Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Leather Boot Treatment

Hello all, I just got a pair of Cabelas casual boots with full grain, pebbled leather. It is not suede, but is not smooth either. What product should I use to make them as water resistant as possible without ruining the grain of the leather? Any and all help is much appreciated.

Marvel mystery oil.

Really?

I've used Neatsfoot oil.

Always been a Sno-Seal guy myself. Not sure it wouldn't mess up the grain though. WILL darken the leather but it works like a dream. DO NOT let the wife catch you heating your boots up in the oven to set it in though......

Not sure what the leather surface looks like, post a picture or link.
That being said,
"Sno Seal" or Orbensdorfs for any smooth leather, Nik-Wax anhydrous for rough surfaces.

Sno-seal is a temporary product.

Google the forum HERE

using "beeswax+boots" or something similar.

Yes it is. I usually re-do mine every fall to keep them right. Pull out the laces, coat everything well, heat 'em up, rub them down & inspect the laces before returning them to service. It for sure isn't a permanent fix & needs to be redone occasionally.

Sno-Seal is garbage as a boot dressing. Beeswax based with solvents to make application easy... But it fails miserably when actually used in wet stuff.

Plain beeswax is orders of magnitude better; longer lasting, makes leather very abrasion resistant, and never soaks up enough water to allow the leather to stretch. Sloppy wet boots in many places can be beyond dangerous...

I always had good luck with Sno Seal. It will eventually cause full-grain boots to get hard and crack though, so its best not to overdo it, and, as noted, it is temporary. If you have an older style boot with a Norwegian welt, IE, visible stitches holding the soles on, this needs to be sealed with some sort of welt seal.

Mink oil is the best. But can darken lighter colored leather.

And any good treatment is temporary. Tried one "permanent" thing once. Dont remember the name, but it won't let the leather breathe. Reapply mink oil once a year.

I treated my three year old Schnee Hunters with Obenauf's this summer and have used them on numerous hunt days with snow. The treatment has held up better than any product I have previously used by a significant margin.

I warmed them in the sun, my boots aren't going to see the inside of my oven. Although I do use the oven to heat and treat the leather products I make.

+1 on the obenaufs. I usually apply the oil, after that soaks in and dries I apply the LP grease. My current pair of work boots are just shy of two years old. Pretty good testimony for leather boots in a coal mine.

LP grease?

+2 for Obenaufs - I haven't tried everything out there but used to use a lot of Sno Seal. Obenaufs works better for me than anything I've tried, though I'm intrigued with the pure bees wax treatment the Alaska folks swear by.

I don't believe in permanent treatment. how log the leather last is as much a product of the quality of leather as the treatment. I wear only top quality boots made with the best leather. Wesco whites danner. tho the danners are not even in the same league as the former. I am on the 3rd soles and the leather is still pretty good. they mostly have been treated with obenoffs. tho my other boots have been getting whites bee oil hubbards and Montana pitch. im thinking I like the Montana pich blend the best but you wont go wrong with hubbards or obonoffs.

Just clean your boots once a year with saddle soap, let them dry and then treat with mink oil.

I've usually used beeswax, but as a mechanic, oil and solvents usually ruin them in five months instead of four and a half. Just heat with a hair dryer or set them in front of the fire place. It will darken your boots though.

+3 on Obenaufs LP on the threads on the welt I get a small can of beeswax and rub into the seam, then melt it in with careful use of a heat gun(low setting& keep it moving) also use the heat to melt in the ob's

Mink oil will REALLY soften leather, that may, or may not be what you are after. For mountain-type boots, that might not be a good thing.