This insulated super gaiter gave us a few extra degrees of warmth over our streamlined boots. We didn't use the warmest boots on the market because of their bulk, instead we used a lighter version. This necessitated an extra shield against the cold weather. Below -30 we needed an extra level of protection. The X-Gaiter covered our entire foot area to shield the wind and provide extra insulation.

We had debates about the usefulness of the gaiters. Perhaps it was simply too cold for anything to help. Cycling doesn't provide much movement to the feet in general, and by the time we encountered the cold weather we may have already suffered from frostbite, making our feet more sensitive to the cold. In any case we found the gaiters somewhat difficult to put on over top of our boots and found them to ride up too high at times. There is no question that some sort of addition is necessary, but the X-Gaiters which are a skiing and climbing specific garment may have been a little out of their element on our cycling trip.