I need to get some shoe grease for my hiking boots, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations?

............Snoozy , I found a Kiwi product called "wet pruf" that I use on my Red wing boots and RW also makes a product for their boots . I found wet pruf at M. Mart . It will darken the color of the leather as will the RW product . The directions say NOT to use this product on delicate leather products , rather they make a another product called...Kiwi Protect All for delicate leather applications . fordy...

 

I'm sold on Nikwax. It's just plain great stuff.

 

There are several good boot "greases" available. Those mentioned above are good. Mink oil, and Snowproof are a couple of others. The main thing to remember about leather is not to put a petroleum based oil on it. Petroleum will dry and crack the leather. Always use an animal based lubricant.

 

I use 50% olive oil and 50% beeswax.

 

snow-seal with a hairdryr to "melt" it in...

 

When my life depended on it, literally, I used sno-seal. Now that I'm on the farm, I find hog lard works wonders waterproofing, and keeping the leather nice and soft...

 

I wear boots everyday of my life....in snow, marshes, swamps, etc. Trust me, this is the best product on the market. It have been made for almost 100 years right here in Minnesota.

 

TExican -- my hog lard is so tasty, I couldn't imagine wasting it on hiking boots! Moreover, my dog would find it irresistible, I think.

I did not know that petroleum-based greases dry out leather. Hmmn.

 

Lard was the number one greaser before people got rich. Don't use any that has salt in it. If you put lard on the threads of bolts when you are putting anything together, the threads won't rust, and the nuts will be easy to get off years after they have been exposed to the weather.

 

Beeswax...provides protection but does not soften the leather. There are a
number of fine preparations. Redwing stores are outlets for one...
Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP(leather preservative).

Check out top end work boot sites...especially those that deal with firefighters/fire jumper boots.

Greases do protect but tend to soften and therefore weaken the leather.

Nor V Gen is interesting. Please, what are the ingredients?

 

I've always used sno-seal

 

Bear grease is by far the best. Second best is Cabin Fever's Nor-V-Gen shoe paste but is sometimes harder to come by than a can of bear grease.

 

One other thing is not to overdo any kind of oil. Too much of anything will cause the stitches to rot.

 

Commerically: mink oil is the best [natural]

But really any lard rendered from any animal should be jsut fine.

I have used bacon greese, beef lard, beaver is good, bear, rabbit, moose.

Synthetic stuff is not what was in the leather back when it was skin, only natural animal lard is in it. So I use animal lard.

If you dont have any [maybe your a vegan] buy some mink oil.

 

And your dogs don't chew on your boots when you use animal fat on them?

 

And your dogs don't chew on your boots when you use animal fat on them?

I have not had such an issue.

But our dogs have food in their bowls twice a day, and they have chew toy-treats, and they lick clean all of my families plates after each meal [before they go into the sink of hot soapy water].

 

I got a chuckle out of that one Reminds me of a movie I saw once (don't remember the title) where the guy had people over for dinner. After eating he put the plates on the floor and the dogs licked them "clean". Then he picked them up and put them right in the cupboard!

 

"the survivor" stated that seal is best for the super cold environments as it does not freeze and stiffen. i have always used mink oil myself.

just thought i would plug l.l. bean boots while i am on the topic. i have a pair that are 1000 gram thinsulate and waterproof gortex all leather boots. they are heavy for hiking but are the warmest "hiking type" boot i have ever had. i like felt liners and such but it is difficult to hike with them. the "big game stalkers" i own have deep tread. i luv em'.
my brother in law owned l.l. bean duck doots for 10-15 years and they replaced them for free when they cracked.

 

we have found that mutton tallow makes leather waterproof. I have not tried any other animal fat but can vouch for the sheep grease.

 

I use animal fat. When I skin out my trapped '***** each year, I save the fat off the hide while fleshing. It keeps all leather soft, waterproof and pliable. One pair of good leather work gloves lasting me several years of use. It funny how a few pennies of prevention can save big bucks on equipment.

 

One other thing is not to overdo any kind of oil. Too much of anything will cause the stitches to rot.

Exactly.

It will soften and stretch leather also. Boots going out of shape are no good.

Beeswax worked into warmed leather will be waterproof and not do that.

Good boot manufacturers like White's, Wesco, et all recommend beeswax. Wesco sends some with every pair sold.
Lard might have the choice back in the day, but I'll never put it on an expensive pair of boots....It's also much more temporary. Beeswax lasts.

 

I've used a light coat of sno-seal on my Matterhorns that I've had since they first came out with the composite safety toes and sole plates back in the 90s and they've worn great despite tremendous abuse. The leather is still supple and nice they're still waterproof. I love those boots. Should a man be that attatched to his boots?