# New boot care



## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

Do you guys treat your hunting boots with leather treatment right out of the box or do you break them in first?

I just picked up a second pair of Menidal's (Denali's) 

im planning on treating them now, and then anually but, wondering what ya'll do to care for your boots


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

I just bought some Lowa boots and the care instructions that came with them said it isn't necessary to treat them initially, but I doubt it would hurt to just do it right off the bat.


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

My Zamberlans said the same thing. Just wear them as they are pretreated.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

I never treated my first pair of Denalis and they started to crack after year three and needed to be replaced after year five. The new pair I picked up two years ago got a treatment of Kenetrek Boot Wax right out of the box and then twice a year, depending on the usage. The newer pair still looks great - no signs of cracking, I hoping to get a decade out of them.


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## weaversamuel76 (Feb 16, 2017)

Grainger's waterproofing wax is what I've went to now for all my boots. I've used a bunch in the past.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

Put 10 miles on mine (on the tread climber) and then conditioned. Doesn't hurt to loosen up the leather grain prior to treatment.

Put them back in the box and will use them next year.

Won't say which brand because I'll get teased...


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

High Desert Elk said:


> Put 10 miles on mine (on the tread climber) and then conditioned. Doesn't hurt to loosen up the leather grain prior to treatment.
> 
> Put them back in the box and will use them next year.
> 
> Won't say which brand because I'll get teased...


Aww, come on out with it!! how are we supposed to compare? its the off season, nobody reads this stuff anyways


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

I have gone through four pairs of meindl boots over the last decade--they are a good boot. I usually treat mine right out of the box, it's only going to help them so why not.

I usually treat my boots three to four times a year and generally get 2-3 years out of them before they wear out. I use obenauf's leather treatment and it works really well.

Here are a couple of things I have learned when treating boots: 

Give them a good cleaning before treating them. I clean mine in the bath tub under hot water with a scrub brush. Scrub the heck out of them and put them on the boot dryer for a day before applying a treatment.

When applying treatment, warm up the boot leather with a hair dryer or heater while rubbing in the leather treatment. I usually use my Mr Buddy heater while rubbing in the wax. This loosens the pours in the leather and it seems to help the boot really get a good treatment.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

High Desert Elk said:


> Put 10 miles on mine (on the tread climber) and then conditioned. Doesn't hurt to loosen up the leather grain prior to treatment.
> 
> Put them back in the box and will use them next year.
> 
> Won't say which brand because I'll get teased...


I wore mine around the house for a few weeks and on a few scouting trips (bad idea); then wore them during deer season (also a bad idea) and elk season (good idea). After elk season, I cleaned them up with some saddle soap, and put on some mink oil paste for winter snowshoeing and dog hunting.

I don't care if i get teased, i'm using Irish Setter Elk trackers, because it's the best I could afford. The only thing I'm kinda wishing, is I got them uninuslated instead of 200 gram. Works ok in October and November, but 200 grams is a bit too warm doing 10 miles a day in September. They've been Ok in april, and should be ok during the first week, in may, after that I'll have to put on my old (and worn out) uninsulated Danner pronghorns that I wear during the summer.

Yeah, Irish setter elk trackers were an upgrade for me. Danner pronghorns is as cheap as i'd go; and one thing I'e learned is I will NEVER buy boots that are not 100% leather again. Nylon Codura uppers? Forget it, you'll rip the backs of them above the heel within the year, oh and, they are NOT waterproof, I don't care if they are goretex or not, it's like a screen door on a submarine.


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