Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Beeswax for boots?

WOW!!!!

Sno-Seal is why you cannot get your boots dry. Packing enough boots on a sheep hunt for rotating them is a funny thought!

A forced-air register is not even close to adequate for melting wax into boots.

I guarantee a proper coat of beeswax will go farther in snow than Sno-Seal ever could and by a huge factor. And it is not the waterproofing only that makes beeswax superior. When Sno-Sealed boot leather gets wet, on the first day of use under real conditions it starts stretching... And eliminates any chance of support from a boot. In a lot of the stuff we hunt that gets into the dangerous category, fast.

None of the silicone treatments will stand up to boot use, period.
art

Okanagan;
I hope this finds you and yours well today sir, it's good to see you about.

Like you, I've not been able to find anything that has come close to straight beeswax and I learned about it here from Art. That said, the stuff that JB mentioned isn't available locally, so I've not tried that out yet.

I was mulling over your field application question and have got to admit I'm not sure what I'd try either.

Of course one can melt a tin of wax on the campfire, and dry and then heat your boots using the same method. The trick would be not overheating your boots with a fire.

I'd suspect it would be possible to heat the boots fairly evenly over a good bed of embers and then apply liquid wax with a brush, but then one would have to be diligent not to set the whole works ablaze, wouldn't one?

I've been told hiking out of sheep camp after burning your boots isn't as fun as it sounds.

All the best to you and yours in the upcoming Christmas season Okanagan.

Regards,
Dwayne

I don't see anyone could need a new application of straight beeswax that's been applied to a new pair of boots on a 10 day hunt. The boots I wore out weren't just used for hunting, also for year round hiking and ice climbing.

I think you are right. These boots came with some kind of wax impregnated in the leather and they never took beeswax as well as my previous experiences.

I will also fess up that the boots had been heavily used all summer and were due for a good waterproofing treatment before the trip. I got too busy and thought that I could wax them at a cabin we turned out never using. So my question about how to apply in the field is due to preparation negligence on my part, not failure of the beeswax.

There is no question that beeswax lasts longer and protects leather better than anything else I've used, and I've tried most of the potions mentioned here. Never tried the Montana pitch blend stuff.

Those who like Snowseal have a wonderful exprience ahead of them because there are a number of products WAY better. My love affair and disillusionment with Snowseal all happened in the early 70's.

the boots are stitched to the soles, I don't see how just applying anything to the leather will make them waterproof, it will go through the stitching right?? thats why you need a goretex liner

my favorite pair of boots are some danner frontiers, I have put heavy applications of danner boot dressing on them to soften and preserve the leather, but by doing so my biggest problem is gauges and nicks in the leather caused from twigs and rocks, I have some cuts that nearly go through the leather. I wonder if I had not put anthing on the boots and let them be harder if the leather would have stood up better to the twigs, brush, and rocks.

Watch the video at the following link:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1315817391?bctid=68850608001

I do believe that everyone involved in the manufacturing and selling of top end backpacking boots recommend some form of beeswax based product for leather treatment and waterproofing. I don't think anyone recommends the use of any heat or any product that may break down the support of the leather or prematurely break down the leather and reduce its serviceable life. I think Lanthrop and Sons favors Grangers wax while AJ Brooks favors Meidl wax. They may be the exact same product in different packages, but both differ from straight and pure beeswax in that they want the wax formula to allow the leather to breath to some degree. There are several other popular waxes used but they all appear to be based off beeswax with a blend designed to meet Meindl specs.

I've been using Montana Pitch Blend since it was first marketed back in the '80s. I like this product as it is also beeswax based and is blended without silicone, petroleum, alcohol, or chemicals. But, it may tend to make leather a bit more supple due to the mink oil content when compared to some of the other wax products noted. You may not want to soften your heavy duty backpacking boots and lose too much support. In that case, I'd defer to their recommendation based on the leather used by the manufacturer.

The trend today is to use top grade premium leather that receives a heavy duty treatment. The boot is then given a heavy duty rand coating of truck bedliner which completely seals the leather under the outside rand. This trend is for those who need a tough boot to withstand rock cuts into the leather while side hilling. On these boots, it is impossible to apply treatment to the leather underneath the bedliner. And you would not want to break down the exposed leather with any oil based product that would reduce boot stiffness.

As to the Sno Seal, it is 65% beeswax with 35% mineral spirits. The complaint with Sno Seal is not in its use of beeswax, its in its use of mineral spirits and its recommendation to heat the leather. I think all the major wax products such as Grangers contain some amount of Naptha, but their blends differ as the Sno Seal prevents all breathing within the leather.

As another option, more than a few fire jumpers and loggers recommend Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP. Like the Montana Pitch Blend, it does not contain any hazardous materials per the MSDS.

Best:)

When my wife isn't looking I get the stove warm and stick the boots in for a few minutes. I also wax up leather work gloves, works fairly well for a few days.

You guys know this is Douchebeer posting under a new name, right?

Dude's got more chit in him than a feed lot.

Continue to be a rare poster, But favor Huberd's, Obernauf's and Montana Pitch Blend, as none of them smell like a Colman Stove and work fine. I've worked outside everyday for 40+ years in RedWings and Danners with and without goretex, feet stay dry and never put boots too close to the fire for very long, breaks down stitching and glues. I'm in utility trenches, footings, muck and sand alike, liners out at night and newsprint in, treat the boots once or everyother week during the rainy season. Heat the goo on the wood stove or (God forbid) the microwave and paint on with cheap brush and save it in paper towel with the rest of my boot stuff, had damp feet, but not often, and my boots all last thru multiple soles. Montana PitchBlend can be had thru cataloge sales at Schee's, 64oz tubs if you're so inclined, Huberd's and Obernauf's is available at most Feed and Seed or Logging supplies

I'm given Redwings and use three different models professionally. I use cataloged 914s, a set they make semi-custom, and a third set that is custom built and fit for me in their cobbler shop. All I can say is they are the best professional boots I've ever experienced in my lifetime! In addition, they service the boots every month while I wait in the shop. Great people, great business. Wish they made custom backpack boot, but they don't so I have to go through an importer such as AJ Brooks.

Best:)

I've been looking at buying a set of Schnee's for next season. I just got their catalog in and in it they sell Montana Pitch Blend.

They will last you a lifetime.

Wear mine everyday feeding cows, very good boots. They're going on their third winter and look new, course they've only been worn about 400 times....(grin)


I'm too lazy to take out the liners, Peet dryer works great overnight.

Have you treated the leather uppers with anything?

Honestly from all the good stuff i've read about them I was shocked at how reasonable the price on them was.

Obenhauf's LP once in awhile.

Lately they get soaked going in and out of a pickup, snow is powder but it sticks and tries to soak the leather when it's warm.


You guys must get really wet snows down there?
Southern and western MT gets alot of wet, dank snow in the valleys. That's when you really appreciate a good waterproof pac boot.

No snow to deal with in Alabama. What I have to deal with is water. I hunt A LOT of creek bottoms and crosing the running water is something I do a lot of. I need the leather to shed that water and not let it soak in. I also hunt in the (light) rain as often as possible. It makes the leaves silent and really helps in stalking. On a dry day there are so many krinkly crackly leaves that walking even at a snails pace makes noise.

I am a convert to the pure Bees Wax after reading about it here. I haven't hunted the NW or Alaska for awhile so I found it best to just treat the lower half of the boot at least twice with the pure wax and then use something else on the upper portion.

I use Hubberds or Obenaufs on oil tanned leather. Silicone and any heavy solvent based treatment can ruin boots quickly especially with a glued or vulcanized sole or rand. Heat can destroy them quickly too, so easy on the stove or fire treatment.

Red Wing Boot Oil.

I use mink oil on my leather hunting boots.

I like pure beeswax for leather knife sheaths or something similar where I want the ultimate waterproofing and am not concerned with flexibility or breathability, but it is not my first preference for leather shoes. Sno Seal and Obenauf's will allow the leather to breathe some if it is not applied too heavily and will also keep the leather supple. They work well for me with goretex lined boots.

For applying beeswax this is my procedure ...

Put a kettle of water on the stove with a smaller pot floating inside it which has the beeswax. Bring the water to a boil. The boiling water will heat the wax to a thin liquid but will not allow it to heat to the point of spontaneous combustion as long as you regulate the burner to keep the water bubbling but not boiling over.

Use a high heat hair dryer to heat the leather being treated. Use a small paint brush to dip in the hot liquid wax and brush it on the leather. You will need to keep heating the leather and brushing the wax until the leather is full. Use a dry brush to brush off the excess while being heated with the dryer/gun so no white sheen is left behind.

This process goes fairly quickly and easily.

In October I stopped in Schnees in Bozeman while on a fishing trip. I purchase a pair of Lowa Tibet hiking boots I have had my eye on for some time.

At the cash register the salesman asked if I had a good leather treatment to use and I indicated I had Nikwax leather waterproofing. His comment was great and that it would work wonderfully, or something to that effect.

As someone else mentioned earlier, it is my understanding that some of the treatments will soften leather to a point that the support the boot was suppose to provide will be lost.

A hiking boot used in the sheep mountains may need a different treatment than something used in a Michigan swamp while hunting whitetails.