TL;DR - Everyone should hike in a pair of these gaiters.
I do a lot of walking, but somehow, I do it wrong. It doesn't matter where I'm walking - be it on a sidewalk or in the middle of the wilderness - I always get tons of crap in my shoes. Somehow the motion of my feet must pick up debris and shuffle it into my shoe at the ankle; it even goes into the top of my socks if I'm wearing ankle-height socks. Weirdo.
To combat my walking handicap, I purchased a set of Go-Long Gaiters a couple of years ago, in the hopes that I could wear them on hikes, relieving myself from constantly stopping to empty out my shoes.
In looking for gaiters, I wanted something that was lightweight and cool - I'd be using these mostly in the desert, and never in the snow - and that didn't have any strap that wrapped under my shoe, since I knew that I'd quickly wear out the strap on sharp rocks and harsh terrain.
Go-Long Gaiters seemed to fit the bill, though they were a little pricier than I'd expected to pay for a conical piece of fabric.
They weren't perfect when they arrived, but with a little sewing, I was able to move the front hook - that secures the gaiter to the shoelaces - back slightly, allowing the gaiters to fit more snuggly and fully cover my laces (keeping debris that might try to weasel its way in, out).
Then, I gave them a go. New, they were great. Friction was enough to keep them secured around the back - heel-and-ankle - side of my shoe, and for six months or so, there was nothing getting in my shoes.
After about six months, the fabric stretched; friction was no longer enough to keep the gaiters secured around the tops of my shoes. In fact, every 15-30 minutes, I'd have to stop and pull the gaiters back down, otherwise I'd risk getting junk in my shoes.
This was apparently a known issue - and frankly, without a strap under the shoe, an issue that can't be helped - because Go-Long included a bit of Velcro to secure the gaiters to the back heel of the shoe. I'd not installed this Velcro because I wanted the ability to move from shoe-to-shoe (I wear out shoes quickly) - but with no other choice, I quickly super glued the Velcro onto my shoes (the adhesive on the Velcro isn't enough in a dusty environment) and was once again, off and running, my shoes clean even in the harshest conditions.
These gaiters are great!
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