Taking Care of Walking Boots
An important part of owning walking boots is taking good care of them. Taking the time to choose a pair that’s exactly right is very important. After you’ve invested in a good pair, it’s desirable to get the most out of your high quality walking boots. With care and over time, they’ll soften and become more comfortable as they’re broken in. Failing to care for walking boots properly will result in their rapid decline, and owners to don’t take the time will soon find they soon need to spend on replacements. As a rule, if you take care of your boots then they will take care of you.
Leather Walking Boots
Leather walking boots have many advantages, as owners know, but they are prone to specific kinds of damage. The can dry out and they can suffer damage from acid in soil. Depending on where you walk, soil can contain high levels of acid, so it’s vitally important to wash off any dirt that remains on the leather when you get home. Failing to do so, and leaving dirty boots in the boot of a car or outside the home, will leave the acid in soil on your boots free to eat into the leather and weaken them.
Continually walking through wet grass will actually rob leather of the oils it contains which help it retain its suppleness. ‘Nikwax’ and other products on the market will help prevent leather boots from drying out from regular use. Such products will extend the life of leather boots by a very long time, and without them, cracking or drying is inevitable. It’s a good idea to wash to boots thoroughly a couple of times each year. To do this it’s wise to remove the laces, obtain some saddle soap and use a stiff brush. Repeated rinsing and washing will remove acid that’s penetrated into the leather. Leather is durable but it is still skin, and needs to be treated properly if it’s to react well to the rigors of regular use.
Fabric / Leather Combination Boots
Gore-Tex, and materials that perform similarly, have a layer of Teflon with tiny pores that allow moisture to escape but not to enter. The process relies on water forming beads on the outside surface of the boots, and waterproofing them can be essential to ensure that this occurs. There are many waterproofing products on the market and choosing the right one is an important part of taking care of non-leather boots. Leather on mixed material boots needs to be cared for in just the same way as all leather boots. With all walking boots careful care and attention is necessary to ensure good performance and long life.