Team Geared Up

Yeah same thing has happened to me before. I was using the old salomon Harriers and the lace also went on them. I think it’s to do with the use of gaiters and it cuts through the lace very easily. Although the lace is made of kevlar so it really shouldn’t. There is a new shoe from salomon due out in September which has a built in running/ankle gaiter(evolution of the speed cross at the moment.)
http://www.salomonoutdoor.com/uk/products/Speed-Cross-1-51-1-0-439778.html
I think there is also one at the moment on the market which is the XA Pro 3D with a small gaiter as well.
http://www.salomonoutdoor.com/uk/products/S-Lab-XA-Pro-3-W-2-51-1-0-418383.html
By looks the gaiter isn’t waterproof though which isn’t really a help in the bogs. Also a leather version of the XA Pro 3D coming out!

How did u stay dry without the Gore-tex? Does the gaiter cover the show right down to the sole?

I used raidlight gaitors which I bought in France last year. The intention with them is only to keep stuff out of your socks like pine needles, grit or small debris. So they’re not goretex. They worked great. The salomons I used are the goretex ones. Is that what you meant? Is the code I gave above not for the goretex salomons?

Eoin - as you know I’ve been minus gaiters for bloody ages. I’m thinking of buying a good pair of ankle gaiters for mountaineering/hillrunning what do you think? I’ve never really seen why I need protection to my knee.

These are great Robin:

http://www.buncup.com/commerce1/store/product_details.jsp?pid=94&cid=82&red=product_list.jsp?id=82,

They’re as comfortable as wearing a pair of socks. Raidlight do great stuff!!!

I was just wondering becuase i wasn’t sure how well the gore-tex XA’s would work with the bogs and making sure the water stayed out and didnt come over the edges even with the gaiters. I’m thinking i might get a pair of the gore-tex ones now. We’ve got the ‘thorlo’ ankle gaiters in GOD at the moment but i tried them on a couple of the shoes(xa’s, speed cross) and they dont sit very well and i dont think they’d work at all really.

With putting the lacing system back on the shoes i found it impossible so i had to cut the lace and then tie it back throught he loops in the shoes where it went. It was very very annoying! Do you think your lace went because of the gaiters? Are them below? Can you tighten the underneath strap on them or is just elastic?
http://www.rockrun.com/shop/prod.html?d=17&t=408&p=3059&sid=c298baf4dfb99b

I dunno about the ankle gaiters though for use. I’ve never tried a good pair. I’m not sure you can get anything decent over herethat would work properly. Though the ones above look good. I still like the longer length though with a bit more protection. Remember all the burnt gorse? Rather on my gaiters than bare legs…

Eoin the thing with the shoes is you’re never going to keep water out altogether (knee deep in bogs a lot of the time), but what happens with the salomons is that you’re feet dry out again. This happened to me over and over. They got wet and then they felt dry again. I put on runners when the lace broke and had 8 hours of permanently wet feet.

Like I was saying about the gaitors they’re primarily for keeping out debris and they totally do that, 100 per cent. The ankle bit is really comfy and the strap underneath is leather, you don’t need to tighten the lower strap, there is an adjustment on the bit that sits around the shoe. Their function in my case wasn’t to keep water out and they wouldn’t do that anyway.

I think if you’re trying to protect the legs from the burnt gorse then that would be something different altogether. We intended putting leggings on during the later stages of the round (a) because it was night time and colder (b) they were the only sections with burnt gorse. It doesn’t occur often though.
If you’re running in shorts in the Summer though you couldn’t get away with traditional hill walking gaitors. These are great for running. And the Raidlight gaitors are super comfortable also.

Thanks for the info on the laces. I think I may just buy another pair of salomons though.

This is some thread!

As a middle-ground I’m thinking of getting:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/images/assets/asset_7350601.jpg

rather than (althoguh they do look great for running):
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/images/assets/asset_7422358.jpg

If you guys want any Quecha gear - their UK superstore is my next door neighbour!! http://decathlon.co.uk/EN/Product_arborescence/running/running/index.html

Might buy tonight - we’ll see!!

Wow I didn’t know Decathlon was in the UK. I thought it was only a French/ Spanish shop. When we were running round Mont Blanc freezing our asses off in useless-paper-thin-stupid-irish-paddies running jackets all I kept seeing were French people wearing Quechua gear! It must be great stuff!

I’ve visited Decathlon a couple of times in France and literally bought the shop!! I reckon it’s even worth a cheap Ryanair flight to Carcassone, there’s a big Decathlon real near it!

(Just on the gaitors the material at the ankles of my gaitors is that kinda stuff they make surfing rash vests out of? What’s that stuff called? Anyway it hugs your ankle really comfortably. Those Decathlon ones look a bit stiff to me? Like they might chafe?)

This thread turned into a gear review for just about everything….

yep - in the UK at Surrey Quays http://www.decathlon.co.uk

They have 2 massive warehouse buildings for every sport.

There’s a big French adventure racing team called Les Arcs Quechua and they won the Raid World Championships 2 years ago in a very very close race. Some of their kit look really good. There is a jacket they make which i like the look of a lot but i dont really have the need to buy it. In saying that….

I really like the look of those raidlight gaiters. Think ill be making that a definite purchase soon!

yeah Quechua have an orange jacket that everybody had in France and French people who run in the Alps can’t be wrong can they!? My friend bought the green ladies version in Decathlon the last time we were there, it was on sale for about 75 euro. It’s not Goretex but their own brand of waterproof/ breathable material. She’s heading to the Twelve Bens this weekend I’ll get her to let us know how it coped. I’ve never found these jackets on any website.

Was it the Diosaz:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/Product_arborescence/mountain/hiking/hiking-textile/m-raidhiking-ou/product_8025955/index.html

Or Diosaz Light:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/Product_arborescence/mountain/hiking/hiking-textile/m-raidhiking-ou/product_8025963/index.html

???

I think they are newer versions. The one in my mind was just plain orange. No Berry/red colour on it. But they look good!

Yeah that light version looks like the one I was thinking of alright. I originally searched every shop in Chamonix for it (and that’s a lot of shops). I expected it to be much more expensive….Good find!

I had a look in Surrey Quays and it’s not there. I’m sure it could be ordered though. Mind you I did pick up the deal of the year, a pair of Softsheel trousers for 39 quid. (post to follow!)

A Salomon XA Pro 3D reviews list…

The Salomon XA Pro 3D is one of the most googled running shoes and one that has more reviews out there, as many runners choose this French brand for their runs. There are currently two different models: the Salomon XA Pro 3D and the Salomon XA Pro 3D …

A Salomon XA Pro 3D reviews list…

The Salomon XA Pro 3D is one of the most googled running shoes and one that has more reviews out there, as many runners choose this French brand for their runs. There are currently two different models: the Salomon XA Pro 3D and the Salomon XA Pro 3D …