Overboots

January 17, 2008

In a much earlier post i had shown a picture of my ski boots and wasn't sure what kind they were. My gear guru Rick thought that they looked like Asolo's. So for now that is what we will call them. i have used these boots for years after a buddy gave them to me. He bought these at a thrift store. He had driven his motorcycle from Argentina to Alaska and then spent the winter in Fairbanks.

It is best to have double boots to keep your feet warm while skiing in extreme temperatures but if you only have single boots like these it is essential to have an Overboot. These were made by the fantastic folks at Apocalypse Design and are meant to be worn with Gaitors. They have a full velcro attachment on the side which will make taking them on and off easy. i will probably cut off the front blue loop because of the chance for it to catch on something like a hidden branch while skiing. Anytime you can avoid a crash and burn it is probably a good idea to do so, especially if you are alone.

i've treated the boots with 6 layers of SnowSeal which is a leather preservative which repels water. i used a whole jar on the 2 boots. To apply, goop the stuff all over the boots and then hold over a flame of some sort, like a gas stove or better yet a campfire. The leather heats up and sucks in the SnowSeal. Repeat the process as you feel necessary. i did this in our Fairbanks cabin over our kitchen stove and while i like the smell Christine and our buddy Les were sitting in the living room with their shirts pulled over their noses, who knew. The other problem with doing it in the kitchen is that while most of the SnowSeal goes into the leather if you goop it too heavy it melts off and drips on the stove. Then you have to smell it each time you light the stove burner until it burns off. If you have a campfire or camp stove probably best to use this method, outside.