When I hike in the winter, I frequently apply a sealant to my boots to make sure that rain, snow, and water stay away from my feet.
All good snow boots and mountaineering boots will have a Gore-Tex or other waterproof lining, but that doesn’t prevent water from penetrating the outer layer of your boot.
Why not just force water to bead up on the outside of the boot, rather than saturating the leather before being stopped by the Gore-Tex liner?
I use a product call Tectron Sno Seal, a beeswax waterproofing sealant that you can use on boots and shoes.
How to waterproof your boots:
Waterproofing is a quick and easy process. I do this several times a season, especially in advance of a snowshoe outing or a winter hike/backpacking trip.
Hi Michelle,
It sounds like lots of water it getting into your shoes/boots! If your boots have mesh openings, then Sno Seal will be of little use. However, if your boots are leather, Sno Seal will make them fully waterproof. So the short answer is Yes! 🙂
If you’ve already experienced leakage prior to applying the sealant, will Sno Seal stop further leakage?
If the only risk is a darkening of the leather I don’t care about that. Mine are the whitish ones anyway, which isn’t an ideal color for a hiking/mountaineering boot so a darkening would be fine with me. Thank you for your reply.
Great question. The Sno Seal will most likely be fine on your boots, and if you really want to be sure, just test a small section before treating the whole boot.
I’m not sure what type of leather my La Sportiva Lhotse boots are made of. It’s probably the same type as your La Sportiva Glacier Evo boots you use in the video so I’m assuming the Techron Sno Seal will be OK to use on them?