First Lite Traverse Hunting Gaiters

I have used gaiters for years when in the snow, they provide excellent protection form moisture and debris as well as added protection against abrasion especially when wearing snow shoes or crampons. Over the past few years light weight trail gaiters have also become popular among hikers for keeping out those pesky pebbles and foxtails. This fall well doing a scouting trip for the upcoming hunting season with a buddy of mine he was telling me about how much he liked his First Lite Traverse Hunting Gaiters (don’t let the name fool you they are great for hiking too), so I figured I would give them a try.

San Diego County is pretty mush high desert, so a lot of out trails are pretty rocky with a lot of sand and pebbles as well as brush so the idea of mitigating the need to take off my shoes to knock out pebbles sounded very appealing.  This is also a major plus when going off trail of scrambling as we tend to do a lot of it in the desert when we are out exploring. While fall and winter are great times to dust off the snow gear and my heavy gaiters it’s also desert season, so I started using the Traverse Hunting Gaiters for my hikes as well.

Made with a light weight four way stretch Duraflex Nylon these gaiters do a good job of keeping your feet dry and debris out when heavy gaiters are not necessary. The snug fit still allows for plenty of movement and work well with light pants or how I usually run them is with shorts over my boots and hiking socks. Initially they might feel a little snug but once you start hiking it’s not an issue and the fact they keep debris out starts to pay off really quick. For those of us that wear hiking shoes or low-cut boots they are a great way of adding light weight ankle protection (not support) especially when wearing shorts.

Made with water resistant Duraflex Nylon the gaiters have a heavy-duty strap on the bottom that you adjust to fit that goes under your boot. The sides are closed with Velcro and they feature a heavy-duty snaps at the top and bottom of the closure to keep them secure when hiking. At the bottom of the gaiter on the top of the foot is a clip that attaches to your shoe laces to keep it secure and in place. All of this with the four way stretch material there is not much movement while you are on the go. Once you have adjusted them they come on and off pretty easy and fit easily in your pack when not in use weighing in at around 3oz. they don’t add too much to your hike.

I have used First Lite’s Charma hoodie now for a while as one of my go to base layer wool hoddies, I think they make great gear and they have continued to with the Traverse Hunting Gaiter. For weight and size, I can definitely recommend them for longer hikes and when you might be going off the beaten path. They sit in my day pack ready for the next adventure and I could suggest trying them out and looking into gaiters for a more enjoyable hike.

 always thank you for taking the time to check out our articles and hopefully we will run into you Getting The Fox Out There one of these days!



Comment on this post (2 comments)

  • KFO says...

    Hi Daniel,

    They are light and comfortable and I have used them for distance. The only major issue I would see is the strap that goes under the shoe might get uncomfortable over long distances. I have seen trail runner gators with velcro on the back to keep them down so you don’t have to use the under strap.

    April 08, 2019

  • Daniel says...

    Can the gators be used with trail running shoes for trail running?

    April 04, 2019

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