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Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 2:51 pm
by Scottyk
Hi All
Today I am launching a line of locally made gaiters.
After a lot of testing and modifying I have come up with what I think is a good strong gaiter that will outlast the overseas made rubbish that isn't up the job. They have been tested by some accomplished offtrack walkers from this forum and the feedback used to refine them and produce the model you see on the site.
I make them right here and Tasmania and have completed my first run for sale. Numbers are limited, so get in quick. Mediums, Large and X-Large at the moment.
The first 10 forum members to PM me registering their interest will get a 10% discount code they can use upon check out at the online store.
So if you support local manufacturing and have complained about poorly made gaiters in the past I encourage you to have a look at mine. Please feel free to ask me any questions on this site or at the email on my website.
Thanks
Scotty
www.tasgear.com.au

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 3:02 pm
by Giddy_up
Like them a lot Scottyk, well done and good luck with this new venture


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Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 3:02 pm
by doogs
I've heard good things about your gaiters, and I have been on a three day winters trip when they were used. They were much more suited to the environment than my mass produced pair. When I am not broke, I'd definitely be keen to buy some for my big trips planned over the summer. Well done. :D

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 3:57 pm
by Strider
These look fantastic but I am intrigued why you have retained a press stud in the design despite the usual commentary about it being redundant in other designs. Did the testing show it actually is needed?

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 5:42 pm
by north-north-west
In scrub the corner of the velcro can eventually be lifted enough to tear open. The stud isn't always necessary but there are times I wouldn't want to not have it.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 6:01 pm
by Scottyk
Strider wrote:These look fantastic but I am intrigued why you have retained a press stud in the design despite the usual commentary about it being redundant in other designs. Did the testing show it actually is needed?

I had an old pair from another brand that didn't have one and eventually it just starts to open up and that allows the velcro to get abraded and wear out. Snow is particularly good at slowly opening it up.
Yeah I think it is needed in scrub or snow and the testers agreed.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 6:05 pm
by Scottyk
7 discount codes left

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 9:59 pm
by stepbystep
north-north-west wrote:In scrub the corner of the velcro can eventually be lifted enough to tear open. The stud isn't always necessary but there are times I wouldn't want to not have it.


It's a good point lost on those that haven't pushed through stiff, wet, low undergrowth for long periods...

Scott has kindly supplied me with a pair for testing. Thus far they have done 8 days in the Tarkine rainforests, 2 in deplorable off track conditions. Their best test thus far has come on a winter trip to Mt Bobs and The Boomerang. The Farmhouse Creek track was it's usual muddy self and the Lake Sydney track it's normal even muddier self. These gaiters are without doubt the best fit I have ever had in a gaiter for mud and water crossings...by far. Lake Sydney was in severe flood, several metres into the forest so the rest of the walk was off-track entirely. The scrub on the flanks of The Boomerang is fierce in places and the combination of deep mud, constant wet and abrasion gave them a good workout. They don't 'slump' when saturated due to the fit and the effective tightening around the top. The workmanship is excellent all round. I'd be careful to chat with Scott if you have super chunky calves, you may need a wider fit which I'm sure he'll accomodate.

Scott has taken all the feedback really well and is tweaking the design in response to that feedback...a full report will come after some more snow work and a decent dolerite traverse but as it is, it's already the best gaiter on the market for rougher Tasmanian conditions. I'm terribly embarrassed to say I don't have a decent shot of them...I'll fix that on the next trip. This one was taken on the Raglan Range a cpl weeks ago by Azza.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 10:26 pm
by FootTrack
Hi Scott,

Have you got a photo you can put on your site (or here), of the inward (but still outer) facing side of the gaiter? The problem I have had with gaiters in the past is that the stitching wears away down the bottom due to your ankles scuffing one another...

Do these come with a warranty?

Cheers.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 10:32 pm
by dunamis
Just out of interest why is nylon cord used instead of steel cable under the boot?


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Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 10:50 pm
by beardless
All the best with this venture Scottyk. (I am not in the market for gaiters right now but will give these a look next time I am).

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 10:57 pm
by Scottyk
FootTrack wrote:Hi Scott,

Have you got a photo you can put on your site (or here), of the inward (but still outer) facing side of the gaiter? The problem I have had with gaiters in the past is that the stitching wears away down the bottom due to your ankles scuffing one another...

Do these come with a warranty?

Cheers.

Hi FootTrack
See attached picture on the inside seam work of the gaiter. The pieces you are looking at are 2 layers of 1000 denier nylon. There are 2 visible lines of stitching you can see here and one hidden line you can't see. I sew them firstly inside out then turn them in the other way to finish. This means that even if you abrade the 2 stitch line you can see it won't fall apart, you would have wear through the fabric itself to make that happen.
The thread used is V92 Coates Dabond polyester, this is the best polyester available and will hold up well. I did experiment with kevlar thread, it is good for abrasion but very hard to sew reliably with my machines and any tangles in the machine can break your machine as it so strong :cry:

They come with a 12 month warranty
Scott

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 11:57 pm
by FootTrack
Thanks for getting back to me, Scott. That's an interesting way of doing it and sounds like it would hold up much better than the current ones I have. Like beardless, I am not currently in the market for a pair but when I am I'll keep yours in mind. I like how you've thought yours through.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 9:25 am
by undercling-mike
Looks like a really well thought out and top quality product. Congratulations and best of luck!

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 10:23 am
by GPSGuided
Great to see more quality local products.


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Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 11:41 am
by Giddy_up
Yep, just need a dedicated tent maker who specialises in Cuben and eVent and we nearly have it all :)


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Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 1:30 pm
by simonm
They look great. Well done.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 3:01 pm
by Strider
Scottyk wrote:
Strider wrote:These look fantastic but I am intrigued why you have retained a press stud in the design despite the usual commentary about it being redundant in other designs. Did the testing show it actually is needed?

I had an old pair from another brand that didn't have one and eventually it just starts to open up and that allows the velcro to get abraded and wear out. Snow is particularly good at slowly opening it up.
Yeah I think it is needed in scrub or snow and the testers agreed.

Thanks Scotty. For the record, I didn't mean to sound as though it's not needed.

dunamis wrote:Just out of interest why is nylon cord used instead of steel cable under the boot?

The link says it is UHMWPE (e.g. Dyneema/Spectra). Stronger than steel.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 3:42 pm
by GPSGuided
Strider wrote:The link says it is UHMWPE (e.g. Dyneema/Spectra). Stronger than steel.

Is UHMWPE more wear resistant also?

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 4:39 pm
by Scottyk
GPSGuided wrote:
Strider wrote:The link says it is UHMWPE (e.g. Dyneema/Spectra). Stronger than steel.

Is UHMWPE more wear resistant also?

It my highly scientific testing (rubbing it backwards and forwards on the large rock until it fails!) I have found it to be about twice as good as nylon cord

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 4:54 pm
by simonm
Scottyk wrote:
GPSGuided wrote:
Strider wrote:The link says it is UHMWPE (e.g. Dyneema/Spectra). Stronger than steel.

Is UHMWPE more wear resistant also?

It my highly scientific testing (rubbing it backwards and forwards on the large rock until it fails!) I have found it to be about twice as good as nylon cord


If it doesn't have a urethane coating it will be quite slippery and hence resist abrasion I would imagine.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 5:00 pm
by stepbystep
The underboot strap is something I've been intrigued about. Hence waiting for a decent dolerite traverse before making a call. Even if it did fail after a few days the replacement would be easy to make, light to carry and have multiple uses for emergency use, I'm very much warming to it after being highly sceptical. It's still pretty much still intact after 20=odd days of walking....

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 5:25 pm
by north-north-west
After a similar period including rock, dirt, mud, logs, duckboarding, etc the straps on mine are a little flattened but there's no fraying. As sbs says, it needs a good bit of dolerite before you can judge for sure, but they're light, easy to replace and harder wearing than any other kind of cord. So far, it's thumbs up.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2016 5:39 pm
by Scottyk
I am confident that dolerite will take its toll on this cord, dolerite is hard on everything, boots, shorts anything that scrapes against it if your scrambling.
The fact that it is so easy to replace and carry spares should make it a workable solution to a big heavy strap I think.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Wed 20 Jul, 2016 8:16 am
by stu
I assume you'll be selling replacement cords on your site Scott?

As one of the testers I can 100% attest to the quality of the workmanship of these gaiters (I've been through pretty much every brand - WE, STS, OR, Black Crystal) & the quality of these surpasses any of those brands.
I agree with SBS, the fit is probably a little slimmer than STS, I usually take a medium in the STS Quagmire but am testing the large in these (ideal would be between the 2 sizes for me).
I haven't been able to give them a full test run yet as it's kinda off-season for hard off-track walks but looking forward to providing more feedback later in the year.
As suggested, I'm looking forward to your overpant line Scott...hint...hint... :D

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Wed 20 Jul, 2016 9:06 am
by Scottyk
stu wrote:I assume you'll be selling replacement cords on your site Scott?

As one of the testers I can 100% attest to the quality of the workmanship of these gaiters (I've been through pretty much every brand - WE, STS, OR, Black Crystal) & the quality of these surpasses any of those brands.
I agree with SBS, the fit is probably a little slimmer than STS, I usually take a medium in the STS Quagmire but am testing the large in these (ideal would be between the 2 sizes for me).
I haven't been able to give them a full test run yet as it's kinda off-season for hard off-track walks but looking forward to providing more feedback later in the year.
As suggested, I'm looking forward to your overpant line Scott...hint...hint... :D

Yeah will be getting the replacement cords up on the site soon. :wink:

Bomb proof rain pants would be an option…… so many possibilities

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Wed 20 Jul, 2016 9:32 am
by cams
I replaced the under boot strap on my old gaiters with a similar cord but much thinner. It didn't have to deal with dolerite in Qld, but saw its share of muddy conditions and plenty of rock hopping in creeks etc. and never looked like breaking. Can't wait to get my hands on a pair of these.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Wed 20 Jul, 2016 1:26 pm
by DanShell
Great work, its nice to see some more locally made products that are of high quality.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Thu 21 Jul, 2016 12:05 pm
by frenchy_84
Tasgear has quick delivery as well. I ordered on Monday and they had arrived by Wednesday. They look good so far,just need to get out and use them in anger.

Re: Tasgear Gaiters

PostPosted: Thu 21 Jul, 2016 1:47 pm
by Nuts
Good luck.