Mountain Hardwear FTX Ventigaiter - 2007 BCS

My girlfriend has the women's version of these, but I thought this group should know that although they are probably fine for rock/ice climbing (which is what they appear to be designed for), they not very good for snowshoeing for two reasons: 1) the lower part is very stiff and it is very difficult to get it flat enough so that the back snowshoe strap will hold tightly, and 2) because the lower part does not breathe, moisture builds up inside. That, of course, is why they have vents, but even with the vents wide open, moisture builds up inside the lower parts. These are fine gaiters, but not for snowshoeing or any highly aerobic activity.

These things are fantastic. Everything on these gaiters is well thought out and placed. The material feels like you could use them for years without them giving out. The venting feature is really nice. My only complaint is that I originally ordered a large and it was way too bit for my legs. So I ordered a medium in its place and they are just the slightest bit too small. Other than that these are 5's all the way.

I ordered a size down based on the review by Minimag. I bought a Medium for a shoe size of 9.5 and they barely fit over my Vasque Super Alpinistas. However, they fit well over my regular hiking boots. Over the course of a weekend, my crampons poked a small hole in the Gore-Tex upper while climbing. They also tore a 2-inch hole through the lower when I slipped on the trail (the crampons went through the lower pretty easily). However, my pants underneath were not torn so I'm happy about that :)

The Mountain Hardwear FTX Ventigaiters are as described, tough and very practical. The cost is a little high but the quality eases the pain. I would highly recommend these for the moderate to light extreme hiker.

Love them, as I do with all Mountain Hardware items. I highly recommend these gor-tex gators!