Let Boots Breathe

Keep the exterior of your boots clean to ensure that moisture can escape properly

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Gore-Tex boot liners do a good job of keeping the exterior wetness out of your boots, almost regardless of how you maintain the footwear. However, proper maintenance is essential if the leather is to breathe to allow foot moisture to evaporate and escape.

Fail to maintain the boots correctly, and the leather will retain the moisture that passes through the Gore-Tex liner. Result: a condensation problem so pronounced that you may mistake it for leakage.

It's worth remembering that a boot's ability to breathe is controlled by its least breathable layer; a breathable liner does not magically make a less breathable shell breathe better.

Here's how to keep those boots breathing:

• Clean the mud off the boots before you put them away. It's easy to wash or wipe grime away when boots are wet anyway. Postpone this simple chore, however, and the mud will work like one of those exotic mud facial treatments that are supposed to pull oil out of your skin. You definitely don't want oils — an essential element in a boot's waterproofing — yanked from the leather.
• Do the washing in a bowl or bucket, and dispose of the muddy water down the toilet or somewhere in the yard where any hitchhiking seeds won't grow.
• Don't use greasy or waxy leather treatments that could block the pores of the leather and reduce its breathability. Silicone-based treatments are a fine alternative because they won't suffocate your boots, but always check your boot's owner's manual for compatibility.
• Do occasionally use leather conditioners that provide just enough oil to"feed" the leather and keep it supple, but that do not load it up with grease and wax.
• Get used to the idea that boots don't have to look like a ball of grease to be waterproof and well-maintained.
• If the leather eventually starts absorbing a lot of water, use whatever type of waterproofing product the manufacturer recommends (keep the instructions that come with boots!). Less absorption means the boots stay drier, warmer, and lighter as well as breathe better.

Article and photos © Keith Morton.