Sam Gravestock polishes to perfection.
A well-polished pair of boots are a joy to behold; they also say something about the individual wearing them. They imply that the wearer takes pride in their appearance and looks after their belongings.
There are also practical considerations to having well-polished boots - regular polishing maintains the condition of the leather and also improves or enhances the water resistant properties of the footwear.
I must confess that polishing leather boots is for me one of the most relaxing routines I do on a regular basis almost becoming a meditation (I know I am a sad sad man).
The webtex multicam boot polishing kit comprises the pouch, a stiff brush, a soft brush, cleaning cloth, a tin of polish and a spare pair of laces.
The pouch has a Velcro flap that closes the main part of the pouch and has a mesh net on the opposite side to allow storage of items without intermixing with those contained inside.
The pouch is patterned with multicam camouflage pattern and is the first example I have seen of this new camouflage design. Personally I am not sure why you would want any camouflage pattern on your polishing kit - it makes it easier to misplace when out in the woods. The multicam appears to be an efficient pattern which is very different to the DPM pattern I am familiar with (I must at this point confess that I know very little about camo patterns other than the general intention behind it which is to break up the shape of the body).
The two brushes included can either be used to remove excess dirt and detritus or to apply and then roughly buff the boot polish off once more. I prefer to wash any dirt off with a moist cloth so used the brushes or put on and buff off the polish. Both brushes worked well. The smaller (approx 5") of the two brushes applied the polish well and the larger (approx 6") brush buffed the boots to a decent but not parade level shine.
The cleaning cloth allows for a more refined polish or buffing action to bring the polish applied to a better shine. It can also be used to directly apply polish to specific areas should parts of the boot need more attention than others.
The polish is a web-tex own brand rather than a more recognisable brand such as Kiwi however despite this it brought the boots to a more than adequate shine. It works well bringing dull, scuffed and tired looking leather into more presentable footwear.
Remember, footwear speaks volumes about the individual wearing them so why not give them a helping hand to make the right impression? Buy this kit. (Just make sure you know where you put it)
The entire pack weighs only 330g (approx) so it is no hardship to pack for long excursions. It fits nicely into a side pocket of a bergen or even the main compartment of your pack without taking up an excessive amount of room. I especially like that the kit has sufficient room inside it to add your own essential extras such as dubbin and some extra cloths for polishing (such as a Selvyt cloth) and also to apply the dubbin. This allows it to be used as a base level to be added to if so desired.
You can buy the Military Boot Care Kit directly from this site.
August 2012
