TRIO, you have an e-mail.

Outdoorsmen still wear leather boots? ; )

Some of us do, apparently. One thing to keep in mind is if the inner liner is Goretex - check to see if any sprays or toppings are compatible. Some have solvents which cause delamination - you won't see it as that layer is on the backside of the fabric. Poof, no more waterproof.

Having suffered the discovery that Goretex does have a "half life" after 5 or more years of neglect (who does that?) and it's also vapor permeable but only at a very slow rate, I avoid it now. Hot clammy boots aren't fun - and certainly not Mall wear. That's ok, since a have favorites I hunt in, they only see dirt. Not even a filling station. Because scent control. Also why I quit motor oil as a gun lube - stinks.

Same for some of the newer neoprene sock hiker low cuts - I have to put them away for the summer. Extremely water resistant, even the cup of water I sweat into a shoe during the day. They are, however, pretty good in 14F weather if you keep moving. My only mistake that day was too much backpack and no overpants. And a goose down parka is heavy.

Leather gets cleaned and a light coat of neats foot oil, the fabrics cleaned and left alone. For deeper snow - Moon Boots! They still make them, look around.

I wear Red Wing 202's. I prefer the original boot oil over the new fangled vegetable blend they promote now. But oiling my current pair doesn't keep the water out. Toes are worn through on both feet and the tips of th esoles worn through. Just ordered a new pair Monday. If/when they show up, I will give them a good oiling after a couple weeks of break in.

Hmmm, I will put some conditioner on my Anderson Beans

That's all I need for a Texas winter...

All joking aside my Danners (200g Acadias) are hardly broken in so they should be good just in case we get another winter like last year.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
I quit using Mink Oil years ago. It does keep the leather supple, but kills any insulating properties the boots have. My feet froze with the boots treated with Mink Oil. Ditto for Neets Foot too.

Sooooooo, what do you use?

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo Jones:
<snip>
Also - my Red Wings are nubuck finsh (wearing them now as it has been some nice winter-type weather in NC today, heavy rains high winds, 30 degree temp drop and snow!) - not sure if that should be treated differently than full grain.

I believe Red Wing says not to use mink oil on their nubuck boots. Just clean and spray them.

For my leather boots (and leather sheaths) that might see rain and snow, I've used Sno-seal without anything to complain about. Appears to be bees wax with some petroleum product base.

For leather gear that just needs to stay clean and conditioned, I like Obenauf's Leather Preservative.

For my true cold weather boots, I rely on the boot's internal waterproof/breathable membrane (Gore-tex or similar) and won't put any heavy waxes or oils onto the leather that might affect the membrane's breathability. I will however brush and wipe the leather with some leather cleaner and give the exterior leather a light coat of a Scotch Guard or similar water repellent finish. If the boots get really nasty, I will use some Nikwax Techwash and give the boots a thorough washing to hopefully extend the life of the waterproof membrane.