Scott Reeker here with Eastman's hunting journals
And today we are going to talk about
Proper boot care and a couple of products that you can use to clean your boots after the season
One of the most critical pieces of gear that you have in the backcountry is your boots take care of your feet
They'll take care of you if you can't move you can't get anywhere
We spend a lot of money making sure that our feet are taken care of
one of the pieces to make sure that you get the life out of your boot that you intend to get out of them is
To make sure that you clean them properly and that you waterproof them properly
many people because of the gore-tex lining think I don't need to actually go waterproof these I'm here to tell you the leather needs to be
Reconditioned that it needs to be taken care this applies to all of the leather boots that are out there
So today I'm going to walk through one of the products that is
available of the many that are out there for cleaning your footwear for cleaning your backcountry boots and then also for
Waterproofing and taking care of it. And so these are both products from Nick wax
You can find these at most sporting goods stores like your Sportsman's Warehouse
step number one and cleaning your boots
You're going to want to make sure that you get all the mud and the muck off this I'll admit it
I sometimes forget to rinse my boots off and they sit there for and maybe a few months
Step two shake well, then you're going to want to break the seal
You can do that right there and you can see it's starting to flow then you're going to want to scrub
And this will get all that grime and dirt off of it and you can see how it's already like pulling all this off
Take your laces out.
I know it's a pain to relaces your boots
It's not something that anyone really wants to do but it's necessary step when you wanted to take care of this
the reason for that
You can move this right here. You can see you can build up and prevent failure whenever you clean
Behind any one of these places that you can actually move
your loops leather failure
Most of the time that has nothing to do with the manufacturer and has everything to do with your boot care
So you're going to want to make sure you get in there get that nice and clean
All the way up the tongue
And when it gets really dirty
You get a nylon brush, you can really scrub and you can really get rid of some of that dirt that's in there
Really get in on the on the rand and the edges that's where this and build up
Get the back by the heel it's a common place that not taking care of your boot
You can see things start to separate. Sometimes if you don't do a good job
Just from wiping the boot off with a paper towel after I got done scrubbing it
You can see there's plenty of dirt there that we were able to remove
This boot has been prepped for the next step
That's ready to be
waterproofed
Leather can hold water for a while if you're not treating it and taking care of it
And then you also are prepared for all the situations where you're going to run into water
Every one of us has been there where you cross a creek and your waterproof boots
They hold all the water and the leather and that has nothing to do with the brand that has
100% to do with leather care that you're taking care of your boots.
So we are going to be using this leather
Waterproofer from nick wax you want to shake this well?
And you're going to break the seal. It's like before
Squeeze it out. You can see there a little bit of wax in there. You can see this is giving some shine. It's being absorbed
Nicely by the leather
You're going to want to turn where you can on your loops sure you get in there get that tongue
Your tongue actually drains quite a bit of water and it can also have quite a bit of water inside the laces sometimes get that
nice and waterproofed
Even with gaiters so you can still get water in. This looks closer to when it came straight off the floor
It's no longer that sun-baked look after a hard hunting season
So this is a very important step in making sure you get the most life out of your boots
Make sure that you let this dry well, so it's a two-step process. Make sure that you get this nice and clean beforehand
thanks for tuning in to this edition of Eastman's gear lab and
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