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| I like draw string and straps better than Velcro. Velcro gets gummed up with lint. |
Mrs ERJ has been encouraging me to get some knee-high gaiters.
She bases that on the number of socks that come back from my walk-abouts encrusted with burs of many different species.
She looks at the poison ivy and nettle-rash on my lower legs, "Tsks!" and shakes her head.
She is silent as she sees the cuts and puncture wounds.
She keeps an annual count of the ticks.
Frankly, I thought she was worried about my trade-in value. Wearing gaiters seemed like putting slip-covers on the new furniture and I ain't new.
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| I heard rumors about some people putting "sweat bands" around their ankles after impregnating them with insecticide. They wanted to deter ticks from crawling up their legs. |
I caved. I ordered a couple of pairs of inexpensive ones from De Nile. I ordered two different brands: Frelaxy and TRIXES. I know nothing about them except that they are inexpensive (about $10 a pair) and had good ratings from customers.
Of course, maybe the reason I caved is I just got whacked on the calf by a bee and prudence dictates that I down a couple of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and chill in the air conditioning.
Does anybody have any opinions about gaiters? I don't need them for snakes but some of my readers might.
I go through a pair a year. I have never had any I thought were great or thought were junk. The only thing I avoid is expensive ones as they tend to be bulky and noisy. I prefer thin/slim ones but I wear them to keep the snow out of my boots and pants.
ReplyDeleteGaiters aren't snake proof unless you go UP in cost and heaviness. Just sayin...
ReplyDeleteWe have had luck with a dietary Sulphur supplement. Kept ticks off when others were gathering them. My youngest is a favorite of mosquitos. She was tick and bug bit free while others suffered. Usually she absorbs most of the action leaving others free. I wear snake boots and not gators but I am in Georgia.
ReplyDeleteOur cheap gaiters from Amazon that we intended for hiking use didn't really pan out as they were stiff and chafed when worn on bare legs.
ReplyDeleteThis young lady has a video about making snow gaiters from pant's legs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR2iIWOfRpU
We haven't tried it, but a lightweight ripstop pants leg from an old pair of BDUs might be a good candidate for the conversion.
Or any other pants legs surplus to needs.
I have a cheap pair that does well in snow; haven't used them around briars.
ReplyDeleteDo you wear pants when working outside in summer, or shorts?
Shorts
DeleteOnly used them when cross-country skiing.
ReplyDeleteIn summer, when conditions warrant, use some Filson tin cloth chaps.
In Scotland essential to keep bugs, especially midges, and annoying seeds out when walking through gorse, heather or long grass. Some grass seeds are a pest.
ReplyDeleteThey also stop you getting scratched by brambles etc and stung by nettles.
Cord with those little jam cleat thingies better than velcro or knots.
Make sure that the boot lace gap below the gaiter is not an entry point. You can get some with foot top cover to toe.
Give them a good shake outdoors after taking them off and turn them inside out to dry.
Before modern materials good ones were made of leather.
I suppose chaps were a version of gaiter. A good idea springs up in different places.
Thank you for your blog.
Coyoteken: Thanks for the reminder about their usefulness in snow
DeleteOld NFO: Sneks, we don't haz dem in dis part of Michigan
Rick: Mrs ERJ is a mosquito magnet. She will appreciate the news although I don't know what I will do when they start biting me instead of her
John in Philly: Yeah, it seemed like many of the gaiters were semi-rigid, rubberized fabric. Thanks for the link.
Rural Counsel: Thanks for the update.
Doonhamer: Thanks for info on tie-slider vs velcro and knots.
We use light Goretex type gaiters for snow, never thought of them for bugs or thorny places. Horse riders use ‘half chaps’ some are leather, some are synthetic. Those might work for you. They fit snug, knee to ankle. I think ticks would get under any chap or gaiter.
ReplyDeleteSouthernNH
LOL. Just wear pantyhose under your pants. Or knee high nylon stockings. The ticks cannot burrow in. LOL. Just remember to check them when you take them off so they don't get into the carpet. Works like a charm. :-)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nuts/2013/09/things-ive-learned-over-years-about-hunting-pants/
ReplyDeleteBuy your pants an inch or two longer than usual and tuck them into gaiters. Gaiters, as far as I’m concerned, are one of the great inventions of all time, ranking with air conditioning, the overhead-valve V8 engine, and the colostomy bag. Tuck your pants into gaiters and they will not drag in anything, nor will they flop around your ankles. Tuck them in so your pants bunch at the knee a little bit; that way, when you’re climbing, they won’t pull at your knees. I am embarrassed at the number of years it took me to discover gaiters. Get them in XL so they can accommodate heavy pants, and get quiet ones designed for hunting.