The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Ive found goretex boots waterproof though they will start to leak as they get older. My current ones arent too bad at over 10 years old

Santiago wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:47 pm After a days wild camping in Scotland my boots are soaked. After a week they look like they've been through a blast sanding device. Best thing to take is foot powder and plenty of pairs of dry socks, even though they'll be wet within minutes. It's a myth that Gortex is waterproof, well not when in really soggy terrain.

I had a pair of boots once, rated to 180 minutes of water protection. I was in Martindale in the lakes and it was torrential and I swear almost to the minute it was like someone had turned the taps on in each boot. Always carry Sealskinz socks now on long walks after that.

The Altberg boots that I used to be issued with were 100% waterproof as long as they were regularly cleaned and treated with Ledergris. Long grass was the worst conditions to walk in. After doing a 1000 metre track in a cattle field or a long hike over moorland the boots needed drying and retreating as the abrasive grass would take the shine and protection off them PDQ. I just wish that I had been cheeky enough to have them replaced just before I left the job instead of being left with two old pairs

But boots vary. I had a pair of leather walking boots for over 8 years and used them regularly for fishing, shooting, beating and latterly on my mole trapping work and they were totally waterproof. When they eventually started to leak due to the Goretex membrane splitting I bought what I thought was exactly the same pair of boots from the same company. They leaked from Day 1 and fell apart after a few months. I recently bought a pair of textile boots that were sold by a large chain as waterproof and my feet were wet within a few minutes of wearing them is short, damp grass.

There is a lot of variation in quality of boots.

I'll have to get a pair. In Central America my son wore jungle boots. They don't need waterproofing and actually have holes in near the soles to pump water out.

Nikwax is also excellent or get a pair of sealskin socks which are waterproof or a pair of ex army Goretex boot liners like these.

That's a lot of replies. I'll let you all know what I pick and how u get on with it.

Thanks

Looks like those boots have had it and perhaps it's time for a new pair.

Dubbin is always my first choice but the make of boot seems to be a lottery. Last year I bought a pair of Scarpa boots (£150) for fishing , walking the dog etc. After having paid for them the assistant told me I could reasonably expect a good 18 months of wear out of them. I nearly fell over , 18 months for £150 !! I replied that a few coats of " Good Old Dubbin " will extend their life and was then told " Oh no that will soften the leather to the point that it will fall apart " . My wife on the same day bought a similar pair of Scarpa , the stitching failed on the right boot after 1 week, the second leaked first time out in the wet and that was walking along a tarmac path !!. Both pairs were returned with no problems to be replaced with Berghaus.

I had to smile when reading Martin's comments regarding leather studs with nails in football boots that came above the ankle. These boots were my first ever pair bought from a jumble sale whilst I was at junior school. Nobody ever came anywhere near me during a game , I wonder why lol

I get a good year out of Scarpa boots and that's wearing them every day five miles most days. I normally buy them from Black's in their sale for about £100. Had no problem with water coming in except in extreme conditions in Scottish bogs! I wouldn't trust boots from other makers and the Scarpa ones fit my feet like gloves! Oddly enough, last time I bought a pair was just before the first lockdown and a chap was in the shop wearing Berghaus boots that he said were about a year old and they were much worse off than mine!

I should add, the soles wear out before the leather!

My smart dress shoes are all leather soled and when the shiny finish wears off they will absorb water on a wet day. I treat them with dubbin when they reach this stage which seems to sort out the problem. My walking boots are fabric so I treat them with Fabsil.