Gary...you can keep them relatively waterproof by cleaning first with Saddle Soap, then after thoroughly air drying, treat them with a good waterproofing product like Duxbak, Sno Seal, or other leather boot waterproofing treatment products. you can find those products at a good backpacking/hiking store. It's the seams where the boot upper attaches to the sole that gets you wet (mostly), and is also the hardest to keep sealed, but it can be done. Depends on how it's stitched. If the upper is turned out and stitched to the sole (usually apparent because the sole has a "lip" that is wider than the foot), the stitches are obviously more difficult to keep sealed. If the leather turns in where the stitches are not exposed, the boot is typically easier to keep waterproof, but it is a more difficult manufacturing process. I had a pair of great Italian made backpacking boots for years and that's what you had to do to them to get them waterproof. In really wet weather or snow, my feet would still get wet after a day or two, no matter what I put on the leather/seams. Not soaked, but damp. It all depends on how the leather is tanned and whether the waterproofing permeates the entire hide or is just on the surface.
Sorry for getting off on this tangent, but I've "studied" on this kind of stuff for years...nothing will screw up a great hike like a crappy pair of boots. I'm also an OCD A/R backpacker, skier, fly fisher, and mountain bike rider. GearHead would be the term
That is a nice looking boot...I'd like to see a pair in person.
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Topic: Riding Boots (Read 15176 times)