Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => Gear Questions, Information, Reviews and Competitions => Topic started by: Nick on January 17, 2015
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I recently bought a new pair of leather hiking boots, and I was wondering if it would be wise to rub some Dubbin onto them in order to soften the leather (and help break them in quicker) as well as to waterproof them? I remember using Dubbin on my Rugby boots years ago when I played and it helped soften them up, but I'm certain they weren't leather.
There isn't a chance of Dubbin damaging the leather is there?
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Should work just fine, I have never used it myself but as I understand things dubbin is just a dull version of shoe polish. It is designed for use on leather boots though so you will do no harm using it, and it will soften them up and help preserve their natural waterproofing.
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Cleaning and dubbining the boots after you use them will extend their life and keep them soft. Defo worth it if you can be bothered :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbin
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Hi Nick,
Also take a look at sno-seal which is beeswax based. I used to use dubbin years ago and then moved to Nikwax (water soluble) didn't seem to nourish my boots but was less messy than dubbin. However, I went to Tiso in Leith, Edinburgh where they do their repairs and when buying a pair of Scarpa M4s the repair tech gave me Sno-seal. Said it was as good as anything. Personally, it's worked well for me. I warm my boots up gently with a hair dryer, apply liberally and the boots suck it up!
Hope this helps,
Best
Gary
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Hi Nick,
Also take a look at sno-seal which is beeswax based. I used to use dubbin years ago and then moved to Nikwax (water soluble) didn't seem to nourish my boots but was less messy than dubbin. However, I went to Tiso in Leith, Edinburgh where they do their repairs and when buying a pair of Scarpa M4s the repair tech gave me Sno-seal. Said it was as good as anything. Personally, it's worked well for me. I warm my boots up gently with a hair dryer, apply liberally and the boots suck it up!
Hope this helps,
Best
Gary
To go a step further you can also just use standard beeswax, if you happen to know of anyone who keeps bees then you will find they normally sell it for things like candles etc. However they do not really get much in payment for it as it is simply a byproduct of honey. You can get yourself a good sized block for less than the cost of a tin of shoe wax.
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Good suggestion Rich. when my tub rubs out I'll check that out!
Cheers
Gary
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CAVEAT!
Just been reading around and found this post:
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/caring-hiking-boots.html
According to the advice, it seems that boots with a glued sole can't be resoled if proofed with Sno-seal. After reading around, as I now understand it, it's because the leather needs to be void of additives like beeswax otherwise the glue won't take. Apparently water based products such as Nikwax or Grangers are ok. Welted boots are ok, as far as I can make out.
Ho-hum.
Gary
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Vasealean softens lether prity good