Wolverine 721LTD Shell Cordovan 1000 Mile Boot Review

Very nice boots. I think they would look better with different laces though! Maybe some black round ones?

Leffot has them for $725

Originally Posted by Crane's

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They really are a bad ass boot. Really comfortable out of the box. I'll wear them all day tomorrow. It's supposed to rain here after that so I'm going to do my infamous welt/upper snoseal treatment before they see water. I suppose I should take pics of the process for the benefit of anyone who wants to know how waterproofing a leather boot is really done.
Very nice boots. I recently started wearing my "regular" 1000 Mile boots in black. I saw your previous 1000 Mile review and I cannot wait to take them hiking. I beat them up in the city earlier this week and I treated them with mink oil today. Do you recommend I use snoseal? Also, what are the benefits of snoseal vs. mink oil vs. obenaufs? Thank you for the information and I am anticipating the pics of the process.

Originally Posted by raven37457

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Very nice boots. I recently started wearing my "regular" 1000 Mile boots in black. I saw your previous 1000 Mile review and I cannot wait to take them hiking. I beat them up in the city earlier this week and I treated them with mink oil today. Do you recommend I use snoseal? Also, what are the benefits of snoseal vs. mink oil vs. obenaufs? Thank you for the information and I am anticipating the pics of the process.

Mink oil these days could be a synthetic compound or it can be the real deal. I tend to stay away from it because of that. If it's the real deal then it's nothing more than an animal fat. Animal fats rot when exposed to the elements. The consequences of that are obvious.

Whatever boot oil brand you use is of little consequence. It's all pretty much the same thing. I use Filson boot oil for the simple reason is I have cases of it in the store. Snoseal on the other hand is a combination of beeswax and pretty much boot oil blended together. Beeswax has been around as a waterproofer forever. It also nourishes the leather and doesn't rot. Leather that's heavily waxed with some type of wax (paraffin/bees wax) is notoriously weather resistant. Think Belstaff leather jackets and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I use boot oil and snoseal in combination with each other. After 35 years of dealing with top grain/bridle leather and Shell Cordovan it seems this combination works the best when it comes to keeping the leather supple and water proofed. Oh and do not do this to suede!!! It will destroy it.

Originally Posted by Crane's

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Mink oil these days could be a synthetic compound or it can be the real deal. I tend to stay away from it because of that. If it's the real deal then it's nothing more than an animal fat. Animal fats rot when exposed to the elements. The consequences of that are obvious. Whatever boot oil brand you use is of little consequence. It's all pretty much the same thing. I use Filson boot oil for the simple reason is I have cases of it in the store. Snoseal on the other hand is a combination of beeswax and pretty much boot oil blended together. Beeswax has been around as a waterproofer forever. It also nourishes the leather and doesn't rot. Leather that's heavily waxed with some type of wax (paraffin/bees wax) is notoriously weather resistant. Think Belstaff leather jackets and you'll know what I'm talking about. I use boot oil and snoseal in combination with each other. After 35 years of dealing with top grain/bridle leather and Shell Cordovan it seems this combination works the best when it comes to keeping the leather supple and water proofed. Oh and do not do this to suede!!! It will destroy it.
Thank you, as previously mentioned, I just placed a Kiwi Mink Oil (mink oil, silicone and lanoline) treatment on my boots. What do you suggest? Should I wash them? Leave them alone and use the filson/snoseal combo next time? I am a complete novice when speaking about treating leather goods. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks again.

Tried these on today at unionmade. Nice boot, but not as nice as the alden cordovans I've purchased. I own two pairs of the 1000 miles that I'm very happy with but at $725 I'd rather give alden my money. IMHO they're priced about $200 above what they should be priced at.

The color isn't quite color 8 on these, at least in the light I was under. It was more burgundy.

Originally Posted by raven37457

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Thank you, as previously mentioned, I just placed a Kiwi Mink Oil (mink oil, silicone and lanoline) treatment on my boots. What do you suggest? Should I wash them? Leave them alone and use the filson/snoseal combo next time? I am a complete novice when speaking about treating leather goods. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks again.

Just wear them until it's time to treat them again.

So does no one else see all the defects in the left boot? The one that cost $900 retail and should be perfect?

Originally Posted by StarterStyle

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So does no one else see all the defects in the left boot? The one that cost $900 retail and should be perfect?

Feel free to point them out. I did pick loose thread out of the stitching on the left boot and that may be what you see in the pics?

Those are awesome except for one thing. I don't think I could deal with the WOLVERINE 1000 MILE embossed on them.

Originally Posted by Crane's

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Feel free to point them out. I did pick loose thread out of the stitching on the left boot and that may be what you see in the pics?
I don't know the name for the part, but the vertical strip of leather on the back of the boot looks awful. The leather on the sides of the boot looks loose as well.

.
how i wish the addison wing tip would've been just a simple toe cap like this. It just fits perfect. I do not really see any problems with your boots, but another picture online from a well know store has boots that have a horrible color blotching on the vamp. I have no idea why they used that pair of these for the photos.

I got a few nice scuffs courtesy of my mutt and a game of tug o war and the soles are now dry after my fishing adventure Friday evening. After a few cups of coffee I'll snoseal 'em so the real fun can begin. Stay tuned for pics and a how to do.....

I'm not digging that short-wing cap on the toe at all, and from the pics some of the stitching looked all over the place.

Here's how you waterproof boots with snoseal or a similar wax oil product.

Get your unlaced boots, some rags, your snoseal, a brush, and a hair dryer.


CIMG0929 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Wipe off any mud or crud with a damp rag, brush them thoroughly and start applying the snoseal with your finger liberally. The first pic shows the nice thick bead being applied to the where the welt and the upper meet. This is the area where time well spent will reward you in dry feet even if you stand ankle deep in water.


CIMG0930 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Keep applying it liberally in every nook, cranny, along edges...


CIMG0931 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr


CIMG0932 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr


CIMG0933 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Once you have the boot completely covered it's time for the hairdryer. What you basically do is heat up an area of the boot until the wax melts. Keep heating it while keeping the hairdryer moving in small circles. DO NOT just blast a spot! It is possible to cook the leather but you would know way ahead of time from the smoke that you F'ed it up but good. LOL. Anyway once the leather warms up enough the pores will open up and the shiny hot wax will just get sucked into the leather. Move over a bit and keep doing this to the entire boot. The big secret to really waterproofing leather is to get the wax deep into the leather. Heat is the only way this will happen.


CIMG0934 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr


CIMG0936 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Boot on the left is done. While the boot is still warm take a rag and wipe it down and polish it a bit.


CIMG0937 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Another shot of the snosealed boot (left). You can see the wax on the surface. Don't sweat it, this is normal and it does buff up with a little elbow grease.


CIMG0938 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

The other boot getting it's very liberal dose of snoseal.....


CIMG0939 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Once you are done do it all over again. Yeah, that's right do it again. The wax will penetrate deeper into the leather and the addition of another coat of wax/heat will evenly distribute the treatment throughout the boot's leather. That additional coat along the welt area alone is worth the additional work. Once it's all said and done get ready to brush and buff your ass off. If you feel like it you can add a bit of color to the toe cap, vamp and quarters if you wish. If you do you'll get to be shoe shine guy for a bit longer.


CIMG0940 by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

Just for the fun of it here's some more food for thought.

How many times have you read on this board a horror story about water or salt stains on a brand new pair of boots or shoes? How about that great deal on vintage shell cordovan shoes and after one wear they cracked and self destructed? Same goes for leather jackets. How many times?

Here's a few facts about leather that's not well known or talked about.

You have no idea how old the new leather is that your item is made out of. You have no idea how long or in what environment your new leather item has sat around in. All you know is it's supposed to be new. New DOES NOT mean the original tanning oils or waterproofing is intact. Time and environment determine how long it takes for these critical components to dry out, deteriorate or otherwise be compromised. IF YOU DO NOT WANT NASTY SURPRISES WITH NEW LEATHER GOODS then take the time to condition them with the appropriate product BEFORE you use it. If you are going to expose leather to any type of water then waterproof it appropriately BEFORE you get it wet. This truly is a case of where an ounce of prevention is worth it. I wear leather coats in pouring rain, no issues or problems. I obviously put shoes and boots through the ringer. Again no problems.

There is one thing that should be noted. The color will darken. With light oils not as much and over time it does lighten back up a bit. Snoseal or other wax/oil compounds it's a different story. The leather will darken and tend to stay that way. It's a simple choice in my book. I want my boots, shoes, coats, saddles, wallets and whatever else to last as long as possible. That means I will maintain them properly with no regard to the color shift. The other choice in my book is neglect and well you'll pay for it in the long run and possibly much sooner.

Now the vintage stuff is a different animal. It's most likely going to be dry or worse dry rotted. If it's just dry that can be taken care of. It's a process that takes a lot of time and patience but it's doable. Again you go through the restoration process BEFORE you use it NOT AFTER!! Dry rot on the other hand is something that's not fixable. Good luck determining if a leather item is dry or dry rotted.

I digress.

Anyway there you have it. How I waterproof boots and shoes and why I do what I do.