Looking after a pair of boots for nine years
A brush, a tin of wax and ten minutes a week. Everything I do to keep old boots walking.
My walking boots are nine years old. They have carried me over most of the Peak District, along two long coast paths and up a lot of wet hills. They are not special boots. They have lasted because I look after them, and looking after them takes about ten minutes a week. Here is everything I do.
After every walk
Mud is the enemy of leather. When it dries, it pulls the moisture out of the leather and makes it crack. So after every muddy walk, I brush the boots off outside with a stiff brush, then wipe them with a damp cloth. ((I used to leave them by the door for a week, muddy, like trophies. That is how my first pair died.))
Then I take out the insoles and stuff the boots with newspaper, and leave them somewhere cool to dry. Never by the fire or on a radiator. Fast heat dries leather too quickly and it cracks, and the glue that holds the sole can soften.
