Kahtoola INSTAgaiter SL Review | Tested and Rated
Kahtoola Instagaiter SLs are a low gaiters designed for use with trail runners. They’re differentiated from other popular gaiters, including those from Dirty Girl, in that they have side zippers, so you can put them on and take them off without having to remove your shoes. They’re available exclusively from Kahtoola for $35/pair.
Kahtoola makes a lot of gaiters for a variety of hiking footwear, but all of their other gaiters have straps that run under your boots or shoes, through the arch. The problem is that the outsoles of a lot of trail runners and hiking shoes don’t have an arch and using a gaiter that requires one is awkward, and can become a trip hazard if it is too long.
The Instagaiter SL’s don’t have an arch strap, but attach to velcro on the heel of trail runners. They work best with the trail runners that come with a factory-installed velcro gaiter strap on the heel, including:
- Altra Trail Runners: Lone Peak, Timp, Olympus, Superior, Mont Blanc, Experience Wild
- Brooks Cascadia Trail Runners
- Merrell Agility Peak and MTL Long Sky Trail Runners.
If you use a different shoe that doesn’t have a gaiter trap, you can glue a piece of velcro onto it to make it compatible with Instagaiter SL. Unfortunately, Kahtoola doesn’t supply any velcro when you purchase the Instagaiter SL, so you’ll have to go out of your way to get it.
In addition to the velcro on the heel, there’s a hook on the front of the Instagaiter SL which clips to your laces or a gaiter ring at the base of your shoes’ tongue, if it has one. There’s also a draw string along the top which lets you tighten the top of the gaiter around your calf.
I’ve found that the Instagaiter SL works great with my Altra Lone Peak Trails Runners. They’re made with breathable softshell fabric and really keep the rocks and sticks out of my shoes. Having the zipper along the side is a nice convenience, but it’s not a make or break feature for me.
While these Instagaiters work perfectly well, I think they’re overpriced for what you get. They’re only available in a few colors and cost 50% more than gaiters from Dirty Girls which has hundred of patterns to choose from. Plus Dirty Girls sends you strips of velcro with your gaiters when you purchase from them, so you can use their product without delay.
Yes, I can recommend the Kahtoola Instagaiter SL, but I’d encourage you to check out Dirty Girl Gaiters too if you’re looking for low gaiters for trail running shoes
Disclosure: Kahtoola donated gaiters for review.
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Yeah. They shoot themselves in the foot by not including Velcro and by being substantially more expensive that Dirty Girls. Thanks for pointing that out! Head scratcher..
I have Dirty Girls gaiters and with the single Velcro on the back, hiking the rocky Sierras I managed to get small rocks and a lot of dust in my Saucony trail shoes. I am going to add Velcro on each side of the shoe to help with shoe flexing.
I can’t get excited about the need to remove the gaiters yet keep my shoes on, so not sure what the need for a zipper is about.
Philip – When I worked for you as a product manager, you always insisted that we ship a “complete product” that a customer could use right away without having to source other products to enable ours. This is an excellent example (including velcro strips) of that principle. Kahtoola should hire you – you were the best VP of product management I ever worked for.
Ah shucks.
Thanks for reviewing these, Philip!
We have heard the feedback loud and clear about not including hook and loop fasteners that can be stuck to footwear. We are happy to share that as of today, we will include this with each pair of INSTAgaiter SL. We hope this will eliminate the barrier for those who don’t already have this attachment on their footwear.
We want to add that the stretch-woven nylon has a few advantages over gaiters that use Lycra. It is far more durable, seals out dust better, and provides water resistance. We kept the zipper entry and adjustable elasticized drawcord at the top since we’ve heard from our customers that these features are valuable. Runners and thru-hikers have been asking us to make this gaiter for a while now, and we are excited to deliver a product that meets their needs.
– Chris, from the Design Team at Kahtoola