Nikwax Aqueous Smooth Leather Wax

I just bought Scarpa Kensis Pro GTX boots and on the booklet attached to the shoe it clearly recommends Nikwax Aqueous for the smooth leather and says you should treat the boots right out of the box. I did so and have used the boots multiple times, all in deep wet snow, with excellent results. The water beads up and doesn't soak the leather yet it did not seem to hamper the ability for the Gore-Tex and leather to breathe. I was skeptical at first that this would just put a rubber coating on the outside of my boots and be equivalent to me wearing trash bags but it came recommended and as performed admirably.

I used this product on my all leather work boots but it didn't seem to do much of anything to revive their waterproof finish.

I tried this product for my new Sportivia Glacier boots and then used them for hiking Colorado 14ers in April - the boots got wet - I re-applied the product - more wet. I got Sno-seal - no more wet. Maybe the product wasn't for my application.

I love my new hiking boots, and I expect them to last a long time. To help them, I treated them with NikWax before wearing them to the trail. Nik Wax is easy to apply, and doesn't have to dry overnight. NikWax will also let the leather breathe and is recommended for Gore-Tex footwear. The water that did get on my boots on the hike immediately beaded up and fell off. NikWax is a great product! (Plus I got a cool little ram sticker from Backcountry with my order!)

I've used this stuff for years on all my leather hiking boots. It's dead waterproof, easy to apply, and lasts a long time. I recently used it on my Nubuck Asolo's, and it works just as well on Nubuck as on smooth leather (even though the directions say not to apply it to Nubuck). I had tried Granger's G-tec (silicone-based) on these boots previously, but was not impressed at all. Nikwax is the only leather waterproofer worth considering.