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re: boot treatments/one sport



a couple digests back someone mentioned putting sno-seal on their one sport
moraines.  well, i'm sorry to say that the sno-seal just ruined the
beneficial properties of the pre-treated leather those boots are made from.
but i see no reason not to continue using sno seal; i've found it a great
waterproofer.

the moraines and other boots in the line, plus similar boots by merrel and
asolo, are made with a pre-softened, pre-treated leather.  one sport
recommends spray or liquid silicone treatment.  i've used both the spray and
brush-on type (both from the same manufacturer, whose name i can't recall
right now, but is common in outdoor stores)  and both work great to restore
the waterproofness of the leather.  during my thruhike, i usually reapplied
silicone at the major re-supply stops where my mail-ahead box was waiting.

the claim is that they are totally waterproof.  any long distance hiker
knows there is no such thing.  what i noticed is that my moraines kept my
feet dryer for longer before finally succombing to squish-squishing; but
much more beneficial in my mind was the fact that these suckers dried maybe
three or four times faster than a regular leather boot like the sundowner,
or even a gore-tex boot.  if my feet were soaked at noon time, and the rest
of the day's hiking was dry, my boots would be dry by the time i hit the
shelter.  THAT is the benefit that sno-seal will destroy, never to be
regained, because the sno-seal clogs up the breathability of the leather.

i use sno-seal on my pair of fabiano mtn masters, and i've not had wet feet
in eight years.  usually use them for winter/snow camping.  hiked to
damascus in them in 92, and it wasn't until i switched to lighter boots that
i started getting wet feet.  but i'll trade a little squishing for a 6 lb
pair of boots any day!

mike
ke kaahawe

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Michael Henderson		E-mail: mikeh@royalrobbins.com
Royal Robbins, Inc		Web Site: http://www.royalrobbins.com
1314 Coldwell Ave		Phone: 209/529-5511
Modesto, CA 95350		Fax: 209/522-5511