Suede boots care advice needed

[Martyn Tindall]

I'd appreciate some advice about looking after my Scarpa Infinity GTX
boots. They appear to be basically fabric mesh (Cordura) with suede
leather trim. I'm anxious to keep the leather in good condition and
stop it drying out, but so far I've done nothing!

The Scarpa website seems to recommend Nikwax Nubuck & Suede Proof, but
I wonder whether this is just a DWR treatment, which won't actually
nourish the leather.

I'm tempted to use ordinary Nikwax or G-Wax and risk spoiling the
boots' appearance. Any thoughts?

--
Martyn Tindall
Leeds, England, United Kingdom

[PAUL {HAMILTON} ROONEY]

Yes, I have thoughts.
Why do you want to wear boots?

Apologies in advance - no-one wants to hear that $$$$$ boots are an
unnecessary waste of money after they've bought them.

[Martyn Tindall]

On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 17:30:58 +0800, PAUL {HAMILTON} ROONEY
<paulv...@snotmail.com> wrote:

>On Sat 16 Mar 2013 05:59, Martyn Tindall wrote:
>> I'd appreciate some advice about looking after my Scarpa Infinity GTX
>> boots. They appear to be basically fabric mesh (Cordura) with suede
>> leather trim. I'm anxious to keep the leather in good condition and
>> stop it drying out, but so far I've done nothing!
>>
>> The Scarpa website seems to recommend Nikwax Nubuck & Suede Proof, but
>> I wonder whether this is just a DWR treatment, which won't actually
>> nourish the leather.
>>
>> I'm tempted to use ordinary Nikwax or G-Wax and risk spoiling the
>> boots' appearance. Any thoughts?
>>
>
>Yes, I have thoughts.
>Why do you want to wear boots?

Actually, I don't - I much prefer shoes. But the best-fitting shoes I
could find last time were Hagl�fs Vertigos; and these are Nubuck
suede, which brings me nicely back to the same question...

Martyn

>
>Apologies in advance - no-one wants to hear that $$$$$ boots are an
>unnecessary waste of money after they've bought them.

[Peter Clinch]

Looking at my old Scarpa Heliums (a mix of fabric mesh and suede) the
suede seems basically okay and in the 7 or 8 years I've had them I've
made no attempt to care for them in any way!

Stopping the suede drying out has been limited to walking through wet mud.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net p.j.c...@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[Martyn Tindall]

Thanks, Pete. I've just looked at Outdoorsmagic's review of the
Scarpa Heliums (Aug 2002). They sound to be just what I need: pity
I'm ten years late!

We used to have a wonderful cobbler round the corner from here, who
instilled in me the importance of "feeding the leather", as he put it.
Besides, bitter experience has taught me that leather can easily dry
out and crack if it's not looked after.

The Scarpa boots are lasted for low volume heel/ankle and high
instep/arch, if I remember correctly. Whatever, they're the best
fitting footwear I've had for a long time, and I want the uppers to
last as long as possible.

Martyn

[Peter Clinch]

On 18/03/2013 15:23, Martyn Tindall wrote:

> Thanks, Pete. I've just looked at Outdoorsmagic's review of the
> Scarpa Heliums (Aug 2002). They sound to be just what I need: pity
> I'm ten years late!

Mine are pretty much done as the sole is flat and they're starting to
come apart at the back, but they've had a *lot* of wear (they're fading
away in use as everyday shoes now the soles aren't up to steep stuff any
more).
And I look at what I can get to replace them and find there's nothing
that suits me quite as well, so curses on the "we must have a new model
every five minutes!" mentality.

They fitted that lovely middle ground between almost entirely mesh (nice
and cool but keeps water out as well as a tea-bag) and over-built. It's
all got to be "trail running" now :-(

[PAUL {HAMILTON} ROONEY]

Your feet are crying out for sandals.
Listen to your feet!

[Peter Clinch]

I'm a great advocate of sandals, but with the current weather in mind my
feet are crying out for them to be in nice warm shoes and socks for a
while yet this year...

Oddly enough I can't find a pair of sandals with a SNS binding bar...

[Alan White]

On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:27:31 +0000, Peter Clinch
<p.j.c...@dundee.ac.uk> wrote:

>I'm a great advocate of sandals,...

About eight years ago, I came to the conclusion that Scarpa Manta M4s
were overkill for most of the conditions in which we walked and bought a
pair of Scarpa ZG65 lightweight boots. I then discovered that Scarpa
made a trekking trainer with the same tread pattern and bought a pair of
those. I now alternate between those and Merrell sandals depending upon
the terrain and weather. Result, much less weight, cooler and more
comfortable.

--
Alan White
Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent.
By Loch Long, twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, Scotland.
Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.co.uk/weather

[Martyn Tindall]

On Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:36:51 +0000, Alan
White<alan....@windycroft.co.uk> wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:27:31 +0000, Peter Clinch
><p.j.c...@dundee.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>>I'm a great advocate of sandals,...
>
>About eight years ago, I came to the conclusion that Scarpa Manta M4s
>were overkill for most of the conditions in which we walked and bought a
>pair of Scarpa ZG65 lightweight boots. I then discovered that Scarpa
>made a trekking trainer with the same tread pattern and bought a pair of
>those. I now alternate between those and Merrell sandals depending upon
>the terrain and weather. Result, much less weight, cooler and more
>comfortable.

I'm envious! I always thought the Scarpa Enigma/Vortex looked great
shoes. I had both "on approval", but they hurt my feet...

Martyn

>Alan White
>Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent.
>By Loch Long, twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, Scotland.
>Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.co.uk/weather