Boot Care

[woggle]

Hi just need some advice on boot care. I am someone who always washes their boots after a woodland or forest walk but what I want to know is when it comes to water proofing my boots whats the best thing to use taking into account I us army black leather combat boots. Is Duben any good for this or is there something else I could use to waterproof my boots. Any advice would be appreciated.

woggle

 

[baggins]

Hi woggle,
welcome. a good question that will get you as many answers as there are products, lol!
Dubbin is great, i use it a lot, but quite a few folk on here use the leder gris (can't remember who makes it now). But do a search on here and you will find plenty of threads covering the same topic.

 

[Duggie Bravo]

I use a combination of Kiwi polish, because I like a shine, and Nikwax every so often.
I only used polish on my combat boots and never had wet feet, unless the water went over the top!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[santaman2000]

Kiwi polish and wet cotton balls plus lots of elbow grease.

 

[Janne]

It also depends on the leather. Some leathers, like the old Swedish Army full leather boots, were made from leather that went water tight with boot polish.
My RedWings are made from leather that need Mink oil and similar penetrating greases.
The construction of the boot is also a factor. Many boots have glued or vulkanized soles to top, some ( like my RW) have a stitched connection.

 

[Tonyuk]

Either Altberg leder gris or Grangers g-wax. Dubbin can over-soften the leather leading to less ankle support.

Tonyuk

 

[baggins]

Ahhhhhh! Altberg leder gris, been bugging me all day!
top notch stuff.

 

[Philster]

Another vote for Leder Gris - it's an oil and wax polish that feeds the leather as well as polishing and proofing it. It's recommended by Altberg, so super stuff!!

 

[santaman2000]

It also depends on the leather. Some leathers, like the old Swedish Army full leather boots, were made from leather that went water tight with boot polish.
My RedWings are made from leather that need Mink oil and similar penetrating greases.
The construction of the boot is also a factor. Many boots have glued or vulkanized soles to top, some ( like my RW) have a stitched connection.

It also depends on what you mean by "waterproof." If you mean keeping the water from saturating the leather, lots of thing work; if you mean keeping your feet dry, nothing will keep the water from pouring in that hole in the top of the boot if you cross water over the top.

You can always try the old standby and smear them with bear grease.

 

[dewi]

You could always use some builder's rubble bags and some gaffer tape... that'll keep the water off your boots and you'll have a unique woodland style that might catch on

I wear boots everyday... I use a generic polish, give them a good coating and buff them up... they still get wet when I'm out and about, but once I've dried them and polished them again, they're fine.

 

[Janne]

It also depends on what you mean by "waterproof." If you mean keeping the water from saturating the leather, lots of thing work; if you mean keeping your feet dry, nothing will keep the water from pouring in that hole in the top of the boot if you cross water over the top.

You can always try the old standby and smear them with bear grease.

I always try to know the depth before I step in.
Never tried bear grease. Mink oil, whale oil, seal oil yes.

 

[santaman2000]

I always try to know the depth before I step in......

Oh, I know the depth. Waist deep or deeper isn't uncommon when hiking/hunting (less common now than when I was younger but still not uncommon) Deeper's possible if on horseback.

 

[baggins]

wow! how tall are your horses boots then?

 

[santaman2000]

wow! how tall are your horses boots then?

LOL. Shorter than mine

 

[baggins]

 

[Nice65]

I used to love the old Nikwax in tins. Rubbed in with warm fingers by the fire it was absorbed by the leather. The new stuff is water based and dries on my boots to leave a horrible white layer and fills the stitching with white paste. Not so good, it doesn't seem to absorb at all, just coats the leather.

I'm sure there was an alternative, but I can't remember the name.

 

[Tonyuk]

I used to love the old Nikwax in tins. Rubbed in with warm fingers by the fire it was absorbed by the leather. The new stuff is water based and dries on my boots to leave a horrible white layer and fills the stitching with white paste. Not so good, it doesn't seem to absorb at all, just coats the leather.

I'm sure there was an alternative, but I can't remember the name.

Grangers G-Wax sounds like what your after, Beeswax based and absorbs into the leather, leaving a bit on the outside.

Tonyuk

 

[Tonyuk]

It also depends on what you mean by "waterproof." If you mean keeping the water from saturating the leather, lots of thing work; if you mean keeping your feet dry, nothing will keep the water from pouring in that hole in the top of the boot if you cross water over the top.

You can always try the old standby and smear them with bear grease.

A technique we use when river crossing is to cut the wrist to arm length off of one of the cbrn kit gloves and when crossing a stream bring it up your leg so that it covered your socks (rolled down a bit) and about an inch & 1/2 over the top of your boot. Stops the water from pouring in. If your lucky your boots will stay practically dry this way, or dry enough to be fixed almost instantly with a sock change.

Tonyuk