. On balance they should be better than when not wearing them, but there is a cost.
Also, you may have a particularly un-breatheable gaiter. There are gaiters out there that are higher, lower, more or less breatheable, etc. All tradeoffs, but depending on what youre doing and what gaiters you have it could be worth considering if the ones you have are the most appropriate for that use.

 

[camping1601]

I only wear them when there's snow or wet conditions and have never had sweat. I do take them off as soon as conditions allow.

 

[Poser]

Gaiters are great when you need them. If conditions don't warrant them, they are in my pack. I've hauled them around unused more than I've actually worn them, but when it gets wet, they become critical to have.

 

[butcherboy]

I wear mine a lot in dry warmer conditions. Never had any sweat issues during archery elk or spring turkey season. I’ll wear them in the summer as well. It’s nice to keep the dirt, stickers and cactus needles out of my boots and lower pants. I use Stone Glacier and T&K hunting gaiters.

 

[RandalH]

Opinions on best breathable gaiter?

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Opinions on best breathable gaiter?

Kuiu scree gaiters are the best warm weather gaiters I've found. I wear them pretty much always unless beefier gaiters are needed. Unfortunately, it seems anything good and uniquely kuiu is being discontinued as of late (scree gaiters, peloton 97 zip offs)

To the OP, wearing a lightweight lower base layer will help. They will absorb and evaporate some of the sweat before it drips down into your socks/boots. I don't find it a problem in winter though, really just with snake gaiters as mx said.

 

[roosiebull]

Never thought much of it, I wear short gaiters in warm weather and kutanas if it’s damp, and Yukon or peaks in wet weather and never thought about extra sweat, I’m either not very observant or it’s not a thing for me. I almost always wear some kind of gaiters though

 

[Ramem7mm]

Lots of good info. I will take some advice and adapt on how the situations come.

 

[5MilesBack]

I wear mine a lot in dry warmer conditions. Never had any sweat issues during archery elk

Ditto. I don't even notice it. But the rest of my body sweats like there's no tomorrow on an elk hunt. I'll have sweat dripping (or pouring) off the bill of my baseball caps most days.

 

[grfox92]

I only wear them in warm weather if I know I have alot of creek crossings where im going. Once I get through the deep ones I take them off.

I hunted archery elk in trail runners last season and wore them all day to avoid rocks getting on my shoes and it was honestly fine.

I think if I was wearing my big heavy Kenetreks I would be dead on the mountain with sweat spilling out if my boots.

Regardless my OR Croc gaitors live in the hydration bladder part of my Exo K4 all the time there is just too much water in most places I hunt.

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