Gaiters.....Sandals - October??

[galwaygirl]

Quick little question...

I'm only figuring out what gaiters are now and am wondering should i get a pair for my Camino in October (walking from Ponferrada - Santiago early Oct)? And this might sound like a silly question but in the pictures of gaiters i've seen they don't seem to cover the whole boot so,won't the boot still get wet inside? If i just wore wet trousers/pants won't my boots get just as well as if i was wearing the gaiters??

Also...i was going to bring my well loved and worn birkenstock sandals for the evenings but will it be too cold in October, should i bring another pair of shoes instead? I don't own crocs!

Thanks a million,
Aine

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Your boots will be less wet with gaiters, but nothing keeps boots completely dry in heavy, prolonged rain. They particularly keep your socks from getting soaked and draining into your boots. In light or intermittent rain, gaiters are not much better than your pants legs.

 

[Kitsambler]

Gaiters come in two sorts and serve several purposes. The short gaiters are only an inch or two (5 cm) taller than your boot, and serve mainly to keep scree (tiny gravel) and debris out of your shoes. They can also keep rain from running down into your socks.

The taller gaiters, that come to just below the knee, are useful for taller people, to keep trouser legs dry when the poncho or raincoat is too short. Again, they also keep debris and rain from running down into the shoe. Tall gaiters are very nice for walking across grassy meadows after a rain, even when you're not wearing a poncho/raincoat. (I use these; one afternoon in pouring rain with trouser legs dripping wet from the knee down was enough to convince me.)

But neither gaiter will protect your boot from water coming up from below, as when you walk through puddles or across streams. A Gore-tex or other waterproofing is the only mechanism that helps in that situation.

Here in Seattle, we are known for wearing socks with our sandals. Have you tried that with yours?

 

[galwaygirl]

Thanks a million, i think i'll get a pair as it seems that the weather could be totally unpredictable in October so i'm going to be 'better safe than sorry'!!

 

[dougfitz]

The taller gaiters, that come to just below the knee, are useful for taller people, to keep trouser legs dry when the poncho or raincoat is too short.

Not just tall people. Short people can enjoy the advantages too! I wore gaiters as additional wind protection even when it wasn't raining and I didn't want to wear my rain trousers.

I don't recall walking through too many grassy meadows in Spain, but I did recall lots of muddy tracks where gaiters will stop your trouser legs becoming encrusted in mud. The gaiters are easier to clean in the evening if you don't need (or want) to wash your clothes on a particular day.

Gaiters (and rain pants) are not a complete guarantee. If you are working hard in high humidity, any sweat has less prospect of evaporating, and eventually will soak your base layers and other clothing. It will then drain into your boots down the inside of your wet weather gear. Admittedly, this never happened to me in Spain, although it has when I have been walking elsewhere.

ps

it seems that the weather could be totally unpredictable in October

The weather is always predictable, even though it might still be highly variable, and the predictions less accurate the further out they are

 

[magdelanye]

variation of your question: a light nightgown or flannel pj's: shorts or sweatpants? Leaving beginning of october 2012 and last time, May June I was usually cold,maybe not now?
I was planning on getting real gaiters, as my legwarmers really werent adequate before, but they are very pricey and so I am working on adapting a pair of sleeves from an old jacket.