protecting legs

[+AD0SB]

any ideas to help protect legs and ankles from poisonous plants, thorns and other debris?

 

I enjoy 'caching, but the last couple outings have been very miserable...

[GOF and Bacall]

Start with wearing boots and jeans if you are going off the pavement and manicured lawns. Sometimes it is just a matter of saying to yourself "Self, we need not go there." and walking away.

 

No your limit and cache within it.

[+J-Way]

I agree, wear long pants at a minimum; I almost never cache in shorts anymore, unless I know they're all urban caches. Hiking boots take it to the next level. If you don't want to wear boots but need more protection that what is provided by jeans then they sell these "jean skirt" things that wrap around your lower legs to cover the tops of your shoes and socks.

[+wapahani]

If a cache requires me to wade through Poison ivy, I won't go after it...nor will I place one there.

 

Just be careful. Even if you wear pants, you can get it on other parts when you take off said pants. The oils are bad.

[+boda]

I prefer to wear the pants with the zip-off legs. This lets me make a choice between comfort and protection. It's easy to carry the legs and attach them when needed.

 

That being said, however, we don't consider a caching day successful unless someone is bleeding.

 

Fortunately, I don't have a problem with poisonous plants.

[+KoosKoos]

Personally, I go for comfort every time...I figure that since I've always worn shorts when traipsing through the woods, my skin's used to anything I'll come across. Sure, I often come out with scratches, bites, maybe some blood, but it beats sweating in a pair of pants every time!

[+softball29]

I prefer to wear the pants with the zip-off legs. This lets me make a choice between comfort and protection. It's easy to carry the legs and attach them when needed.

 

That being said, however, we don't consider a caching day successful unless someone is bleeding.

 

Fortunately, I don't have a problem with poisonous plants.

 

Ha!

 

I know that feeling. We went for a caching day Saturday and when we were done, one person said that it wasn't a real day because I wasn't bleeding! Outstanding!

[AZcachemeister]

I agree, wear long pants at a minimum; I almost never cache in shorts anymore, unless I know they're all urban caches. Hiking boots take it to the next level. If you don't want to wear boots but need more protection that what is provided by jeans then they sell these "jean skirt" things that wrap around your lower legs to cover the tops of your shoes and socks.

 

I think you are describing gaiters? Usually they zip on, but you can make your own slip-on ones out of the legs of a pair of pants.

Mostly used to keep snow out of your boots during winter activities, they work equally well to keep gravel/dirt/mud out of your boots, and various assorted prickers out of your socks.

 

Personally, I go for comfort every time...I figure that since I've always worn shorts when traipsing through the woods, my skin's used to anything I'll come across. Sure, I often come out with scratches, bites, maybe some blood, but it beats sweating in a pair of pants every time!

 

It sure helps to be able to distinguish the sticker-bush from the one without, doesn't it?

[+CurmudgeonlyGal]

Like others, I prefer shorts (and sandals for that matter) regardless of what I'm going through. Mostly because I have had less trouble with ticks wearing shorts than I do when wearing pants, and I've not had the displeasure of finding myself terribly troubled by poison ivy in the past (though I now live where it doesn't).

 

Zip-off pants are great for many reasons - dry out faster, are lighter and er, the lower legs zip off. Multi-use for a varying kind of a day.

 

Hiking boots are fab. You're getting more foot/ankle protection.

 

Gaiters are, maybe, the best thing since sliced bread. As has been mentioned above, you can make your own, but really, they aren't that expensive either. Tall gaiters will protect everything below your knee. You can also get desert gaiters which just cover from your ankle down.

 

Good luck.

 

 

michelle

[+hydnsek]

Gaiters are, maybe, the best thing since sliced bread. As has been mentioned above, you can make your own, but really, they aren't that expensive either. Tall gaiters will protect everything below your knee. You can also get desert gaiters which just cover from your ankle down.

Yah. I use orienteering gaiters, which differ from snow gaiters by having a thin foam pad in the front to protect your shins from bumping into stuff in the underbrush. They zip up and hook onto your shoelaces instead of having a cord run underneath your boot. You can find them online by googling "orienteering gaiters."

[+Mule Ears]

For heavy bushwhacking, 5.11 tactical pants in nylon canvas are unbeatable. Lighter and faster-drying than cotton and extremely thorn-resistant.

[stryder717]

chuck norris

[Clan Riffster]

Personally, I go for comfort every time

Yeah, me too. I think if I ever started a national revolution, the motto on my flag would read, "Death Before Discomfort".

[+ChaseOnTheGo]

Pants

[+Team GeoBlast]

any ideas to help protect legs and ankles from poisonous plants, thorns and other debris?

 

I enjoy 'caching, but the last couple outings have been very miserable...

 

Check REI or another outdoor stores and look at their hiking pants. There's several configurations to consider. They have pants with zip on legs, light weight/quick dry pants, or gators. What you decide on will probably depend on when and where you are hiking. The right gear can really make a difference, stick with it... too much out there to miss.

[+cachecrashers4]

machete weilding gnomes are great too!

[+The Starry Family]

I live in Northern Minnesota and wear shorts all year round. Only wear long pants when ice fishing and deer hunting. Until he snow flies I wear sandals and shorts. Chicks dig scars!

I insist on wifey and the Bean wearing long pants and at very least a pair of sneakers however cuz I can't stand the whining about all their little nicks and scrapes []

[+pigpen4x4]

Shooo, Not Me!

I'm long britches all the way!

I only recently got some convertable britches so in between I can take off the lower part.

Even then, I would just as soon not go through the hassle.

Look up Riff's log on my Ekabug & Riffster. Good read.

PP4x4

[+Woodstramp]

I'd suggest snake proof gaiters in conjunction with good boots. I had a pair of Rattler's Brand gaiters and they were great. (Dummie me bought camo ones and I lost them) They just velcro on in seconds and you'd have protection from bugs, thorns and copperheadedrattlemocosins too. (At least to the knee)

[+AD0SB]

Thanks for the info, I will be looking into the gaiters soon, and yes pants, 95 degree days are a bit much in jeans, so will have to do some looking...

[+skyraider]

Check out www.snakeguardz.com. Althuogh they are a bit "overboard" for thorns, I wear them year around for hiking. In the summer, they protect your legs from anything and everything; and in the winter, they keep your pant legs clean and dry.

[+AD0SB]

Check out www.snakeguardz.com. Althuogh they are a bit "overboard" for thorns, I wear them year around for hiking. In the summer, they protect your legs from anything and everything; and in the winter, they keep your pant legs clean and dry.

 

I do have to say, it would be a little unnerving if you actually had to use those gaiters for what they were intended for during caching...