The Ultimate Guide to Mink Oil on Boots (2023) | Benefits, Alternatives, and More

So what is mink oil? Mink oil is a leather conditioner that is traditionally made from a mink’s abdomen fat. While it is mainly used by shoe enthusiasts and leather workers today, this oily balm has its roots in Native American material culture. Long ago, indigenous populations such as the Chippewa used mink oil as … Read more

The 5 Best Leather Conditioners for Your Beloved Boots

I’ve been boring the internet with my highly detailed, lovingly crafted reviews of leather conditioners for months and months — and had a pretty steep decline in YouTube views as a result — but if you’re reading this, then you’re in luck. You don’t have to read the other reviews because this, my friend, this … Read more

Op-Ed: You Use Too Much Leather Conditioner

What do salt, perfume, and shoe polish have in common? Too much salt ruins an otherwise good batch of cookies, overdoing it on the perfume or cologne is repugnant, and too much leather conditioner, designed to help protect and waterproof your favorite pair of boots can actually oversaturate the leather. However, a dash of salt, … Read more

Kiwi Conditioning Oil Review – How to Use and Before & After

Despite the very New Zealand name, Kiwi was actually launched in Australia in 1906 (by a man with a New Zealand wife) and it’s since become phenomenally popular. In the US and UK it has two thirds of the market share and in Malaysia, the word ‘kiwi’ has even become part of the Malay language, … Read more

Leather Honey Review: Does It Cover Up Scuffs?

Leather Honey is the number one selling leather conditioner on Amazon right now. If you are searching for leather conditioner or even, yes, boot conditioner, Leather Honey comes at the top of the list. That may be surprising to some of my fellow fans of Goodyear welted boots, because the conditioners that most of us … Read more

Sof Sole Mink Oil Review – It’s Not Actually Mink Oil?

Is mink oil the fountain of youth for your boots? I decided to pick some up to see if they could work on some four-year-old Thursday boots. Now, these boots have never been conditioned and a lot of the damage, like deep gashes in the leather, is beyond repair. (They’re not mine; I borrowed them … Read more

Bickmore Bick 4 Leather Conditioner Review: Doesn’t Darken Leather?

Bickmore has been in the leather care game since 1882, when they started out by making products to soothe sores on horses that were caused by their harnesses. In the early twentieth century they started branching out into shaving cream and toothpaste and eventually their journey through the oozy creams of the world led them … Read more

Saphir Renovateur Review – Is It the World’s Best Boot Conditioner?

Saphir’s Renovateur is the crème de la shoe crème. It is the fanciest, schmanciest, priciest leather conditioning product you’re likely to find and it has developed a serious cult following among boot aficionados. Of course, we’re talking about the Medaille d’Or Saphir Renovateur not the regular Renovateur you get in a blue lid. (It also comes … Read more

Does It Matter If Your Leather Conditioner Has Petroleum?

If you’ve already invested in a pair of quality leather boots, you probably know how important leather conditioner is. A good conditioner will do a lot for you: smooth out small scratches and imperfections, soften and add suppleness, protect from salt and dirt, degrease and clean the surface, and revitalize the luster of the leather … Read more

Venetian Shoe Cream Review and How to Use

It’s fair to say that Venetian Shoe Cream is the go-to product for conditioning boots. Whether you’re talking about boots that are outdoorsy or dressy,  practically every company from so-so Thorogood to top-tier Viberg recommend you pair your purchase with a bottle of VSC. For this piece I interviewed Philip Collias, the CEO of the company that … Read more