Men! Boots! I want to know about waterproof leather boots

[astral]

Say, if you happened to go into a shoe store, and bought yourself a pair of leather boots, which are said to be waterproof, and you paid, say, $200 plus tax and such for them, would expect them to be totally waterproof? Like, you could walk home for an hour on a slushy road, where you really can't avoid the slush to avoid being in the way of the cars, and when you got home would you expect your feet to be DRY?

Not DAMP, but DRY?

I want to know. I have a nice pair of WOMEN's boots that fit the above description, except they don't survive walking in slush. My feet aren't soaked when I get home but they are quite damp and an immediate change of socks is in order.

I have always suspected that men's clothing items are usually far better quality for the cost than women's.

I can't afford to do it right now, but I want another pair of leather boots that really are waterproof.

If any women out there happen to have the ticket in a pair of boots that look like they belong to a woman, that would be a plus.

Okay, lots more to rant about, but END OF RANT ~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for listening ~~~~~~~~~~


aaaaaa---choooooohhh!

[arcadian]

1. It's my experience that nothing is water proof.

Maybe if you are running from the car to the front door, yeah. But when I've been backpacking I bring raingear, the fly for my tent, the tent itself etc. if it's really coming down and I'm out in it for 3 days, then yeah, everything get's soaked. Having said that, they do make goretex boots that are prettygood for stomping through muddy puddles.

[trof]

2. L. L. Beans Maine Hunting 'Shoe'?

[underpants]

11. Yeah "Duck boots" are the way to go

I have a non-LL BEAN version and they are excellent

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. I have a pair of (women's) Vasque gore-tex hiking boots and they stay totally dry

You can get waterproofing stuff to put around the seams, but I don't know how well that works.

[taterguy]

15. My men's pair of Vasque boots is one of the most perfect items of clothing I've ever owned

I've had them a decade and never done anything to maintain them.

I've never felt a drop of moisture.

No blisters on my feet after doing the 18 mile Grand Canyon hike.

One of the best gifts I ever got.

[sniffa]

4. My boots are still waterproof (completely dry) after almost a year

I think the trick is to buy them at Work N' Gear (where I shop for work clothes and gear). I paid about $200 for the boots and it was worth it. They have a steel toe too.

eta: I wear them every day at work so they get their use.

[Chan790]

5. I might know of a place if you'll hear me out...

It's a great little place in NYC (they totally do online too.) which sells awesome shoes, boots, wallets, belts...designer-quality stuff, run by two really awesome women who really know their stuff and will work with you on the phone to find just that you're looking for if you can't find it on their website...if they don't carry it (and they do...I've stumped them once. Usually I find myself saying "How did I miss a firetruck red combat boot?"), they'll look around for it so they can carry it in the future if it's available and they'll mention the demand to their suppliers if it's not currently available.

Oh yeah, it's a vegan shoe shop. I know, pleather :eyes: I swear you can't tell and it's really high-quality stuff. I've had a problem with only one item (and it was totally my fault...I tried to squeeze a 40" belt around my 42" waist because I loved the belt and it didn't come in a larger size. The buckle broke after about 4 months of daily use.) in three years and they replaced it.

www.mooshoes.com
866-598-3426

Some ideas: (I have no idea if these are waterproof...if they're not, I'm sure they can direct you to something that is.)
http://www.mooshoes.com/invoice_variant.cgi?rm=edit&product_id=90762
http://www.mooshoes.com/invoice_variant.cgi?rm=edit&product_id=230416

[astral]

6. Puh-Leather!

Hah! Might be more waterproof than the real thing~~!

Yeah, I had boots that didn't have any rubber at the bottom, silly me. I hate rubber boots so much I used to always use my sneakers and just ignore the wet feet til I got home. These hour long walks in the slush are not so much optional now; my car isn't working right now, well it's working but not quite driveable and I do not know when I can do anything about that.

So thanks, all, and I'm going to go check out the PuhLeather first ~~~~~~~~~~~~ but, I must confess, I am not a vegan. Love vegetables, though! ; )

[Ikonoklast]

7. Try here:

http://www.thebestbootstore.com/waterproofboots

Mil-spec footwear, highest quality at a good price.

[jmowreader]

8. Do you know anyone who hunts bears?

Bear grease and beeswax make the world's finest shoe dressing. Melt equal amounts together. Warm your boots up first (if you have a Peet Shoe Dryer that works best for this--http://www.peetshoedryer.com/) then melt the dressing and brush it on your boots, being sure to get the seams and the welt--where the sole meets the upper--very well. Leave the boots on the boot dryer overnight, then brush on another coat and leave them on the dryer overnight.

If you can't get bear grease to make good dressing, try the packaged Sno-Seal instead. It's good and much easier to get. Smells worse, though.

[astral]

9. What's a boot-dryer?

Well, I don't know that I can see myself doing the bear grease thing, it does sound like a great idea though. I don't know anyone currently who hunts bears, but I'm sure I could ask around . . .

The waterproof boot link is great, but when I buy men's shoes the smallest size is a tad long and I tend to stub my toes and occasionally FawDownGoBoom because of it ; P

[jmowreader]

14. There's a link in my first post on this to the company that makes boot dryers

The Peet Shoe Dryer is a testament to small-town values and ingenuity. Its inventor lives in St. Maries, Idaho, a bucolic logging community of 2500 nestled in the foothills of the Rockies. You've heard of "one stop light" towns? St. Maries is a NO stop light town. The entertainment there is high school athletics, and you can always expect a good home football game...mainly because our football field is in a flood plain so the field is crowned--the middle of the field is a foot higher than the sidelines--and most teams aren't used to playing on the side of a hill.

Gene Peet was a hunter who hated wet hunting boots. He was also the only electrician in town. Combine those two and you get the Peet Shoe Dryer--the kind of simple, elegant ingenuity Americans used to be known for before that asshole Reagan taught America to offshore everything. It's still made in St. Maries, but now it's sold nationwide...he's got them in Gander Mtn. stores.

The Peet Shoe Dryer is thoroughly capable of taking a dripping-wet combat boot from saturated to bone-dry in one night.

[rockymountaindem]

10. I bought a pair of Timberlands at the outlet store which said they were waterproof

I was skeptical. Then I slipped and fell feet first down a slick bank right into a creek, and kept my feet in there while my hiking partner took a picture for me. My footsies were totally dry afterwards, and remained so for the rest of the 10 mile hike on a wet day in Montana.

[Bombero1956]

12. some info for you

First and foremost when you are considering waterproofing leather, it is an absolute must to know what type of leather that you are working with. There are delicate leathers, and tough leathers. There are "processed" leathers, and "pure" leathers. It is important to know and understand the type of leather that you are using simply because some of the waterproofing products that are available are not suitable for all types of leather. Generally, you can find out what kind of leather you are working with by examining any tags in or on the merchandise. Heavy duty dressings and waterproofing oils and waxes are sold as brush-on or rub-on products. They are usually oil based and combine tanning agents (to help extend the life of your leather) with waterproofing agents (that bond to the material). This type of waterproofing works well on products containing mixed ingredients (nylon and leather), heavy work and hiking boots, baseball and softball mitts, and other outdoor leathers. If you use the wrong stuff it can discolor your boots.

[leeroysphitz]

13. For $200 bucks my feet had better be CRACKED. I better need moisturizer when I get home.

Twenty dollar boots can leak all they want but for $200 I better be getting foot oriented scuba gear.

[cherish44]

16. Turtle wax

http://www.break.com/index/confused-turtle-has-sex-with-boot.html

OK I must stop posting this. It's so sick and wrong

[TreasonousBastard]

17. Look for some mukluks, and get...

water repellent stuff for them.

the Steger mukluk people claim NO soft leather is ever able to be made completely waterproof, and anyone who says they did is lying about it. they do, however, sell stuff to make their moose leather mukluks more water repellent than they naturally are.

Moose leather mukluks, made by real Esquimeaux-- how cool is that?

[applegrove]

18. I have a pair of Bluntstones. I make a point of not walking through puddles

so they keep me dry on a rainy day. But they don't promise anything.

[old mark]

19. I used to work in an Army-Navy store - NO leather boots are really

waterproof. You can treat them with a wipe-on stuff to make them water resistant, but they will eventually get soaked and your feet will be wet.
You need rubber boots to be really waterproof, and they are a lot cheaper than $200.

Leather was skin and is porous - it "breathes" - makes it great for on your feet, but won't keep water out, even treated.

mark

[Lyric]

20. I used to wear men's Coleman Dry boots while working at the poultry plant.

My feet were never damp, unless it was a summer night and I perspired a little too much. Note: this job involved cleaning equipment at breaktime with a high-pressure sprayhose, walking through 3-4 inches of water at times, and getting "gooed" on by assorted types of machinery.

I eventually threw them away when I quit working there, but they really did an awesome job.

:hi:

Edit: They were made of some sort of tough fabric, and cost me about $69 in 1998.