Boots

These boots are GREAT! When I was on my mission in Zimbabwe, I had a companion who had a pair of brown Dr Martens brown boots. I lusted after those boots. That was when my love of boots began. One of the first things I bought when I came home from mission was a pair of those boots (pictured above after almost three years of use).

I wear these boots almost every day to school, work, and out to eat. I am actually wearing them right now and they feel great! They have gone through two pairs of laces but the boots are still going strong.

I have traveled with these boots all over the world. I have worn them in Alaska zip-lining in the canopy just outside of Juneau, in San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas and other American cities, in Victoria, B.C. Canada, in Mexico, Hawaii, Rome, Naples, Athens, Mykonos, Ephesus, and in the desert just outside of Alexandria, Egypt. I hope to be able to travel with them back to Zimbabwe some day soon.

After all of these travels, they show little signs of wearing. However, the leather had become dry and light in color and there was a buildup of dust and years of Kiwi Dark Brown Shoe Polish. The leather actually looked pretty bad. I did some research on leather care and went to Hurst's Ace Hardware to buy some Saddle Soap and Mink Oil. I used the Saddle Soap to clean the leather and strip the old polish away. The Mink Oil moisturizes and waterproofs leather. I massaged the Mink Oil into the leather with my hands. The directions say to use a cloth but it felt more effective to use my hands on it. The Mink Oil is natural and won't hurt your skin. After sitting overnight, the leather had absorbed all of the excess Mink Oil and the leather looked, felt, and smelled brand new!

The picture above is a shot of the boots last night after I had let the Mink Oil sit for a few hours. I failed to take a picture of the boots before I started.