Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Hey, question for those of you who use leather telemark touring boots.

I have a pair of low cut Alico leather telemark boots with Norwegian welt soles. They're not very old, I got them pretty much new. But with just a couple years of light use and storage, the leather has been abraded in a couple of places. I'd like to make sure the leather stays intact for years to come, so I have a question about what leather care products people have used successfully on their old 75mm black leathers like Merrell Ultra, Alico Teletour, Asolo Extreme, Asolo Snowfield, and the like. How do you keep the creases in the leather from losing their black PU covering and polish? Saddle soap? Nikwax? Other? I'd hate to use SnoSeal; that seems to make the leather stiff. What do you all use?

I've got some 50 yeaar old Merrells that have held up well with 50 years of treating with Sno Seal. I smear it on and use a hair dryer to warm it in. Asolo recommends a water-proofing impregnation spray these days.

I use Huberds shoe grease on my old merrell ultras and Asolo snowfields. Both of these boots are not only decades old, they get used often. Leather still holding up good. I do try to avoid the abrasive snow of melt freeze cycles.

I switched over to HydroBloc, but still use my left over SnoSeal on gloves and choppers.

https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=1725

I used Biwell (red tube version) for many many years on my Alicos and was very satisfied. I started using Montana Pitch Blend in recent years, only because the Biwell was getting harder to find.

In you present situation:
Clean the boots (just some water, or saddle soap if you want to be a bit fancier), including removing the laces and getting into the recesses in the tongue gusset. Allow the boots to fully dry, and seal the stitching on the sole... this is important! (I use Seam Grip, and highly recommend it.)
Get some black shoe polish, and go over the boots.
When that's dry, apply your conditioner/sealer. Reapply thru the season as necessary.

Your boots will be rejuvenated, and last a long time. Some possibly unwanted advice; consider looking at your technique, you don't want to be chewing up the inside of the boots with your edges too much if possible.