Obenauf's Leather Care Products

Today I am going to be doing a review on a product I stumbled a few years ago,

First a little back story; Marv Obenauf, a veteran firefighter noticed throughout his 34+ year career that leather preservatives like mink oil or pine tar caused leathers to break down and rot over time. He quickly saw a need for a product that could protect his gear from the constant damage and yet not damage or rot out leather in the longer term. Over a few years he came up with "Obenauf's LP" a wax like cream that is applied much like mink oil would be, but has a key property that acts as an anti-bacterial and microbial, Honey Bee Propolis. His product quickly became a hit around the firehouse and in the firefighting community and has since spread to become an amazingly popular product for anyone working in harsh environments.

My experience thus far with the Obenauf's line has been amazing. I had been using mink oil for most of my raw leather products; boots, belts, sheaths, etc. But when I came across this product in a YouTube video featuring a pair of boots I wanted to try out, I had to have some.

APPLICATION: The product "Heavy Duty LP" is much more waxy and hard compared to mink oil and you apply it much like you would lip balm, a thin layer at a time, allowing time in between layers to get a good base coat of the product. I use my bare hands to rub it into the leather and it leaves my hands with a subtle bee's wax smell that lingers for days, it has a very pleasing scent. The oil applies with a dauber and is what I use in between applications of LP. it absorbs fast and the life it brings back out in leather is instantly noticeable. it has a pleasant, fresh tanned leather smell.

FINISH: The product does darken the leather significantly, especially if you have neglected your boots and they have lost the shine or original finish, but I like my boots deep and dark in finish. However the longer the boots sit, the lighter they begin to be again. Their website says to allow 7 full days for true colour to show. It will matte or flatten the shine on black or "polished" boots, like combat boots, but this too can be buffed back to a shine in a day or two. The leather oil leaves a matte finish as well, but absorbs extremely fast. Use to keep leather supple for long periods, I use it to store some of my boots for long periods. I used it on a set of Canadian Mark 3's that were beginning to dry rot due to lack of use, they instantly sucked up the oil and became pliable as if I had never stopped wearing them!

PROTECTION: This stuff offers GORE-TEXesq protection from water. I recently came back from a bear hunting trip and the boots I wore weren't waterproof by any stretch, but before I left I applied two coats of Heavy Duty LP and the water beaded off them for 3 solid days of punishment no problem. The Leather Oil has less waterproofing properties but works well to rehabilitate the old cracked leathers into supple and pliable usable leather, my belt was a goner, now its back to being my go to belt!

VALUE: I bought a "kit" that included an 8oz. tub of Heavy Duty LP, 20oz. of Oil and a spray bottle of fabric waterproofing (silicone based canvas spray) directly from www.obenaufs.com and it all came here shipped for a little over 50 dollars CAD. I have treated all my leathers and have barely even scratched into the tub of LP, and the oil is seemingly never ending.

VERDICT:

-Heavy Duty LP: You need this. I have countless pairs of boots, and various holsters, sheathes and belts, this stuff rolls them all, its the best product I have used in terms of doing what it says it will do, and well.

-Leather Oil: Definitely consider it if you have leather that is starting to dry rot or is drying out. I am amazed at how well and how fast it works to rehabilitate leather as well as maintain healthy leather.

-Silicone Fabric Waterproofing Spray: I treated my EDC bag with the spray but haven't tested the extent of its waterproofing ability. It doesn't seem to discolour the fabric, and water does bead on it.

This is my unpaid and unbiased opinion, my daddy didn’t raise no shill. I just like the stuff.