To the people who rock out the boots not wellies

[Keto]

Hi everyone. This is my first glasto and very excited! After reading the forum and previous festival experience I have decided fo leave the wellingtons behind and I bought brasher fellmasters. I see that people are either pro gaiter or pro waterproof socks, my question is what do you do to keep the inside of your boot dry if it rains heavy. I would assume that water would go in from under the gaiters? Cheers!

[Mark E. Spliff]

I use wellies, but the same applies: if it's chucking it down hard enough to be getting water down inside your boots, then put some goretex trousers on, outside your boots. Get a pair with a zip all the way up each leg so you can put them on without taking your boots off.

[A Guy Called Matt]

Gaiters should be fine - last year I had them on and my feet stayed totally dry during the storm, the same cannot be said for the rest of me though.

I wear boots and gaiters when treking and have never had problems with wet feet.

[Keto]

Gaiters should be fine - last year I had them on and my feet stayed totally dry during the storm, the same cannot be said for the rest of me though.

I wear boots and gaiters when treking and have never had problems with wet feet.

Thanks for your replies. Mattyc, don't you find water coming in from the bottom of the gaiter. I assumed as its not tight and only attached by the lace clip water would easily get trough? What gaiters do you use? Thanks

[A Guy Called Matt]

Thanks for your replies. Mattyc, don't you find water coming in from the bottom of the gaiter. I assumed as its not tight and only attached by the lace clip water would easily get trough? What gaiters do you use? Thanks

For water to get in from the bottom you would need to be standing in a deep puddle or river - or have boots that are not waterproof.

They also have a strap that goes under the boot too.

I got my current gaiters off Ebay - they were under £5 from Hing Kong as I thought I would use them as a one season chuck away.

They are superb!

Edited April 27, 2015 by mattyc1965

[KryziF]

Those boots should be plenty waterproof. As long as you don't stand in water deeper than the boots your feet won't get wet. Even in 2005 and 2007 I managed to not get my feet wet in just walking boots without gaiters.

You will get mud splashes on your legs. I go with knee high socks and shorts. Most mud splashes get caught by the socks and you can just peel off at the end if the day and give your legs a quick wipe with wet wipes.

[badger80]

I take both - the Brashers are obviously infinitely more comfortable than wellies and will be fine in moderate mud, but if it is like (for example) 2005 where the site was turned into a Somme like quagmire, the welly is the only footwear suitable.

[geoffboycott]

Boots and gaiters, definitely. Wellies are just a pain (I don't bother taking them now). Plenty of people losing them in the mud (as it dries) in 2011 when it was fairly wet. The drainage on site is much better now also.

[psychology]

Boots and gaiters, never had wet feet. Why anyone would trudge around all day and night in wellies is beyond me.

[gaxsa]

Boots and if it gets really bad just add plastic bags

[Chazwozza]

I've used Berghaus Yeti gaiters and not a drop of mud or water gets in. Why? Because they have rubber foot-bits that your boot goes in (with cut outs underneath for the sole of your boot to go through) that fit really tightly around the sides of your boot.

A slight struggle to get them on your boot to start with, and you must get the right size to fit your boot size. Youtube as always will show you the best way to put them on

I got mine for about £18 off fleabay 3 years ago and they'll be going with me again in June.

Won't need them though...

[norainplease]

Yeah boots and gaiters all the way here to and while I agree that they may not have kept my feet dry if I had trudged through the lakes of water in 2005, they have served me well in the rain of all the years since!

I don't tend to avoid puddles either and have always had nice dry feet The trick is, as others have said, to make sure that your gaiters are a snug fit around the bottom or your boot and at the top of them too.

I was pleasantly surprised the first year I used boots and gaiter (and took my wellies too just in case) but now I don't even own a pair of wellies!

[neil999]

Boots and if it gets really bad just add plastic bags

i did 1998 in trainers and plastic bags, god knows how.. but it worked

[frostypaw]

I take both - the Brashers are obviously infinitely more comfortable than wellies and will be fine in moderate mud, but if it is like (for example) 2005 where the site was turned into a Somme like quagmire, the welly is the only footwear suitable.

This. Boots are excellent up to a splashy wet point then even with gaiters you're in hairy territory if you don't want to be keeping a close eye on where you're going. Personally if it's up to the laces I'm out of the boots - at that point I'd be getting filthy getting gaiters off too so wellies ahoy just pick a pair by doing what you'll be doing in them - jump and dance

[donthaveacoolname]

If you have good boots and gaiters you can walk in just as deep as water as wellies, as water rises it puts pressure on the gaiters which seals them on the boots and no water gets in

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

Don't bother with wellies, leave them at home. A decent waterproof pair of hiking boots will be more comfortable and lighter for walking around in. Just avoid deep puddles!

[frostypaw]

Don't bother with wellies, leave them at home. A decent waterproof pair of hiking boots will be more comfortable and lighter for walking around in. Just avoid deep puddles!

Totally agree until it comes to the laces in the morning and night. What do you do to avoid extensive filthing?

[Mr Splodge]

Boots all the way.

Wellies no support for ankles, so sprained ankles a possibility which equals ruined festival.

Undoing muddy laces use a wet wipe another festival essential.

[grumpyhack]

Just got some new waterproof walking shoes to compliment the waterproof walking boots. But I'll have a pair of wellies on standby just in case.

[gmb1992]

Will the lock ups keep a pair of my shoes/ wellies?

I am going to be staying too far away to go back and get different footwear if the weather gets bad / too hot

But don't want to stick soley to wellies if it's sunny and dry

[StLewi]

The lock-ups take anything, I believe. Even your pet otter.

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

Totally agree until it comes to the laces in the morning and night. What do you do to avoid extensive filthing?

You just man up and accept you will get mud on your hands sometime over the five days!

[gmb1992]

The lock-ups take anything, I believe. Even your pet otter.

Wish I had a pet otter

[frostypaw]

You just man up and accept you will get mud on your hands sometime over the five days!

I am so screwy on these things. The rest of the time I'd be blase about the mud, but at that last/first moment filthing myself straight away was depressing, so switched to wellies. Neoprene comfy ones mind

[lpoolpete]

Boots for me all the time Plus I mostly wear shorts. 2011 was a wet one the group I was with all wore wellies and jeans or leggings. They way you down and as a couple of people have said its much easier to wipe splashes of mud off your legs. Plus the funniest thing was the cries of "Please hellllllllpppp I cant get my wellies off" comming from nearby tents in the early hours