It's not MYOG, It's CYOG(CUSTOMIZE your own gear)

I had been searching for the perfect gaiters for years. Probably the stoutest, most commonly used gaiters on the planet are the OR Crocodiles. But they seemed like overkill in terms of weight and sturdiness. They are as close to bombproof as a wearable fabric can be. And they are expensive. For what they are, anyways. So I kept my eye out for something similar, but lighter and cheaper. I stumbled upon a set made by Outdoor Designs, called the Tundra. I found them at a local outdoor gear store for $24.95. At that price, I was willing to give them a try. 

The listed features:

Waterproof breathable rear zip lightweight gaiter

Waterproof breathable 2 layer Watergate technologies fabric

Rear entry zip with jetted storm flap

Webbing underboot strap

Lace calf adjustment

This isn't a review, but I played with them on multiple weekend hikes and on a 4 day trip into the Bob. Also, I watched their performance on one of my hiking buddies for even more miles. In the meantime, I was able to observe the performance of the aforementioned OR Crocs on two other hiking buddies. What I decided was that in this case, you get what you pay for. The Tundras were very finicky, while the Crocs were robust and easy to use. The Tundras like to slip down on your leg, while the Crocs stand tall. The Tundras were a pain to remove and reinstall for wet foot crossings, while the Crocs wearers were waiting for us. Sure, the Tundras were lighter, but were giving up a lot of the versatility of the Crocs. I still think that the Crocs are a bit of overkill for what I need to protect my legs, though. I'm compelled to state that I am not really comparing "like" items here. Outdoor Designs makes many types of gaiters. But what I had in my possession were the Tundras. So, what could be done to gain some of the features and ease of use of the OR product? How about replacing the calf laces with shock cord and the zippers with velcro? That's what I did. Here's how I did it.

Outdoor Designs "Tundra" Gaiter

Showing Calf Lace

Showing Rear Mounted Zipper and Storm Flap.

These seams had to be removed, non-flap side.

View from inside, non-flap side.

It's not really Velcro!

It's not as easy as it looks, but I used a seam ripper to remove threads.

A bit trickier at the top, when zipper panel meets lace channel.

Dismantling the lace channel to remove upper end of zipper.

Who needs to measure?

The horizontal tab at the bottom of gaiter.

First seam.

I used a full polyester thread and had to be very careful with the needle on the "Rocketeer" in order to sew through several layers of fabric and a layer of Velcro. I had to hand sew the junction of the 2 pieces of Velcro. It was just a bit too many layers of fabric for my skimpy needle. Below, you can see already how difficult it was to sew a straight seam with the machine on Velcro sections.

I wasn't happy, but it got the job done. My mom wasn't available!

I used 2 seams on each piece of velcro, and an additional horizontal tab at the bottom of the gaiter to attach one side to the other. The picture shows this tab before I trimmed it to length.

Cutting off zipper teeth, leaving the rest of the panel.

After finishing the sewing, I tied a piece of shock cord to one end of the lace and just pulled it through. Using a toaster style cord lock, I secured both ends. This means that now, the wearer has to put a foot through this loop before installing the gaiter. I think it's a small price to pay for a more firm calf mount and better adjustability.

I tested one gaiter with these adjustments vs. the factory produced gaiter on section 6 of the OHT. I was pleased with the adjustments. The only observation my hiking partner had was that seeing one blue piece of Velcro showing on only one gaiter drove him crazy for almost 20 miles. I will now complete the other gaiter. It worked. But, I will admit that I asked for a pair of OR Crocs for Christmas. I guess I'm a hypocrite.