Why a little tinkering pays off

A good pair of leather boots and a decent shell jacket cost a serious amount of money these days, which is all the more reason to look after them. The British hills do their best to wreck kit: peat bogs that suck at your soles, gritstone that files them down, heather and scree that scuff and abrade, and rain that hunts out every stitch. Most of what shortens the life of walking gear is not hard use but neglect — mud left to dry and crack the leather, detergent residue stripping the water repellency out of a jacket, boots slowly steamed to death on a radiator. Twenty minutes of attention after a big day out will add years to your equipment.

Clean boots properly, then dry them slowly

Knock the worst of the mud off before you leave the car park; a stiff brush by the door is the best value item in your kit cupboard. At home, pull the laces out and lift the footbeds, then rinse the boots in lukewarm water with a soft brush or a bit of old towel. Cold water is fine, hot water is not — it softens adhesives and shrinks leather. A dedicated boot cleaner lifts peat staining nicely, though a little washing-up liquid will do at a push. Never put walking boots in the washing machine, whatever your mate at the club says.

Drying matters as much as cleaning:

• Stuff boots with crumpled newspaper and change it when it goes soggy.
• Leave them somewhere airy at room temperature, ideally upside down so water drains away from the seams.
• Keep them away from radiators, airing cupboards, hot cars and open fires — heat is what kills rubber randings and glued soles.
• Dry footbeds separately, and never store boots damp in a bag.

Feeding leather and reproofing fabric

Once dry, full-grain leather wants feeding. Warm the boots gently — wearing them for ten minutes is enough — then work a small amount of wax or leather conditioner in with your fingers, paying attention to the creases over the toes and the flex points behind them. Be sparing: too much wax and the leather stops breathing, which is what keeps your feet comfortable. Nubuck, suede and split leather prefer a spray-on or water-based proofer, applied in thin coats to a clean, dry boot.

Fabric boots with a waterproof membrane cannot be made waterproof from the outside, because the membrane is doing that job inside. What reproofing does is stop the outer fabric soaking up water like a sponge, which is what turns a light boot into an unwearable brick on a long wet day. Reapply after every few big trips, and always before a winter outing.

Soles, laces and stitching

Inspect your soles in good light. Wear on the heel is normal, but a heel worn through to the midsole means it is time to think about resoling. Plenty of walking boots can be resoled, so if the uppers are sound and the midsole is not crumbling, a repair is far cheaper than a replacement pair. If a sole is starting to lift at the toe, act straight away: clean and dry the gap, roughen both surfaces with sandpaper, apply a flexible polyurethane adhesive, press the sole down and weight or clamp it overnight. Left alone, that small gap becomes a flapping sole and a face-plant on a wet descent.

While you are at it, check the stitching along the rand and the ankle cuff, and replace any laces that are frayed. Laces always snap at the worst possible moment, on a narrow ridge in a gust, so carry a spare set in your rucksack.

Washing a waterproof jacket properly

Waterproofs do not need washing often, but they do need washing correctly. A jacket that soaks up water and feels cold and clammy has usually lost its durable water repellency, and more often than not the culprit is dirt or old detergent. Sponge the mud off after a muddy day, and when the jacket is genuinely grubby, wash it in a dedicated technical cleaner — a non-detergent, pure-soap formula — on a 30°C cycle. No fabric conditioner, no biological powder, and nothing else in the machine.

Then reactivate the finish. A low tumble dry for twenty minutes often brings the factory water repellency back to life; check the care label first. If water still soaks in rather than beading, apply a wash-in proofer for unlined shells, or a spray-on for jackets with a lining or fleece backing, which gives you more control and better coverage where it matters. Hang to dry somewhere airy, never over a radiator.

Seams, zips and pinholes

Seam tape lifts with age, especially where pack straps rub across the shoulders. Peel back the loose section, clean it with a little alcohol, and run a thin bead of flexible seam sealant along the join, or apply iron-on repair tape through a cloth on a low setting. Round the corners of any patch you cut, because square corners catch and peel.

Sticky zips respond well to a rub of silicone lubricant or a soft pencil run along the teeth, while a dry toothbrush clears grit and lint from the slider. Keep velcro clean of fluff so it still grips with cold hands. Small punctures — a thorn, a spark from a stove, a careless crampon — can be patched at home with a repair patch or a blob of flexible adhesive on a clean, dry surface. Deal with them before they tear.

None of this is glamorous work, but it is the difference between kit that lasts two seasons and kit that lasts ten. A brush, a tin of wax, a tube of seam sealant and a bottle of technical wash will see you right for years of good days on the hills.