Gear

Hello all

You may not have heard that very soon the traditional tin of Nikwax for Leather will be no more ... if you want to know what is replacing it and why -- you could could ask me -- I formulated the orginal Nikwax 31 years ago  ....

Nick Brown

Ok, I'll bite. What are you replacing it and why?

And should I be using that stuff on me leather boots instead of the Nikwax liquid stuff I currently use?

Two points:

Is the new product suitable for smooth leather boots only;

Can it be used on boots with a waterproof lining. 

Yes -- this stuff is for smooth leather -- it replaces two products, Aqueous Wax, and the original Nikwax wax paste in a tin, and comes in two formats -- a thick cream in a tube and the liquid packed in the same way as Aqueous Wax.

The benefit of the tube is that it is compact - 60ml or 100ml, and very rucksack friendly. The benefit of the cream is that it is VOC and solvent free, water-based and yet highly concentrated. The liquid is just as easy to apply as Aqueous, with an enhanced performance. Both liquid and cream can be applied to wet leather boots -- you used not to be able to do that with the wax in the tin.

The performance in terms of reducing water absorption, and giving durable water-repellency, WHILST conserving breathability, is unmatched by any other smooth leather products we have tested. I have been using it on my boots for a while now, and I am really pleased with it.

Yes, the product is ideal for boots with a waterproof lining ... 

And why did we change?? Because we are always looking to improve  on what we do ... but in this case there had to be a pretty big performance jump up in order to justify a product that has run and run for 30 years.

I don't usually directly plug what we do here, but  since I started Nikwax with the original tin all those years ago, I have some emotional attachment to it! And I know a few other people do to ... so I am here to explain the change, if anyone wants to ask!

If you want to know about test methods and trials -- I can help there.

Hi Nick

nothing beats THE ORIGINAL liquid Nikwax - came in a tin similar to those that contain wood dyes/stains. It really absorbed into the leather, especially if you put the tin into a mug of hot water for a few minutes to warm it up.

I didnt get on with Aqueous Wax. Why? because it didnt last .

The wax was the only thing that would soak in deep and at least last for 3 or 4 consecutive days.

I never had a problem with the breathabilty of my leather boots either and as for just coating the the boot fibres and still allowing it to breathe, yeah if you say so.

 The fact the boots would just wet out when the aqueous stuff wore off in wet grass kinda made it useless.  I expect you'll tell me I had too much detergant in the machine or should have ironed them for longer....

Shame but there you go, maybe thats why your replacing it because you can sell more of the other stuff as it dont last as long.

This all sounds negative but you wanted feedback so you got it.

Thanks --- I put myself out there to be shot down.

So your idea is that my plan is to continuously make Nikwax products less effective because that way you have to buy them more frequently. which of course is why we send out products to hundreds of users for detailed feedback before we make changes .. if they come back saying it's worse, well, hell, let's sell it!

May contain nuts sounds appropriate ...

But in all seriousness -- we'll send you some stuff to try if you like, and then you can respond on the basis of experience.

Even with my advanced age of 54, I haven't yet got to the point of claiming that the old way was always the best way --- of course I started mixing up wax in my mum's kitchen when I was 15 ... so nearly 40 years of the damn stuff ....

Basically that garbled post above I wrote was.

Tried aqueous. I found it didn't last. So went back to the original. Have used it for ooooh -let me think 15yrs, happy with it and you go and get rid of it!

thats about it.

i'm sure your toothpaste tube stuff will work, but will it be as good? maybe maybe not. you think it will . i shall just go out and buy abox of the old tin stuff just incase

Hi Nick

Speaking as one of your longest serving independent retailers my first reaction when hearing you were dropping the original Nikwax was to order plenty more stock as I am certain many customers out there belong to the "if it aint broke don't fix it" mantra and will need a bit of time to come to terms with the new product.

I have used the new product on my smooth leather boots and I am very happy with it and will be stocking it. 

Good luck with the new product and lets hope it does what is says it does on the tube.........will miss not seeing my shop's name stamped on the tin though.

Kind regards

John Slack

Thanks John

Ahaa -- but you could have your shop's name stamped on it ... We can work on it.Thanks!

Nick

Hi Nick

Can I use your new wax on my Scarpa nubuck boots or should i stick with your Nubuck and Suede Proof? I'm not worried how they will look, just how well the wax works?

ps. love my Aspira