UKC

Hello,

I bought a pair of La Sportiva Pamir boots with a leather inner lining. The care instructions specified treating the lining with Lexol or saddle soap. I could find neither where I live so I wrongly figured I could make do with just cleaning the leather with a wet rag after every use. After 3 years and about 60 days of hiking in the boots, the inner leather started to crack and form ragged holes. It’s a pity since the boots are otherwise awesome and the outside of the boots, which I took care of well with Nikwax cream, is almost like new. If only I had taken better care of the lining they would have lasted me another 5 years easily.

So now I ordered a new pair and this time I want to give them the full TLC. But since I cannot find Lexol where I live and it would be a hassle to order it, I would like your advice on alternative products. La Sportiva customer service was of no help. The products I can find locally are: Simoniz Leather Care, Sonax, Leatherique, Meguiar's Gold Class, Mafra. Are you familiar with any of these and do you think they would be suitable? What should I look for in a suitable product?

More detailed descriptions of these can be found here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simoniz-1831669-SIM32-500ml-Leather/dp/B005BP6XN2
http://www.sonax.com/Product-Search/%28node%29/12867/291141-SONAX-Leather-c...
http://www.amazon.com/Leatherique-Rejuvenator-Oil-16-oz/dp/B0002SPCAI
http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g18616-gold-class-leather-co...
http://www.amazon.it/Mafra-Trattamento-Pelle-Detergente-Interni/dp/B00BAODU...

Also, how often should I apply the conditioner to the lining? As in, once how many days of hiking or months overall?

In reply to JadeAsp:

Buy some off the internet - http://www.saddlery.biz/oakwood-liquid-soap.html?gclid=CLb7vJuHscsCFXMz0wod... or go and find a saddler or other equine supplies place.

Your probably won't go far wrong with Nikwax Aqueous wax either

In reply to JadeAsp:

Saddlesoap can be bought from anywhere that sells horsey/pony sort of stuff. 'country stores' often have it.

Ok, great! What I'm mainly worried about in using a general purpose product for boot lining is that it would destroy the breathability of the leather. Besides being uncomfortable that would increase the humidity in the boots and further accelerate the degradation of the leather. Do you reckon that's a possibility with saddle soap or other leather conditioners like Simoniz?

La Sportiva specifically recommend Lexol. Do you think there are major differences between this and other brands?

About saddle soap, is there anything I should look for? I found these, do you think they're ok?
http://www.pfiff.com/en/products/care-products-07/care-products-and-accesso...
http://www.bramley.co.uk/Equestrianproducts/Careproducts/Saddle_soap_Horse_...
http://www.horka.com/horse-dog/care/leather-care/leather-saddle-soap-1.html...

In reply to JadeAsp:

What's wrong with Nikwax footwear cleaning gel and a bit of their leather conditioner? Available in all good outdoor shops.

In reply to JadeAsp:

I would think all saddle soaps are much the same given they are a mixture of cleaning agent and conditioner.

But I've never had to use anything, ever on the inside leather and never had it crack either. But I've used saddle soaps numerous times for other things and can't say I've noticed any difference.

In reply to alimckay:

I use Nikwax Waterproofing Wax for Leather on the outside of the boots and it leaves the leather greasy to the touch and darkens its color. I assume it would do the same to my socks if I used it on the inside. It does the job though for the outside of the boots. Waterproofs the leather for about 6-10 days of hiking and maintains it as well.

Thanks for the advice about saddle soaps, I'm trying to figure out if I can go with these or I should go and order Lexol. As I said I'm on my second pair of boots due to the lining cracking and I don't want to risk losing a good pair of boots because of this again.

The next question is, how often should the lining be conditioned, given that it comes in contact with sweaty socks? I usually backpack every other weekend on average, using these boots from about March to October.