Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Re-Treating Gore-Tex Clothing & Boots

I have a set of fleece Gore-Tex camo I need to re-waterproof and also a pair a Danner Boots. These are the leather/Cordura nylon combo. I've used sno-seal on the leather portion before but I want to re-treat both leather and fabric now. What do you guys use for this?

Gear-Aid REVIVE X Durable Waterproofing

Outperforms Nikwax.

Works great on GoreTex and other newer fabrics, too. Have only used it on a fleece Windstopper hat and fleece glove liners. I spray EVERY pack, sleeping bag, tent, rain fly, tent footprint, rain gear, softshell, pants, parka, stuff sack, fabric rifle case, etc.

They make a product for leather ( Leather Gel Waterproofing & Conditioner ) that is the way to waterproof your leather gloves or leather boots. Works great on my leather climbing boots. Nothing wrong with the "beeswax" sno-seal, though. You can even use it on your horse's...uh..."feet".

May want to "scuff" the leather portions with some very fine abrasive for the new product application. Product for nubuck material works great, too!

The Amazon reviews on Gear-Aid Revive X aren't very good, only 3 stars out of 5. Some say that you HAVE to wash everything in Gear-Aid's detergent before treating or it won't stick. Household detergents won't work. I've never used it so I can't comment myself.
I've used Camp Dry for years with so-so results at best. I was hoping the Gear-Aid would be better until I read the reviews.

I also need something that works. Here's one I'm thinking about trying. STARBRITE WATERPROOFING Has anyone tried it? A lot of amazon's reviewers are using it on patio furniture, boat covers, etc. Most of the bad reviews are about the crap spray bottle, not the product. Note that it comes in a 22oz spray bottle. For twice the money, you can get almost 6x more in a gal jug. Just put it in a spray bottle from Wally's.
Supposedly you get better penetration if you cut it 50-50 with denatured alcohol.

There always seems to be contradicting reviews on rain gear or any type of water repellent product. That's why I posted here. It's confusing as hell...

I called Danner today and they're sending me some water proofing spray for my Pronghorns. Told me to brush them off good and make sure they're clean before spraying them. Seems like good customer service.


Rock Chuck, The Starbrite might work. I would make sure it's compatible with the fabric you want to treat though. Seems like there's different products for different fabrics.

I have used the Revive -X on my stuff.I might as well peed on them for all the good it did. Waste of money IMHO. I have had better luck with the Camp Dry on my boots that is considerably less expensive and Walmart carries it

Hmmm...did you follow the directions?????????????????????????????????????????

Works fn great in the WET & SNOWY North Cascades of the Pacific Northwest! Maybe they make a different formula for the "campers" in the hills of Colorado...

Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, Gore-Tex is a laminant. If the Gore-Tex gets a hole in it, no amount of spray or putty is going to repair the Gore-Tex. now you can make a case for making the material that the Gore-Tex is adhered to waterproof, but you will never get the Gore-Tex itself waterproof again. Think of Gore-Tex like a plastic bag adhered to the inside of your coat/boots/gloves that somehow breathes (thus the magic of GoreTex). Rip the bag and you are out of luck.

I have a set of Gortex bibs and a coat

I spray them each year with Camp dry

My wife ruins all her gortex with camp dry. It is not recomended for goretex.

I've found that once gore-tex is shot it's time to replace it. Gore-tex is a laminate. The spray on crap doesn't do anything for the Gore-Tex, it's just to recharge the DWR coating and typically doesn't do as good a job as the original coating. 5-10min in a dryer set on a warm, not hot setting does a pretty good job of giving the DWR coating a bit of life.

On fabrics, like codura...or canvas, denim, etc., we used to use a heavy coat of starch or scotch guard. Outdated and ineffective I’m sure. And surely not permanent.
Seems like there might be some kind of rubbery spray film, like on the inside of a backpack..pre-goretex.

But similar to tdbob, when I’ve worn out goretex I don’t think there was any resealing it as it was stretched ti the point of developing holes in the membrane.

I've tried several different fabric waterproof sprays over the years, and none of them have been stellar. For next time, I am going to give the Atsko brand a try. Their formula includes fluoropolymers.

Several months ago I read an article about Patagonia changing their proprietary DWR formulas to exclude fluoropolymers due to environmental concerns. My take on the article was that Patagonia was having difficulty finding something that worked as well as their old fluoropolymer formula yet still be less harmful to the environment. For the small amount of fluoropolymer waterproof spray that I will use, I'm not too concerned about its environmental impact.

Also from that article, I learned that wax-based formulas are more prevalent in Europe because of concerns with fluoropolymers. Supposedly, the Nik-Wax brand uses wax-based DWRs, and these aren't too compatible with garments originally treated with a fluoropolymer treatment.

I have used Atsko's Sport-Wash laundry detergent for years with good results. It's scent-free, rinses clean from laminates such as Gore-Tex, and has no U-V brighteners to make your hunting clothes glow in the dark.

Here is a link. Says "fluoropolymer" right on the can....

Atsko Water-Guard

Have tried most of the popular waterproofing restoration products on the market. NikWax is what I use. For waterproof/breathable use the wash-in TX-Direct. I should own stock in NikWax.

--If the garment has been washed in regular laundry detergent often it may not "take" the waterproofing regardless of which brand of waterproofing used..

--In other words, ALWAYS wash synthetics in a tech wash meant for synthetics.

--For everyday washing of synthetics I use the Sport Wash by Atsko.

--When it comes time to restore synthetics I use the NikWax Tech Wash. Run this cycle, then another complete cycle for the waterproofing.

--When washing in the waterproofing,, follow the directions, only put 1-2 large garments, or 2-3 small garments in the washer, and do not skimp on the the waterproofing--use plenty of it. Stop the washer halfway into the wash cycle and let the clothes soak for a half hour or more, then continue with the wash cycle.

--I put mine in the dryer for a short time to heat the clothing up because allegedly the heat helps to "activate" the waterproofing. I usually just run the dryer long enough to get the clothes warmed up well then take them out and let air dry.

This applies to all of the NikWax waterproofing products--PolarProof, SoftShell Proof, etc.

Also, the NikWax Base Wash really does "fluff up" synthetic base layers and my Smartwool and synthetic socks better than any of the tech washes I have tried.

When it comes to leather/fabric boots, including ones with a Gore Tex lining, I've never found anything that waterproofs the fabric effectively. Maybe for a day at best.

I used McNett ReviveX on a gore tex down coat that had stopped beading water. I had to cook it on in the dryer at a hot setting but it worked well and has lasted a long time.

^What he said^

Properly constructed Gore-Tex stuff with taped seams lasts a long time. I've got a Cabelas coat so old it's made in America(!) and it's still completely water and windproof. Same for my old Danners. A cheap Woolrich jacket with no lining now leaks at the seams because the tape was unprotected and is coming loose in tatters. I was under the impression that stuff wearing the Gore-Tex label had to be built to their standards, but who knows now?

Since Gore-Tex is laminated to the outer layer of fabric, I'd be careful about what I sprayed on it for fear of futzing it up. I've used some spray-on stuff on regular fabrics, but it's never done much or lasted long.

I used Nikwax TechWash and the Softshell Proof spray to treat 2 sets of Cabela's Dry Plus camo. It was money well spent; the fleece no longer soaks up water and I stayed dry through 4 days of rain and snow last week in Idaho.

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