+McIrish Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I did a little scouting today, looking for a site for my new cache. I also tried out my new gaiters in the stickers and they WORKED well. I thought I would share this with you. Where I live the grass gets very dry and stickers are a huge factor. Last year I spent as much time removing stickers from my socks and shoes as I did geocaching. I don't like wearing long pants. I live in the Sacramento Valley area and it gets hot! 102 degrees today. I went to REI this week and bought a pair of "Spring Gaiters". These are Stretchy, low rise gaiters made of dry skin. These gaiters have clips in the front to hook to your shoe strings and front closers made of velcro. There is also an instep strap to keep them tight to your shoes. When you are hiking you can open the front velcro and leave them open, folded down like the neck of a shirt,(no funny tan lines and cool) when walking off trail in a stickery area, you just close the velcro in the front and the elastic gaiters stay up about 6-8" above your socks. These things are awsome. I purposely walked through tons of stickers today to see how they did....and they did great. The only stickers that attached were the little tiny ball stickers that brushed right off. The evil ones that cause great pain to your ankles were not there. One or two in the toe of my shoe where the gaiter didn't reach, but other than that.....NONE. They are $22.00 at REI and well worth the money! "Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life." Quote Link to comment
+georgeandmary Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 At one point last month, I was searching for a cache in Fresno, it was so bad that I had to stop every 10 ft to pick the stickers out of my socks. One had worked it's way to the toe of my sock. I wear size 13... that's a long way for a sticker to travel. Uuuugh!!! george Remember: Half the people you meet are below average. Quote Link to comment
+RAD Dad Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 Gonna have to get me some of those! There are still stickers in my socks after three washings from an outing a couple weeks ago...more keep working thier way to the surface of the fabric, the things are full of them. Plus it sounds like these things would help reduce problems like stining nettles and scratches. I mean, I hate having to wear long pants, especially for only a short part of the hike. Besides, I rarely wear long pants once the average daytime temperature is above 60, I much prefer shorts. ummmm....not sure what to say here....so ummm, well errrr, uhhhh, well I guess that's it. Quote Link to comment
+Ltljon Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I'm from the other end of the country so bear with me but are you referring to cuckle-burrs & begger-lice? When you come to a fork in the road, take it. Quote Link to comment
+Mr. Vic Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 Sounds like the pair I have. They're a must this time of year. They also work great at keeping the socks clean from trail dust! -Mark. Will cache for food Quote Link to comment
+McIrish Posted June 6, 2002 Author Share Posted June 6, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Ltljon: I'm from the other end of the country so bear with me but are you referring to cuckle-burrs & begger-lice? When you come to a fork in the road, take it. Boy, I gotta get out more. Yes....I do mean cuckle-burrs & begger-lice. I have never heard them called that. I had to go look them up on the internet. "Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life." Quote Link to comment
+GroundskeeperWillie Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 This sounds really cool. I'm still pulling stickers out of my shoes from the first cache we found a few weeks ago. Just one thing, and be honest: am I gonna look like a tool wearing them? Because, you know, it's more important to look cool than anything else. I am Jack's .sig Quote Link to comment
+Pepper Posted June 7, 2002 Share Posted June 7, 2002 Yesterday I took my twins to the pool for a swim and, when Nikki wrapped the towel around her she got stuck with Fox Tail Sticker. They travel throug the laundry and attack unsuspecting victims. Bad mom you forgot to get all your pokies off of you after your last cache. They requested to help pick pokies off of Mom after caching. I am purchasing some gatters today. Thanks for the tip I will relay the message to the twins when they get up. Team SuperGenius Pepper Horizontals where it's at! Quote Link to comment
+georgeandmary Posted June 7, 2002 Share Posted June 7, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Ltljon: I'm from the other end of the country so bear with me but are you referring to cuckle-burrs & begger-lice? When you come to a fork in the road, take it. When you say cockle-burrs, I think of these little football shapped items that stick like velcro. They have those here but they're easy to see and avoid. What's bad is the foxtail like stickers that lot's of the weedy grasses uses to transport their seeds. They get their nose poked into your socks and as you walk they dig deeper. They only like to travel one way. IN!!!. You may walk 15 ft through 12 inch tall grash and you'll have a hundred in each sock. As you walk they just work their way in deeper and deeper. Like I said. One worked it's way all the way to the toe of my sock. And you think you got them all, but there is always ONE still poking you and you can't figure out where it is. george Remember: Half the people you meet are below average. Quote Link to comment
OFF RODE Posted June 7, 2002 Share Posted June 7, 2002 Here in Az are stickers are GIANT...they are called Cactus....and unfortunatly gaiters wont help much "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." Yogi Berra Quote Link to comment
+McIrish Posted June 7, 2002 Author Share Posted June 7, 2002 quote:Originally posted by GroundskeeperWillie: Just one thing, and be honest: am I gonna look like a tool wearing them? Because, you know, it's more important to look cool than anything else. I am Jack's .sig Wow GKW, I think I look really cool wearing them. Wait.....I am not cool anymore When did that happen?? Actually, you can open the front of them and fold them down so I don't think it looks too weird. I guess I care about looking cool too because the thought crossed my mind to buy the big ol gaiters that go up to your knees (I really hate those pokeys) but I knew I would look crazy. I opted for the smaller, lighter, less obvious gaiters and they worked perfectly (keeping my cool in tact). "Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life." Quote Link to comment
phantom Posted June 7, 2002 Share Posted June 7, 2002 ...yep, you gotta be cool when Geocaching. phantom KB5YUE "Free your mind" - The Matrix Quote Link to comment
+Mr. Vic Posted June 7, 2002 Share Posted June 7, 2002 quote:Originally posted by phantom: ...yep, you gotta be cool when Geocaching. Hey, at least we look cooler than the guys on the beach with the metal detectors! I hope... Will cache for food Quote Link to comment
Geo Quest Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Wearing good boots that come up to mid-calf is another anti-sticker weapon. I think it looks cooler than gaiters. Gaiters fall down. Boots and long pants. Never had a sticker problem. "There's no need to be afraid of strange noises in the night. Anything that intends you harm will stalk you silently." Quote Link to comment
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