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OR Crocodile Gaiters

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:41 am
by EBSTEVE
As my Mt. Rainer climb rapidly approaches I have been scrambling to purchase all the gear that I don't have and Gaiters were on the list. I already have a shorter set of OR gaiters and they have worked good in the past, as long as I was wearing snow pants with them. Since I will be setting up a base camp and spending a few days on the mountain I figured I may be wearing them with lighter gear and the short ones will not cut it. I did some research and ended up deciding on the Outdoor Research AKA OR brand Crocodiles. A few features that helped me decide are the fact that they are Gortex, full Velcro instead of zippers and I have had great luck with OR products in the past. First thing I noticed when I got them out was how durable they felt. I have had a chance to use them on two training hikes, first to the Muir snowfields for an overnighter and second for a day hike to the top of Mt Pilchuck. Both times I used them the worked flawlessly and did not need any adjustment after they were put on. I did have one misstep when wearing my crampons and although my leg got cut the Gaiters and both the pants and base layer were fine and in my opinion that is exactly what they should do! These fit great, the boot loop and lace hook keeps them from riding up, the full length vertical Velcro closure makes them easy to put on and keeps everything out. I am confident my purchase was the rite one. I like to shop around and I found these on Ebay for $47.49 with free shipping from Altrec and that is about rite for online purchase as they are $95 at your local REI. This is my first purchase from Altrec and I will buy more gear from them in the future as shipping was fast and the price was great.

Re: OR Crocodile Gaiters

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:05 pm
by Nobody
Thanks for the review!

As with most things, you get what you pay for. I bought my gaiters at Costco a few years ago, cheap! They have a zipper, which is annoying at best. I've found that on long treks the zipper sometimes starts to walk up. I'm not generally a fan of Velcro in the snow, but with gaiters it's the way to go for sure. I think the gaiters I saw at Costco last winter did have velcro, but I'm not certain.

These gaiters are also 100% nylon and don't breathe at all. I find quite a bit of moisture inside at the end of day. Now they do seem to be extremely durable and are great for general snow play, or to carry in the rig while out snow wheeling or whatever, but for full on mountaineering I'm going to have to upgrade to something breathable for sure.

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Re: OR Crocodile Gaiters

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:09 am
by n16ht5
I have both the costco gaiters and the crocs. When I am bashing around through the brush I wear the cheap costco ones and save the crocs for the serious trips.