Moccasins-Best foot wear...for me.

[Bear the Dog]

I did too! There was some kind of boot dressing that came in a can....was probably lard based! I remember it turned the leather really dark, and it smelled bad. But the mocs were almost indestuctable as long as I kept them greased up on the outside.

I sure would like to hear more about this stuff.

-RB

[JAK]

This company's stuff is pricey, but I would love to try some of them. They are about 1.5 hours from where I live so I plan on checking them out some time...
http://www.quoddy.com/

I have a pair of light leather ankle boots that I retreaded recently with a very thin sole so they are very much like a moccassin. They weigh 12oz each. I treat them with beeswax once a year for wet snow conditions, hand let the treatment wear off through the rest of the year. I love the way they manage moisture, like a thick layer of skin, and I like the fact that you can dry them with fire should you ever need to. Shouldn't need to, but if you have a fire going you can really dry them out and get them toasty, and treat them with more beeswax or in a pinch and fat or oil. Some other fat or oil might eventually go rancid and cause trouble with the stitching, but it will get you home. Love leather.

[Pedaling Fool]

If you had ninja shoes you could stealth hike to your stealth campsite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra_DX...eature=related

[WingedMonkey]

If you had ninja shoes you could stealth hike to your stealth campsite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra_DX...eature=related

LOL, not nija...but...

I've gone through 4 pairs of these taekwondo shoes in thge last 15 years. Great for Florida hiking , supper light and just enough to keep the thorns out. I go barefoot in the woods often when not carrying a load a load so it's a step above that.

I'm too much of a rock kicker to trust my toes to them on the AT or Blue Ridge trails. Then they become camp shoes.

I use to have a connection to the company and got them for free, now I'm at a lost as the last pair is worn out. First thing I do is pull the shoe strings out.

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[dink]

I did too! There was some kind of boot dressing that came in a can....was probably lard based! I remember it turned the leather really dark, and it smelled bad. But the mocs were almost indestuctable as long as I kept them greased up on the outside.

My dad had a can of that nasty smelling stuff too...got it from the PX (navy store) but I used the old fashoned white lard because it didn't smell bad...figures we would remember the same stuff, we are the same generation! Nowadays I use hot beeswax on all my leathers (biker chick and hiker) and it works great. Maybe it is time for a new pair of mocs for the woods.

[vamelungeon]

I wear mocs just like those around the house and had thought about taking them as camp shoes instead of my flip flops since they are lighter and more comfortable. I never even considered wearing them to hike in even though my ancestors did. If you read accounts from the 1700's you'll notice white explorers and settlers spent a lot of time making new moccasins. They aren't very durable.

[TJ aka Teej]

What many folks call moccasins are really just made-in-China slippers. The slippers make good dry weather camp shoes.

[Visionmonger]

Just two words for you. Stone bruise. I wore mocs made of elk & bison for years at Virginia's Explore park, the most comfortable camp shoes ever, when it's dry, but walking on a stone strewn path was murder! Good luck you you!

[Wags]

i love mocassins at home, but aren't they slippery?

[dink]

I guess running around in bare feet all the time makes it less painful to wear mocs when hiking...my driveway is coarse gravel and I walk over it all the time barefoot...can jog dowm the tar and gravel road with no problem too!

[couscous]

I did too! There was some kind of boot dressing that came in a can....was probably lard based! I remember it turned the leather really dark, and it smelled bad. But the mocs were almost indestuctable as long as I kept them greased up on the outside.

Sounds like Mink Oil.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000PS...dir_mdp_mobile

[GlassSunrise413]

I hadn't planned on bringing camp shoes at all, but what people said about fording rivers and dirty showers...I guess I probably should. Have people considered regular ugly old crocs? I hate the things personally, but for bummin around camp and stuff, maybe they would make sense?

[Wise Old Owl]

On the AT those would be fine until they got soaked. They will stay wet a very long time, and the leather will streeetch at the stress points. Then when they finally dry they will shrink in the non-stressed areas and get rock hard in the stretched areas. Nice idea tho....

Just two words for you. Stone bruise. I wore mocs made of elk & bison for years at Virginia's Explore park, the most comfortable camp shoes ever, when it's dry, but walking on a stone strewn path was murder! Good luck you you!

Yea - thats why I am not a fan... great out west - won't do it here.

[keithclove]

Grew up wearing Walter Dyer moccasins - super comfortable, but if they were the least bit damp and you hit a tile floor it was all over!

[Skid.]

[QUOTE=fiddlehead;1250657]I think it's a good idea.
More suited to western trails but, the rocky AT could be hiked (with care) in those I believe.
QUOTE]

Ditto what fiddlehead said. I hiked down Mt. Madison in trail runners, would have given anything for a pair of hiking boots by the time I reached the bottom. The AT in that area is totally made up of very sharp rocks, which cut holes in the sides of my trail running shoes, can't imagine what mocassins would have looked like.

[sbhikes]

I used to wear moccasins all the time when I worked at an outdoor flower market. The trouble with them is, if the ground is wet your feet get wet. Plus they wear out pretty fast. I don't think your moccasins would last very long on a long hike. I hike in the Tarahumara sandals quite often. I made some with Vibram soling material. The trouble with sandals is if there is a lot of brush with thorns and stickers, either you'll tear up your skin or you'll get a lot of stuff embedded in your socks. The other problem is that being relatively thin and flat, you really can't walk as fast as you can in thicker shoes. I have to actually run to keep up with my friends. It's not a huge issue, but it gets annoying. I solved it by making cushioned Tarahumara huarache sandals, an abomination to the whole "minimalist" running shoe thing, but I don't care. I can walk really fast in them.

[chiefduffy]

Sounds like Mink Oil.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000PS...dir_mdp_mobile

Yup that was it! Wasn't KIWI back then, and the can was different, but it was Mink Oil.

[Bear the Dog]

Yup that was it! Wasn't KIWI back then, and the can was different, but it was Mink Oil.

I just read that it is not good on suede type of leather.

-RB

[JAK]

I think alot of mocassins used to be made to be waterproof, especially the soles. Makes sense considering the woods used to be alot wetter, back in the day. I think moosehide was used versus deerhide when it needed to be tougher and more waterproof, also the way it was tanned. Not sure whether woodland caribou were used, when they were in this neck of the woods. I know sealskin was used my the Mikmaq an Passamaquoddy, for some applications. The stuff made my Quoddy look pretty tough, and they appear to blend traditional with updated quite well. Looks very functional.

These would be my pick. $350. ouch.
http://www.quoddy.com/tracker-boot/

Here is their waterproofing...
http://www.quoddy.com/quoddy-organic-waterproofer/

Bear fat and beeswax. $20.

[parkinson1963]

I believe the stuff you are talking about is Dubbin, made from pig lard, bees wax and something else. Works great, not sure you can still get it.