Making Sure Your Kids’ Combat Boots Go the Distance

Your kids will outgrow their combat boots in a year if not a few years anyway. They’re designed to be outgrown, but even so, that doesn’t mean you should treat them as disposable, especially since kids are so hard on their stuff, anyway.

That being said, here are 5 helpful tips, insights and suggestions to make sure your kids’ combat boots last for longer so that you need to replace them less frequently. Look into these and see where you could be providing better care for your kids’ boots. 

Keep Them Clean 

First, don’t let your kids’ combat boots remain muddy or caked in road salt after a heavy snow. That will eventually destroy the uppers, laces, hardware, and in some cases, even the soles. 

For instance, there are salts in road salts (obviously) used to treat ice and snow, and even salts and other compounds in mud and dirt (not to mention moisture) that will quickly rust the eyelets and other hardware of a boot. 

On top of that, mud will trap moisture against the upper. Regardless of what the uppers are made from, whether woven ballistic nylon or full-grain leather, chronic moisture is a bad thing and will cause the uppers to rot and fall apart prematurely. 

Plus, leaving mud and dirt caked on the shoe can damage the adhesive that holds the parts together, cause deterioration of the stitching that secures the welt (where applicable) and will just generally ruin the boots. Plus it is unsightly. 

So, when your kids come in from a full day of being out there, whether on the streets or in the wilds, make sure you teach them how to care for their boots. Use a brush or damp rag to clean off the uppers, and use a brush or a boot-cleaning tool to remove mud and dirt from the lugs of the soles, if applicable. 

You don’t need to get every spot out, but what you do want to make sure is that the boots are not heavily caked with mud and other dirt. 

Condition Leather Uppers

With leather boots, you will need to go a step further than just cleaning. Well, you will need to keep them clean, but you will also want to make sure that you condition the boots periodically. Every six months is a good schedule just to be safe, but any time the leather looks faded or stained, you will want to clean and condition them.

There are commercial leather conditioners you can use for this task, such as neatsfoot oil or mink oil, but you can also blend your own from a combination. Some conditioners also contain beeswax which not just conditions the leather, but which helps make it more water and oil-resistant. 

Conditioning leather kids’ combat boots will keep the leather soft and supple, and it will restore that beautiful sheen, but it is about so much more than just comfort and aesthetics. 

Leather is a natural material with fibers and pores. The oil and wax in leather conditioners fill these pores and help fortify the fibers that constitute leather, preventing them from drying out and becoming brittle. 

Leather that is not conditioned periodically will dry out, eventually becoming brittle and cracking or delaminating or warping, or else some combination of all three. This damage is irreversible, so the only thing you can do to prevent it is to make sure you are judicious about conditioning the leather uppers of your kids’ combat boots at least twice per year.

Don’t Let Them Remain Wet 

Your kids’ combat boots are going to get wet every once in a while, and in fact, some types of combat boots, like jungle boots, are expressly designed to handle conditions like these. They have vented panels and are designed to drain and dry off expediently. 

All the same, regardless of what types of boots you get for your kids, you never want to allow them to remain wet, even if they are jungle boots.

Allowing a pair of kids’ combat boots to remain wet is going to cause the uppers and laces to rot, the hardware to rust, and potentially will damage any adhesive holding any of the components together. This will occur after a few days, but letting boots remain wet for even one day will cause mold and mildew to grow on and in the boots, which will leave lasting unpleasant odors. 

Take the laces off and pull out the tongue and gussets of the boots, and then stuff them with newsprint. Replace this newsprint every few hours until the boots are fully dry. 

If you have a boot dryer, you can use this too. Just make sure you address the issue as soon as your kid takes off the boots. 

But Don’t Dry Them Off Too Fast 

One quick note here, it can be tempting to rush the drying process by placing the boots in or near a heater or furnace or fire. Don’t do this as all parts of the boots dry at different rates, so doing so too quickly will stress the materials and can cause separation. This is worse with leather boots; make sure you dry them off at a controlled rate.

Don’t Leave Them Outside, Especially in the Sun

Lastly, you might think it’s a good idea to leave the boots outside to let them dry out in the open air, and while this can be a good idea, rapid shifts in temperature can stress the boots, too, just like being wet.

Worse yet is direct sun exposure. The UV in sunlight will, over time, destroy the boots uppers, along with the laces, the soles, any stitching, and any adhesives used to hold them together. 

So, if you are going to leave the boots outside to air out for a little while, make sure you do it in an area that has plenty of airflow but which is sheltered from the sun. 

Where to Learn More About Kids Combat Boots

While the tips contained in this article will help you get the most mileage from your kids’ combat boots, at some point you will need to replace them, whether they’ve fallen apart or you just need a larger pair because your kid outgrew the last one. 

We can help with that. Check out our collection of kids’ combat boots and jungle boots, and find a new pair that works for you and your kid. If you have any questions before you buy, make sure to get in touch with us and we will do our best to help.