Walking Boots Care Guide

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Leather Care

How to Clean and Care for Leather Walking Boots

This care process should be done as often as possible, ideally you want to clean and treat your boots after every walk.

Using warm water and a stiff cleaning brush, scrub the boots to remove all traces of mud. Do not use any detergents. If required, use Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel to ensure the boots are clean all over.
Once clean, dry the excess water with a clean rag or cloth.
Immediately, use your fingers to apply a small amount of the oily wax onto the front of the boots only – we recommend using Leder Gris Extreme. Do not apply the oily wax anywhere else on the boots – you only want to soften the front of the boot, the rest of the boot needs to stay firm for support. The oily wax will help to keep the flex point of the boot nice and supple and prevent the boots drying out and cracking.
Using a wax-on, wax-off brush, apply a small amount of water repellent wax care product such as Leder Gris Clear or G Wax and work it in just around the periphery of the boots. Stay completely away from the laces. Avoid saturating the leather with wax and leaving surplus care product on the surface, as this will only cause a waxy build-up.
Leave the boots to dry gently, do not place them next to a heat source. However, you can use a UV dryer which gently dries the leather and kills bacteria.

Every 1-3 Months

We strongly recommend giving your boots some extra TLC once a month or every 3 months.

Take the laces out completely when you clean the boots.
Allow the boots to dry naturally.
Work the oily wax into the front of the boot and the tongue.
Work the beeswax, very sparingly, all over the boot. Leave nothing on the surface of the leather. If necessary, remove any excess wax with a cloth.
Replace the laces and you’re ready to go.

Fabric and Leather Care

Looking After Fabric & Leather Boots

This care process should be done as often as possible, ideally you want to clean and treat your boots after every walk.

Using warm water and a bucket brush, scrub the boots to remove all traces of mud. Do not use any detergents. If required, use Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel to ensure the boots are clean all over.
Once clean, dry the excess water with a clean rag or cloth.
Whilst the boots are still a little damp, apply a small amount of Nikwax Conditioner into the flex creases flex creases at the front of the boots. Use a brush to ensure the Nikwax Conditioner is fully absorbed into the boots. Don’t leave any surplus care product on the surface of the boots. The Nikwax Conditioner will help to keep the flex point of the boot nice and supple and prevent the boots drying out and cracking.
Spray the boots with a water based proofer – we recommend Nikwax Fabric & Leather Proofer or Meindl Conditioner & Proofer. Use a brush to ensure the proofer is fully absorbed into the boots- don’t leave any surplus care product on the surface.
Leave the boots to dry gently, do not place them next to a heat source.

Every 1-2 Months

We strongly recommend giving your boots some extra TLC once a month or every 2 months. We suggest following the above care method but this time remove the laces so you can properly clean in the creases of the tongue and apply both the Nikwax Conditioner and your chosen proofer all over the tongue.

During very wet weather you can treat just the suede leather parts with a water repellent wax such as G-Wax or Leder-Gris –only put a small amount on and work it in to the leather and this will help to give you flexibility and extra water repellency.

Top Tips

To keep the fantastic features of your new walking boots you need to ensure the boots stay supple at the front to avoid cracking at the flex point, firm around the ankles for good support and water repellent all over.
To keep your feet warm and dry, treatment of your boots with care products is essential. If not regularly treated, boots will start to absorb water rather than repel it, even with a Goretex or Sympatex membrane.
Avoid leaving walking boots to dry when they are covered in mud. When walking boots dry they absorb any mud into the leather/fabric which is damaging. It is much better for the long-term performance of your boots to give them a quick clean before drying.

Always allow walking boots to dry gently in a warm room, never place them next to a direct heat source such as a radiator or Aga- you don’t want them to dry out. If you need to speed up the drying process you can always use the tried and tested method of stuffing the inside of the walking boots with newspaper.
Use a wax-on, wax off brush to apply the care products to the boots rather than a cloth. If you use a cloth, too much of the care product is soaked up by the cloth and not transferred to the boots.
When applying wax to your leather boots use small amounts and really work it into the leather with a brush to ensure it is completely absorbed. This will help ensure the full thickness of the leather has been treated rather than just the very top. Avoid saturating the leather with wax and leaving surplus care product on the surface, as this will only cause a waxy build-up- less is more!