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  1. #21
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    01-23-2019
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    Harpers ferry wv.
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    60
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    2,087

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dropdeadfred View Post
    wonder how slick it is once applied... I learned long ago the hardway.
    Armor all is not an acceptable product for cleaning and conditioning saddles.
    Or steering wheels !!

  2. #22

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    First, compliments to Gambit for getting out in winter and opting for the too often neglected Sheltowee Trace in favor of more well known sometimes beaten down crowded trails such as the AT, LT, and JMT.

    These posts most aptly describe my leather hunting boot experiences attempting to make non WP leather boots into somewhat WP boots using lanolin, mink oil, beeswax, or other pastes. I'd always vigorously work in such pastes to seams but in short order the boots would absorb dirt and would only be WR not being able to step into a puddle or hike in slush very far before socks became wet.

    Although not a general fan of WP shoes, in cold winter conditions with mixed ground conditions around freezing I find them acceptable.

    Another option I've found some success in winter is spraying leather boots with a nano particle spray such as Tarrgon. It reduces mud, ice, water build up on leather boots while providing WR. I've never found myself able to make a non WP leather boot into something that's 100% WP. Despite claims it can reduce some breathability but in freezing conditions if all what's going on with the foot system is dialed this isn't perhaps as critical compared to warmer months. It needs to be reapplied so often. That's why I often combine it with an insulated Seal Skinz or Hanz WP sock electing to carry two prs of socks with different traits maybe a merino winter pr and WP sock. https://www.tarrago.com/product/high...otector-spray/ Good news is the ST is not a muddy trail based on my 2X SOBO thru hikes of it finishing in late fall. BTW, I experienced about as many natural arches on ST thru hikes as a Hayduke Tr thru hike that went through Arches NP!

    Quote Originally Posted by peakbagger View Post
    The folks at Peter Limmer and Sons, a custom bootmaker for decades in the whites strongly recommended against Snow Seal. Their claim is it traps dirt and eventually make the leather crack. I have heard over the years the oven trick. They also did not recommend that as they said it would loosen up the glue used to build the boots. My original heavy duty leather hiking boots were waterproofed with snow seal and I did ultimately experience leather cracking. The trick with snow seal was if it cracked you applied it like drywall patch to fill in the cracks. After waiting 2 years to get my custom made Limmers, I switched over to their boot grease which was a lot lighter. Their claim is that their grease tends to sit on top of the leather restoring the water repelency without plugging up the pores of the leather. I wore out a set of soles and then stopped using them after five years and switched to trail runners. The boots are still somewhere around the house 20 years later and the leather is still in great shape.

    The fundamental problem is making boots water proof is a problem as your feet sweat and soak the boots from the inside out if the boots are waterproof. Unless you wear vapor barrier socks you need boots that can breath. You want water repelency to bead water off but you need the leather to breath. https://www.limmerbootgrease.com/inf...r-boot-grease/
    Quote Originally Posted by Dropdeadfred View Post
    i didnt think much of snow seal,,, found it to be greasy and pretty much just stayed greasy and attracted dirt.. Like the more wax like wet pruff product from kiwi,, brushed it in and buffed it like their normal polish.
    More just to take care of the leather. Never really expect plain leather boots to be waterproof or handle steady down pours. More just for wet grass resistance.

  3. #23
    Registered User
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    05-13-2020
    Location
    Maggie Valley NC
    Age
    59
    Posts
    4

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    Snow seal NO! If you wear them out in a year fine.
    It will make leather fibers separate, and leather becomes hard

  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogwood View Post
    First, compliments to Gambit for getting out in winter and opting for the too often neglected Sheltowee Trace in favor of more well known sometimes beaten down crowded trails such as the AT, LT, and JMT.

    These posts most aptly describe my leather hunting boot experiences attempting to make non WP leather boots into somewhat WP boots using lanolin, mink oil, beeswax, or other pastes. I'd always vigorously work in such pastes to seams but in short order the boots would absorb dirt and would only be WR not being able to step into a puddle or hike in slush very far before socks became wet.

    Although not a general fan of WP shoes, in cold winter conditions with mixed ground conditions around freezing I find them acceptable.

    Another option I've found some success in winter is spraying leather boots with a nano particle spray such as Tarrgon. It reduces mud, ice, water build up on leather boots while providing WR. I've never found myself able to make a non WP leather boot into something that's 100% WP. Despite claims it can reduce some breathability but in freezing conditions if all what's going on with the foot system is dialed this isn't perhaps as critical compared to warmer months. It needs to be reapplied so often. That's why I often combine it with an insulated Seal Skinz or Hanz WP sock electing to carry two prs of socks with different traits maybe a merino winter pr and WP sock. https://www.tarrago.com/product/high...otector-spray/ Good news is the ST is not a muddy trail based on my 2X SOBO thru hikes of it finishing in late fall. BTW, I experienced about as many natural arches on ST thru hikes as a Hayduke Tr thru hike that went through Arches NP!
    Thank you DW! I have had a lovely experience thus far on the ST. It is what you make it. It has not been the best blazed at all times, it is not on guthooks, alot of it is horse trail so terrain can be messy. But it is great if I make it great and that has been a great learning curve. It has taught me to once again think of logistics and directions which those skills got lost long ago on the AT, aimlessly following white blazes. There have been very very few hikers thus far, aprox 15 in the first 60 miles, and that 60 miles being some of the most traveled portions of the ST. After 2021 when I have finished the ST I will take on some other SE trails described in my signature. They are close to home, logistically realistic for weekend trips and overall mileage allows for a challenge without full dedication of all my time.
    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
    BMT: 52.7
    CDT: 85.4

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by HBA View Post
    Snow seal NO! If you wear them out in a year fine.
    It will make leather fibers separate, and leather becomes hard
    Seems like an awfully strong statement given the number of people in this thread alone that have used it for decades with no such results.

  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae View Post
    Thank you DW! I have had a lovely experience thus far on the ST. It is what you make it. It has not been the best blazed at all times, it is not on guthooks, alot of it is horse trail so terrain can be messy. But it is great if I make it great and that has been a great learning curve. It has taught me to once again think of logistics and directions which those skills got lost long ago on the AT, aimlessly following white blazes. There have been very very few hikers thus far, aprox 15 in the first 60 miles, and that 60 miles being some of the most traveled portions of the ST. After 2021 when I have finished the ST I will take on some other SE trails described in my signature. They are close to home, logistically realistic for weekend trips and overall mileage allows for a challenge without full dedication of all my time.

    "It is what you make it. But it is great if I make it great and that has been a great learning curve. It has taught me..."

    What a refreshingly grounded sober HYOH attitude based on owning your hikes taking responsibility for them, your beliefs, development, and mental outlook.

    Thank You.
    Last edited by Dogwood; 01-06-2021 at 16:38.

  7. #27
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-01-2016
    Location
    Chattanooga, Tennessee
    Posts
    1,054

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    Quote Originally Posted by HBA View Post
    Snow seal NO! If you wear them out in a year fine.
    It will make leather fibers separate, and leather becomes hard
    That has not been my experience over a year, or a decade, using them on the uppers of my LL Bean boots (the iconic style). Not even remotely.

  8. #28
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-12-2017
    Location
    Boston,ma
    Age
    61
    Posts
    21

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    I have a pair of 30 year old Merrill Wilderness that are badly cracked from years of using SnowSeal. They got damaged just the way Limmer predicts. SnowSeal also destroyed the Lowas I had in the 80s and my buddy's Fabianos. The cracking appears at the flex point of the toes in all 3 pairs of these boots.

    I have a pair of Fabiano Rias that are about 20+ years old and I ran SnowSea on one and AquaSeal on the other for 2 seasons. Did the same on a pair of Asolo Extreme telemark boots.

    The silicone in the AquaSeal is the best waterproofing but it's also the most damaging to the leather. I'll use it on cheap work gloves but it will never touch my boots.

    I found SnowSeal to be less damaging than AquaSeal but still damaging over the long run.

    I switched to Limmer Boot Grease about 20 years and credit it for halting the damage on both my Merrills and Fabianos.

    But, understand that Limmer grease protects leather but won't make them waterproof. If you want waterproof boots, get GoreTex or glue on rubber rand supergaiters (eg Berghaus).

  9. #29
    Registered User Toolshed's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-13-2003
    Location
    Along the AT
    Posts
    3,419
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    52

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    I switched to NikWax in the early 90's while working at EMS and never looked back. That stuff is incredible for 1 piece leather uppers. Growing up in Northern NY, my father worked outside and always treated his wolverine workboots with sno seal. And yes every year, cracks would appear in the leather.
    .....Someday, like many others who joined WB in the early years, I may dry up and dissapear....

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