Leather Chelsea Boots treatment
Do new leather chelsea boots need any sort of treatment before usage (waterproofing, wax treatment, etc)? I intend to use mine for this winter. Thanks in advance.
19 Replies
it depends what type of boots you have 🙂 i like to use waterproofing spray (Nikwax brand) on my boots (Blundstones) before winter for an extra layer of protection.
tons of products out there for this but i like this one https://www.rei.com/product/142162/nikwax-fabric-leather-waterproofing-spray-for-footwear
Are you planning to use them as snowboots? If they're not waterproof I'd recommend either getting dedicated snowboots or wearing galoshes/overshoes. In addition to protecting the leather, it's also about making sure your feet don't get wet
Seconding the Nikwax rec I've used those on my Red Wings
I'm planning to use them as an everyday shoe for the winter.
It's pretty cold and snowy where I live so do you guys think it would be a good idea to waterproof them?
Yes
i would yeah especially since most waterproofing stuff is under $20, it’ll prolong the life of the boots
You could, but I’ve worn leather shoes thru Michigan winters for the better part of a decade and have pretty much never had a problem tbh
You’ve already picked a Chelsea with an elastic gore - water will encroach through that before the leather is a concern
Is it fine if I use a standard waterproofing spray that isn't a well known brand? Because I know I have one at home.
What brand is it?
I have no idea, I'll have to check later
Yes - but a spray is more intended for rain or spills & the like. If you’re wanting to stand in puddles or slush, wax is generally preferable.
Again, very doubtful that you actually need anything; but peace of mind is valuable
Is it still fine to use them during winter even though they have an elastic gore? I usually wear pants that aren't cropped so the gore should be covered, right?
If you’re not going to be going through ankle deep stuff, yeah
I wore these last winter. 0 treatment and leather soles - never an issue.
If I were to go stand in a deep puddle then water would get in, but for general tromping about over rivers & thru woods, I was doing fine.
I see, do you think they would hold up even better if you had given them treatment prior to usage?
Maybe, but I was going hard the other direction with that pair haha. They definitely wouldn’t have been worse, but considering I had 0 issues and did no treatment, I’d say that “better” would be hard to achieve.
My point with the gore is that it’s bad if waterproofing is your concern - but my argument is that you really don’t need to be concerned with it
Okay. By the way, do you know if using waterproof spray might ruin/discolour the leather?
With black boots? You should be just fine. Depending on what you treat with they might be more matte / glossy / smooth, but they’ll definitely be black
But if you’re using a spray like saphir or kiwi or something, then I wouldn’t be very concerned
All right. Thanks for the answers