I won't opine on the shoe itself, as I'm confident that *the* hardest gear/clothing choice by far is finding the right trail shoe. We're not at all "alike" when it comes to which shoe works well, so what's great for one person might be a very poor choice for another.

But on the topic of gaiters --- I don't tend to wear them. In certain conditions I will, but generally I find that wearing long pants keeps most trail debris out of my shoes, and finer dirt/dust gets in through the mesh anyway.

And when I don't have gaiters on, I'm more inclined to take my shoes off at a break; always a good thing to do, but add gaiters into the mix and it's a bit more of a hassle.