 Hi, newcomer to the website. Decided to get back into trekking/hiking/walking (whatever it’s called these days), after being AWOL for about 4 years. I was a very active walker until work / career took me away from it all, but now I’m back and looking for some advice.
I've just brought a pair of Salomon Adventure Trek 7 boots, after finally admitting that my Hi-Tech Magnums are on their last days (after 11 years!!).
So I've had these new gems for about a week now, did a mild 8 mile walk of the local hills on Saturday to break them in, which wasn’t really needed, such a suburb boot!
Anyway, think they need a bit of a clean after the weekend and todays little walk, but I have no idea how to clean them (the right way). Usually with my Magnums it was a rinse under the tap, scrub with a brush to get all the mud off, leave to dry, then polish and wax and finally buff them up.
So what the general rule with these Gore-Tex boots? Do they new re-waterproofing? Can I just scrub them and leave them to dry? Do I need to consider the other materials and not just the Gore-Tex parts?
I really would like to keep these in the best of shape, cost me an arm and leg but hopefully they’ll be worth it and keep me going for a few years.
Any help/advice would be appreciated.
Many thanks, Lee
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 <bump>
See the gore tex boots question in the gear forum!
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 With my old gore-tex boots, (Karrimor gtx300s) all I used to do was leave them to dry and dry brush them. If they were really mucky, I'd give them a wash with clean cold water.
I think I only ever sprayed them two or three times with a Nik Wax spray, and they only yet me down when the membrane was ripped from inside by some grit. That's the biggest thing to need to be careful of really. Keep bits of grit out from inside of them...
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Rowan, must have missed that one .. whats the Subject title? or link?
Alex (?), thanks for the info. I've left them to dry and just gave them a quick rub down with a cloth. Not as much mud on them as first though but nice to know for the future, will also make sure that the only thing that gets inside my boot is my skiny feet!
Is this 'Nik Wax' spary the best stuff for these boots then? I had a quick look around the Salomon website but didnt have any information about taking care or recommendations on sprays.
cheers, Lee
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 Lee - I have bumped the thread for you - it was in 'GEAR' and is called 'Cleaning Berghaus boots'.
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 Have a look at the Nikwax website to help you choose the right product for your boots: Nikwax websiteYou can find most of the products in most highstreet and independent outdoor shops around the country. There's a cleaner called Footwear Cleaning Gel and various water proofers depending on what your boots are made of.
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Thanks, just noticed the thread and had a good read. Going to see if my local place stocks this Nikwax stuff.
Boots are nubuck Leather and Gore-Tex acording to the info I have, so hopefully this Nikwax stuff will accomadate it nicely.
Thanks again to all who have helped.
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There's a Nikwax proofing product called 'Nubuck and Suede waterproofing' so that should do the trick.
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excellent, i'll try and get some of that.
Quick question, does this stuff harm the gore-tex material? as I cant see any mention of gore-tex in the product description of the 'Nubuck and Suede waterproofing' or any other products they supply.
Im just worried that one treatment might be good for one of the materials and bad for another.
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Nikwax products have NO negative effects on Gore-tex or any other lining.
Promise - and I should know cos I'm a product development chemist for Nikwax
:-)
Cheers
Jane
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 nope! the actual goretex membrane will be just dandy - quite a toughy i sthat stuff. the gubbins they weld ot to, well, that's a different matter.
get em wet and get em waxed
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sounds like the perfect product, i'll get some brought then.
Many thanks again.
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 Grangers also make footwear care products which are Gore-Tex approved. As a general rule you need to care for a treat the outer just as you would any other boot.
The Gore-Tex liner is generally a booty protected by the scrim you can see on the inside of the boot on the inside and by the outer material on the outside. If you totally waterproof the outside of the boot with wax then you're going to compromise breathability but not waterproofing, and since IME the breathability of Gore-Tex footwear isn't that great anyway, at least in hot weather, that's no great deal.
If you have a boot using silicone impregnated leather, you should probably be using a silicone-based treatment.
The good news is that we have a specialist care section of the site in the pipeline which will answer all these and other questions relating to kit care in detail.
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I would say that most waterbased and similar products will not effect the breathability either. It's important to recognise the difference between the old fashioned wax products and the more recently developed water based products. The old style waxes will block all breathability and they're not very durable as waterproofers either. However the waterbased products and some other liquids - sprays etc - give a more durable water repellency without effecting breathability.
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