Hi all,

I was lucky enough to get a brand spanking new pair of Brasher Trailmaster GTX for my birthday this week after a long break from walking. Naturally I've already planned my walk for this weekend  

My question is, what do I need to do to prepare/proof the boots before I go???

My old boots were all leather and I just hosed them then slopped on the nikwax but I'm guessing I need to be a little more technical with these 

Any input appreciated.

Mike

nothing to do at first. just ensure you clean them thoroughly for the first few trips.

after that wax them (the tinned stuff) paying attention to all the seams and then melt the wax into the seams with a hairdryer. let dry for 48hrs then polish them.

apply the wax with a wet cloth - so it doesn't stick to the cloth.

apply generous polish with a damp to wet cloth and buff to a nice shine with small circular motions of the cloth. the polish will make them look good and make the wax covering last longer.

after subsequent outings clean and apply nikwax liquid to wetted out areas whilst they are still wet if needed. a wetted out area is one that is still wet after say 30-45mins. the surface of boots will wet out but it is only on the surface.

send them to bootcamp... that'll be ample preparation.

Actually, do what Parky said. Though beware of overwaxing boots too...

And I would advise wearing them around the house & if you go out locally between now and the weekend for 2 reasons. 1) They shouldn't need much breaking in but a little use could help soften them in the right places and 2) You might find that they don't suit your feet as well as you thought in the shop... in which case you should still be able to take them back as they won't have been used on the trail.

ah yes. good point john. only ever solid wax (the tin stuff) again if the boots need it i.e. they have areas, usually where the toe bends, which continually wet out no matter how much liquid wax you put on them. or do the seams if they leak but you wouldn't know that with the GTX lining.......

i've found that just using polish occassionally when they need it usually does the trick. it makes them look nice too.

too much wax will kill the boots with kindness as the wax will eventually soften the leather in all the wrong places.

Just clean them after use. The leather will contain oils from the tanning process that will protect it in the beginning. Acidic soil, and manure (farmyards) will leach this out of the leather. When you see the leather starting to darken, (holding water)  then apply whatever the manufacturer suggests. You can kill a pair of boots with too much wax.

manufacturers will usually advise against using wax which i strongly suspect is because people will use it far too often. i also find it difficult to believe that whatever cleaner/restorer/polish you put on them will not clog the pores up.

or perhaps brasher don't like it beacuse wax, properly applied, effectively makes the boots waterproof so they then can't get any feedback on linings failure which are not the most robust things going.

or because the gtx lining traps so much moisture between it and the leather, anything (like non waterproof seams for example), however small may let the boots dry out properly and stop them going mouldy.

unless someone can convince me otherwise i think the no wax bit is total and utter blx for it clogging up the pores.

but then i am one of nature's extreme cynics......

> and I presume it won't clog the pores like a wax would

For wax to clog the pores of the Gore-tex membrane, it has to get through the leather first (the GTX lining is inside, after all).  Since the leather will be at least 2mm thick, I think this is unlikely to happen before the GTX membrane fails...  At which point, you'll be glad the leather is protected by wax...

Top tip: don't apply wax to the inside of the boot...

Just seems like another reason not to buy leather boots with a waterproof lining!

And fabric boots with a 'waterproof' lining aren't (waterproof), at least not in my experience! 

Matt C wrote (see)

By that logic the leather needs something to avoid excessive absorbsion of water, although not to make the boot itself waterproof.

Brasher's website is misbehaving, so I can't check, but I think they are still recommending their cream rather than a wax. Possibly the cream does indeed behave similarly to a DWR - certainly water will bead very well off a polished leather. And when it's not raining, the relatively less blocked pores of the leather will be less hot/more breathable than if they were waxed perhaps?

lol. what brasher mean is that they chose a cheaper leather. that kind of points me in the direction that they expect there to be a moisture build up between the lining and the leather and the "open pored" leather is only there to stop the boot going mouldy.

erm, sorry mjc, i hope all this isn't putting you off. i guess we should bow to brashers recommendation. please don't use wax because it will block the pores of the leather, or shoe polish which will do the same thing, or nikwax liquid wax which will do the same thing and just use their super dooper all uses cleaner/conditioner which they assure us, by their recommendation, definitely will not block the pores of the leather.

i think it's all blx myself but you must be the one to decide who you think isn't quite being perfectly objective with their facts. brasher or all the aftermarket boot waterproofing/conditioning manufacturers. do brasher recommend anything for leaking seams i wonder........

<huffs off in extra cynical fed up with corporate "corporate bullshit" mode>