Boot cleaning

[Kim]

I love my boots, and I want to keep them nice and clean but...

when you're out camping, it's raining and it's muddy, and by the end of the day your boots are covered with mud do you

1) clean them at the end of every day, give them a wipe down and perhaps put a bit of waterproofing on them or,

2) leave them caked with dirt and clean them properly only when you've finished camping?

I'm not sure which is best for the life of the boot, does it depend on how long your camping for? :?:

 

[jakunen]

I clean the muck off every night but wait until I get home to sort them out properly.

If I'm away on a long trip (like Sweden) I'll take a proper kit and sort them out if they need it.
Good boots shouldn't need too regular attention, proofing wise.

 

[maddave]

Knock excess mud off with a stick, otherwise this will prevent the boot drying out correctly then open the tongue as much as you can to give the best airflow and set them upside down on sticks to air them. Once in the field I only proof my boots once a week or sooner if I get water ingress. If you do it right at home, you should be OK for a muddy week, I find scree is the most damaging material to be yomping over and this can hammer your boots. There's no hard and fast method really, If your boots look tired and battered, it won't do any harm to give em a good clean and proof, You'll get to know in time how long to leave them before a good overhaul :biggthump

 

[tenbears10]

:drillserg YOU CLEAN YOUR BOOTS EVERY DAY YOU 'ORRIBLE LITTLE SO AND SO.

Seriously, exactly what Jak and Dave said. If you are out for a while you will need too take some proofer with you but that can just be a small tin of nikwax to put on with your fingers and you don't need anything else.

Just make sure you give them some TLC when you get home and before you go away.

Bill

 

[arctic hobo]

:drillserg YOU CLEAN YOUR BOOTS EVERY DAY YOU 'ORRIBLE LITTLE SO AND SO.

:rolmao: :rolmao: :biggthump

Seriously speaking, I clean them every time I use them. I've never minded doing this and it will mean they outlast me :biggthump

 

[tenbears10]

I clean them every time I use them. I've never minded doing this and it will mean they outlast me :biggthump

I can't understand people who spend upto £180 on a pair of boots and then let them rot by not cleaning them. It takes 5 minutes and it will stop the leather cracking and keep them waterproof.

 

[Great Pebble]

Cleaning boots is one of my favourite things to do at the fire, usually with a wee nip from the flask to "keep the cold out".

 

[hootchi]

I would advise some nikwax aqueous wax, the stuff you paint on, for waterproofing in the field because you can apply that to wet boots. You can't apply the 'solid' wax from a tin to wet boots.

Other than that the previous is what I would have said. :biggthump

 

[quiggers]

without going off-topic too much - if you do have your boots off by the fire - and probably good for your boots and your feet...

....what do you wear for plodding round the camp ?

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

Quiggers, Remember the Movie THE SEARCHERS? Think about the scene when they are camped outside the Comanche camp after first meeting Scar. John Wayne is wearing a pair of soft indian moccassins. This is what well heeled cowboys wore around camp at day's end. People make the mistake of slapping a pair of boots on and then renewing relations with their bare feet at the end of the weekend. We are not tanks with treads. A boot is to protect our feet. Sometimes we must protect that boot. No self respecting cowboy would wear a custom pair of riding boots crossing a river afoot. You take the boots OFF. Letting our feet breath and air out is just as important as adjusting our layered clothing system.

 

[Realgar]

While we're on it. Now that I have a pair of all singing all dancing toe capped breathable magnums - which are extremely comfortable ( and should be at the price ), how do I deal with the fabric portions?

Plodding around camp/river bank I've got a pair of cheap ( ten quid ) backless trainery type things. They're comfortable enough to walk half a day in if I want a rest from the boots and I have no qualms about wading in them when I'm fishing.

My boots never crack or rot - the soles wear out before they get that far,

Realgar

 

[tenbears10]

My boots never crack or rot - the soles wear out before they get that far,

Realgar

That's how it should be.

As far as the fabric is concerned nikwax do a waterbased proofer which is pretty good and like someone said already you can use it on wet boots and leave it to dry and they are waterproofed. Oh nearly forgot it's called fabric and leather proofer (does what it says on the tin).

Bill