Caring for leather outdoors...

[Don Rac]

Kydex and nylon a very easy materials to take care of in the wilderness. But what about leather? What would you do to leather boots and knife sheaths that would probably see alot of use? I've seen everything from Kiwi-wax to neatsfoot oil being used by different people so i'm now very cunfused. What exactly is the best thing to put on leather so it could last?

 

[Chris Hanson]

This is what I use http://www.obenaufs.com/ . Worst thing you can do is let your leather dry out. Mud dries to dirt and wicks the moisture out of the leather and dry leather cracks. I use a natural fiber vegtable brush to clean my boots and if they are really dirty I use some woolite soap on them. Afterwards I work Obenaufs paste back into the still moist leather. My work boots are Nick's Hot Shots, http://www.nicksboots.com , and at $300 a pair I want them to last a while. My last pair survived 8 years of wildland firefighting and ems work.

 

[Don Rac]

Cool, thanks for the info Chris. I checked out that Obenaufs site and they have some good stuff over there.