Simplehiker posts 11 essentials for the health of your feet.
7. Wear Gaiters
Gaiters can be a love hate relationship with hikers. Most people will say only use them in wet weather or poor terrain. But the author of this article makes the great point that wearing gaiters keeps out a lot of dirt and debris that over time could cause a fair amount of blisters and other problems. So if you’re doing an extended hike, wearing gaiters over the long term could save you a lot of overall blisters.
Can’t agree with this enough. It’s true that gaiters add a bit of extra weight and hold heat in, but they really take the “dammit I got something in my shoe” aggravation out of my hikes.
Hmm … I wear gaiters in winter time only or some special cases in 3-season. But my question is in summer time gaiters would block the moisture from vaporing out, and damp socks would also cause blisters easily.
Yep, I only wear gaitors in winter.
If all you need is debris protection, you don’t need the weight, thermal issues, or expense of the full out snow gaiters.
Products like EMS Scrambler Gaiters or REI Desert Gaiters are more geared toward hikers.