Gaiters: KUIU vs OR Crocs

greyghostnw · Oct 18, 2014

OR expeditions..... mine are in multicam. they are bomber in the northwest, never let me down. if you need to be wearing gaiters then a fuzz more noise is a mute point. the gore tex plain works in these and they stay in place. kenetrek suck arss for gaiters they are garbage at least mine were in every way. cant speak for kuiu never worn them.

dotman · Oct 18, 2014

I prefer OR over Kuiu but the OR are a tad noisy. I had the first model of Kuiu and durability just didn't seem to be there compared to the OR, I sold the Kuiu after one year and think they would of made it 2 more years.

GibsonKuenzi · Oct 19, 2014

jherald said:
Expedition Crocs for the last 5 years. Looking worn now, but still durable. Trying the Kuiu gaiters this season, not impressed by the overall fit. They are narrow compared to the OR in the same size. A good summer gaiter but not good for going over layers. I have a size 9 boot and narrow calfs, and the large Kuiu gaiters are snug, not tight but snug, over my boot Chinook pants and a base layer. I'd have the wear a rain layer over top as it wouldnt fit under the gaiter. Should have sized up to XL but I used them first day. Overall the gaiters seem nice, I just recommend you size up to XL if your a 9-11 size range and do not get them at all if you have large calf muscles.

Why would you wear a rain layer under your gaiters? Wouldn't water go right down your rain paints, in your gaiters and drain down your boots? That's been my experience anyways. Just curious, thanks!

GibsonKuenzi · Oct 19, 2014

In my experience the kuiu ones rock. Haven't ever worn any others though

greyghostnw · Oct 19, 2014

GibsonKuenzi said:
Why would you wear a rain layer under your gaiters? Wouldn't water go right down your rain paints, in your gaiters and drain down your boots? That's been my experience anyways. Just curious, thanks!

i wear my or's over my rain layer in the northwest when its raining, just doubles the protection imop, adds to boots protection as well. rain never runs down non rubber rain gear in my experience. another note: are you tucking your pants into your boots? how would rain run into your boots? sounds like something is awkward there...............

Mike7 · Oct 19, 2014

I have used all of the gaiters mentioned above while in search of the perfect gaiters.

I like the design features of the Kuiu, but I think the materials just didn't end up being what I was hoping for in a gaiter. In fact, for my uses they rate behind the OR Crocs and Kennetreks because of the build up of moisture that occurs around the doubled material-boot area when it is not raining, and the lack of durability of the upper single layered material.

Since during the wetter months, I have my gaiters on under my hiking pants to prevent wicking of water down my pants to my socks, I think that I may try the OR Verglas gaiters next. My wife uses them for Fall & winter hiking/snowshoeing and they work well for her, although she doesn't go off trail much. The only difference between them and the Crocs is the upper is slightly noiser, and the bottom codura is thinner but still very durable. They are very water proof and pretty light at 7 oz, but tough enough I think. They would be a little noiser for someone wearing them outside of their pants. On a long trip though, I could take the OR Verglas and Flex-tex's for wet and dry days respectively, and still be carrying slightly less wt than the Croc's and Kuiu's.

Ramcam · Oct 19, 2014

For my mountaineering boots i wear Hillsound super-armadillo-nano-gaiters .They are excellant. http://http://hillsound.com/hillsound-product/super-armadillo-nano-gaiter/

mtnclimber · Oct 19, 2014

Ramcam said:
For my mountaineering boots i wear Hillsound super-armadillo-nano-gaiters .They are excellant. http://http://hillsound.com/hillsound-product/super-armadillo-nano-gaiter/

Those look interesting, never heard of them before. It uses that schoeler material that kuiu was testing at one point if I remember correctly.

My vote is for OR. I've abused them badly for the last 4 years for hundreds of miles chasing after the white critters. They have a couple small blemishes that wouldn't effect performance but I called to test out their warranty and they say for me to send my old pair In and they'll send me a new one right away.

Doesn't get any better than that!

Bmcox86 · Oct 19, 2014

I have both and prefer the kuiu gaiters, there quieter by far. If noise isn't a concern then both are great.

GibsonKuenzi · Oct 20, 2014

greyghostnw said:
i wear my or's over my rain layer in the northwest when its raining, just doubles the protection imop, adds to boots protection as well. rain never runs down non rubber rain gear in my experience. another note: are you tucking your pants into your boots? how would rain run into your boots? sounds like something is awkward there...............

I do not tuck my pants into my boots, that would definitely be awkward. I wear my gaiters over my hunting pants and boots. When it starts raining I put my rain gear on over all of it. Just my experience....

trapperjay · Oct 21, 2014

I have the OR Flex Tex per Arons recommendation. Admittedly, I don't have the distance on them yet though.

luke moffat · Oct 21, 2014

I use OR Crocs....they seem to be the gold standard to which all other gaiters are compared to...and for good reason.

Jcberg · Nov 8, 2014

Love my Kuiu gaiters but haven't had any others!

AZ Vince · Nov 8, 2014

I've used OR and will try a pair from Cabela's later this year.
Of the two you mention I can only tell you that OR is the standard others are measured by. I got the Cabela gaiters as a gift.

marc · Nov 9, 2014

The lace hook fell off of my kuiu gaiters on the 3rd day I wore them. Of course they weren't in stock so i fixed them myself. Use crocks for all of my mountaineering but not hunting, too loud IMO.

OR flex techs are the best hunting and hiking gaiters that i have ever used. Can't beat OR's warranty either.

justin davis · Nov 9, 2014

Thanks for all the feed back guys. I went with the OR gaiters

trapperjay · Nov 9, 2014

Not sure which OR you ordered Justin but I'm getting the distance on my flex tex and love em. You made a good choice w/ OR.

justin davis · Nov 9, 2014

trapperjay said:
Not sure which OR you ordered Justin but I'm getting the distance on my flex tex and love em. You made a good choice w/ OR.

I got the OR crocs due to all the great responses.

Oh yea the flex tex gaiters are sweet. Aron Snyder turned me on to them a few years ago. I wear them on every hunt (when it's dry). Getting the crocs for when the weather turns bad wet/snowy

Zbowman1 · Nov 11, 2014

OR has the best warranty in the outdoor bizz. I was home for a week between hunts last year. During my first hunt I broke the plastic clip on the tensioner at the top of the gator. I called OR to see if they made a replacement (Monday Morning). The lady I talked with was knowledgeable and friendly. She insisted that they be replaced even thought they were 3 years old and I didn't have a receipt. I thanked her and before I hung up the phone I asked a question about the Expedition weight crocs. She answered my question and then asked if I would rather try those for my warranty pair. They are 40$ more expensive then the standard crocs I had. I said yes and then asked her how she wanted to pay for the difference. She said know need. To make this long story short. I had a new pair of Expeditions in my mail box on Thursday when I got home from work. The package also included a postage paid envelope for the old gators to be returned in. My wife bought me a new pair of crocs for Christmas that year so now I have both. OR is the best.

Gaiters: KUIU vs OR Crocs

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