Hey I was just wondering what people thought of those things. I do a lot of my hiking/scrambling/approaches in my trail runners, and there is no way I'm wearing full gaiters like a chode in the middle of summer with no snow in sight. Thanks.

Look at the OR Flex-Tex lows. Fit great and are super durable.
http://orgear.com/home/style/home/gaiters/gaiters_low/61050

I have actually looked at those, they seem pretty solid.

if there is no snow why wear gaitors at all?

I only where them in snow.
However, when I do where them I use the short Black Diamonds. They are super nice. When there is deep snow I use full size OR's.

I have those low spatz-style Outdoor Research gaitors. I like them. They work well for conditions where full gaitors aren't necessary. They work well for snow (partcularly when more consolidated), brush, scree, etc., are lighter, and don't keep in as much heat as large gaitors.

However, I don't like wearing mine on scree for fear of wearing out the strap. The way I hike/climb (my particular gait), I haven't had a big problem with wear & tear of the strap, but I know others who have. The strap can be replaced pretty easily, though.

The velcro stitching isn't the best, though. Over time, the yanks to undo the strong velcro has seemed to rip some of the stitching.

I picked up this tip from a backpacking book - one can protect the gaiters' strap or whatever with tubular webbing. On my OR low gaiters it's just a cord anyway, so replacing it is not a huge issue.