Reviews > Footwear > Care Products > Atsko Sno-Seal > Kathryn Doiron > Field Report

Atsko Sno-Seal - Field Report

Atsko Sno-Seal

I applied the paste to one hiking boot and a pair of shoes. After application and buffing, there was a slightly tacky feeling to the boot and shoes. After wearing the boot and shoes several times, I noticed that the tacky feeling did diminish quickly. After three months, I can not tell by feel which boot was treated. The first time the footwear was worn outside, in the cold weather, there was a slight opaque residue where excess Sno-Seal remained after buffing. After several wears, this opaque residue also disappeared. After three months, there are no noticeable signs of deterioration of the Sno-Seal's protective coating. I have observed that the badly scuffed toe has developed a nice brown sheen that resembles the rest of the boot and the damage is barely discernible.


The left hand boot is Atsko Sno-Seal protected while the right hand boot is in original condition.

As I only applied the Sno-Seal to one hiking boot, I was able to compare the performance of the Sno-Seal to an untreated boot. The boots themselves did not show any signs of leakage, but the toes of the boots were very badly scuffed before treatment. The treated boot looks almost new whereas the non-treated boot looks trashed. The trashed toe did, in fact, absorb water, whereas on the treated boot's toe I did not notice any signs of water absorption. The Sno-Seal treated boot retained less snow on the surface and less water as the beads were more likely to fall off after stamping my feet. The untreated boot retained more water and snow on the surface that was harder to remove by simply stomping my foot.

Field Conditions:

The boots were more intensively tested than the shoes as I wore them to work every day for at least the last two months. Conditions routinely encountered included slush, snow and ice, with a quick trek through a park with no gain in elevation. Temperatures ahve varied from just above freezing to -20 C (-4 F). I took the boots snowshoeing in heavy wet snow where the temperature was about 4 C (39 F). There was very little elevation gain and I was near sea level. I have purposely encountered deep puddles of slush and cold rain water as well as slogging through snow. I will continue to go out of my way to go through puddles. I will also look into how well they preform under muddy conditions come the spring.

Test Plan:

My test plan for the remaining three months will be to treat the other boot and compare a fresh application to a three month old application to determine how long one appliaction lasts. I will continue to walk through puddles and will take to the hills. I will also look at how well the Sno-Seal repells mud come spring.

Pros:

- Pleasant aroma, easy to apply

- Scuff marks diminished

- Buffs to a nice sheen

- Label not printed on jar

- No applicator

Reviews > Footwear > Care Products > Atsko Sno-Seal > Kathryn Doiron > Field Report