They do also carry some more subdued colors, including plain black, but the majority are … well, flamboyant. I decided to give them a try.ĭirty Girl gaiters are well known for coming in vibrant color schemes. I happened to notice that at one of my resupply points, the Muir Trail Ranch (MTR), they had Dirty Girl gaiters for sale in the store. Midway thru my JMT trip, the original 'other' brand gaiters had worn out. But I ended up with Dirty Girls anyway, sort of by default (and I'm glad I did). And my pre-hike research gave me a less-than-optimal experience with Dirty Girl pre-sales (in spite of providing lots of detail and actually sending a photo of my shoe annotated with measurements, they couldn't tell me what size to order. However due to my thin ankles I ordered Medium, and they are just right.Īt first I wasn't enamored with the idea of attaching hook & loop patch to my shoes. Based on shoe size I should have ordered Large. I wear relatively large shoes (10.5-11), but have thin ankles. In terms of sizing, it's a little tricky. This may or may not be a concern depending on your point of view.

The gaiter is like a collar over your ankle (some others zip or hook & loop open in the back). I should mention also that this design means you need to remove your shoes to take them off. This design helps keep them light & there isn't an under-shoe strap to wear against rocks on the trail. Dirty Girl provides adhesive-backed hook & loop patches to take care of this. The hook & loop patch requires a complementary piece of hook & loop material be attached to the shoe. The hook catches on the cross of the shoe lace.

Dirty Girl does away with that and uses a hook on the front of the gaiter and a piece of hook & loop material on the back. Most, like the original set I bought from another brand, have straps that loop around under the shoe to hold the gaiters in place. I had used gaiters for snow conditions, but hadn't used them in the summer, but figured it was worth a shot. It was only when planning for an extended trip (30 day through-trip of the John Muir Trail) that I finally caught onto the idea of wearing gaiters. For as long as I've hiked, I've experienced the discomfort of sand, pebbles, and twigs getting into the top of my hiking boots and shoes.

Easyboot trail gaiter