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 ... B005BP6XN2
http://www.sonax.com/Product-Search/%28 ... are-lotion
http://www.amazon.com/Leatherique-Rejuv ... B0002SPCAI
http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/p ... nditioner/
http://www.amazon.it/Mafra-Trattamento- ... B00BAODUFW

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

You don't need anything fancy. Any kind of grease will soften the leather and avoid cracking. Use something non-food-based so it won't smell or attract pests. Thick grease like lanolin is probably better than an oil, so you can easily wipe off the excess. Saddle soap adds a bit of soap (to clean away dirt) and a bit of wax (to help the leather shed water).

Any product with a phrase like "leather care" on the label will probably meet these requirements. I checked your first link, and the main ingredients are: lanolin, soap, wax. Pick whichever product is cheapest.

I can't answer your question of "how often", but I think your habit of wiping them with a wet cloth is part of the problem. Basically I'd re-grease them after any hike where they get wet, whether that's from stream crossings, sweaty feet, or your attempt to clean them. Assuming you're storing and using them in a mild climate, a couple of greasings per season should be plenty if they're not getting wet.

Thanks for the advice! I guess the main thing that could go wrong using a general purpose product on the boot lining would be destroying its breathability, which besides being uncomfortable would increase humidity from sweat and further accelerate the degradation of the leather.

La Sportiva specifically recommends Lexol. I guess my question could be rephrased as whether there are major differences between Lexol and Simoniz or the other brands I quoted.

As for wiping the lining with a wet cloth, that's something else La Sportiva specifically recommends in their FAQ. They say that salts from sweat can accumulate in the leather and break it down. They recommend wiping the leather with a rag dipped in 1/3 Johnson's baby shampoo and 2/3 water, then wiping off the suds with a rag soaked in clean water. They go so far as saying that not doing so will void the warranty.

I use the boots in summer, usually in temperatures from 60 to 100 F and they usually get pretty damp just from the sweat. There's nothing I can do about that.

Lexol is "neat'sfoot oil" - an oil derived from cows' leg fat- mixed with "sulfated fatty alcohols". It's just another form of grease. Compared to other fatty mixtures, it's a good choice for penetrating into leather, but I doubt you'll see much of a difference.

"Breathability" and "leather" do not belong in the same sentence. Why are you wearing boots in 60-100F weather?

I do see their point about not letting salt build up in the leather. Unless you can keep it so greased up that your sweat never penetrates, you're going to have to clean it, rinse it, dry it, then grease it, every time.

Thanks, in this case I can use the Simoniz product I linked to above just as well as Lexol, right?

I use boots mainly for ankle support. I often encounter sections of jagged rock wearing a heavy backpack. I suppose I could wear lighter footwear with some ankle conditioning but for now I'm good. If I wear shorts my feet don't get unbearably toasty.

I have no problem with maintaining my boots after each backpacking trip. I have to clean my gear anyway. I was more worried about applying the conditioner too often. Is there such a thing?