Outskirts Overland Podcast
Welcome to the Outskirts Overland Podcast, your go-to source for all things overlanding! Hosted by a seasoned adventurer with over 15 years of experience, this podcast offers a genuine and down-to-earth exploration of the overlanding lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting out, join us as we delve into the essentials of gear and equipment, share captivating stories from the road, and provide practical tips for your next adventure. Tune in for insightful interviews, expert advice, and a community of like-minded explorers who share a passion for discovering the world beyond the beaten path. Get ready to fuel your wanderlust and embark on unforgettable journeys with the Outskirts Overland Podcast!
Outskirts Overland Podcast
Talking with NikWax
Maintaining outdoor gear is often an afterthought, but as our conversation with Heidi from Nikwax reveals, proper care can transform your adventure experience and save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on replacement equipment.
With sixteen years at Nikwax under her belt, Heidi brings a wealth of knowledge about keeping technical fabrics performing at their best. The company's commitment to environmental responsibility stands out—they've been PFAS-free since 1977, decades before most manufacturers considered eliminating these harmful chemicals. This early start gave Nikwax time to perfect formulations that both protect gear and the planet.
We explore why household detergents are the enemy of technical fabrics. That expensive Gore-Tex jacket or rain shell might be failing not because of poor quality, but because regular laundry detergent leaves behind residues that cause fabrics to absorb water rather than repel it. Nikwax's Tech Wash cleans without compromising waterproof properties, while their soon-to-be-released Stain Scrub tackles tough grime without damaging protective coatings.
The conversation tackles specialized care for various materials—from waterproofing tents and awnings to treating merino wool and leather. Did you know UV exposure can reduce tent fabric strength by almost half after just one week in summer sun? Or that proper leather treatment can extend the life of work gloves and boots for years while maintaining their structure and support?
For overlanders who meticulously maintain their vehicles but neglect personal gear, this episode is a wake-up call. The same attention to maintenance that keeps your rig running should extend to your clothing and equipment—especially when challenging weather conditions can turn an adventure into a miserable experience if gear fails.
Take your outdoor experience to the next level by learning how proper care can make even budget-friendly gear perform like premium equipment. Your adventure deserves gear that lasts, and this episode shows you exactly how to make that happen.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Outskirts Overland. It is Charlie here today. Actually, I have a guest as well. I have Heidi from. Nick Wax is with us today.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone.
Speaker 1:So Heidi is Heidi's worked for Nick Wax and she just told me 16 years. So as much as I like to talk about how much I like Nick Wax, I think she could probably tell us a little more about it, and I'm, as you guys know, I'm very interested in keeping our gear healthy. So I'm going to start off first off. Just really, heidi, what brings you to working for Nick Wax and what's your draw to the outdoor space?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I was raised kind of in the outdoors my family were backpackers and then around college I really got into rock climbing and then moved to the West Coast where I got exposed to a ton of other different outdoor activities, from fly fishing to surfing out here, as well as just doing some pretty awesome hikes all over the area.
Speaker 2:So when I was back in Virginia on the East Coast I did a bunch of guide work with climbing and mountain biking and all of that. So I've been in the industry from kind of the guide side for a little bit but then moved into outdoor retail for a little while and then went basically straight to work for Nikwax and I've been here ever since because I'm in a little while and then went basically straight to work for Nick Wax and I've been here ever since because I'm in a little pitch here. But it's an awesome place to work for. We are currently an employee owned company and you know we've been PFAS free since 1977. So we've been doing the right thing since the start and it's really wonderful to work for a company that has that sort of ethical commitment. Yeah, in a nutshell, I guess yeah.
Speaker 1:So heidi's a lot like myself guys. She's been into it forever, um, but I you did mention it and I don't think it's a pitch. That needs to be that that I don't think it's a pitch. I don't see it as a pitch. You guys have been pfas free since 1977, which means you started that that way. You're not somebody that's molding with a community of people that are paying attention. Now, it was always that way.
Speaker 2:Correct, and that means we've had that much time to really perfect our formulas that are PFAS-free as well. So we've just had a little bit of a head start on everyone in the industry. But we're also here to support all of our fellow industry friends right as they work to transition away from that. So we're just we like to say we play great with everyone, Like we're just here to help your last, whether you're a brand or a consumer or whatever it is. Nick wax is just here to make your stuff last a lot longer.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, so I and and guys, I talk about that all the time and I talked to Heidi a little bit beforehand here. But one thing that that is very interesting to me about Nick wax is and I'm gonna throw a curveball here but like I use it for a ton of off-label stuff. I use it on umbrellas, camp chairs, you know, I just use it on other stuff. But one thing that I wasn't unaware of is how much different specific product Nick Wax has. I've seen everything from down like down wash and waterproof, like wash and waterproof for two full waterproof stuff. Um, you guys have a very new thing coming out of stain remover. Yeah, hit me with it, hit me with it. What do we got going on with that?
Speaker 2:Oh man, yeah, it's the latest and greatest. Um, as you know, when you use your outdoor gear it gets pretty dirty. I mean, that's kind of part of the pride. But at the same time, if you know a little bit about caring for your gear, if your gear gets really dirty it doesn't work as well as it should. So stain scrub is just a little bit more of a uh, get better at getting out dirt and grime and that sort of stuff on your outdoor gear.
Speaker 2:Like your hard shell jackets. Those tend to get really nasty around the zippers and the cuffs. They get kind of brown color. So this just scrubs on. It's safe for the existing water repellent coating, which is something that we might dive into a little bit more. But a lot of other stain removing products will really hurt that water repellent coating on your outdoor gear. So this is safe for them but helps provide a little extra stain powing powing action. We'll call it yes, so excited for that one. It should be landing probably in the next uh month or so. So yeah, super, super new yeah.
Speaker 1:So I and I I was just made aware of it just right before we uh, I did it right before we got together. But one thing that I use a lot is the tech wash and you just put it right in your washing machine with your waterproof clothes and it works great. And I have I always am somebody that rain gear is real expensive. Technical outdoor gear is really expensive, so I tend to always end up with these, uh, eclectic colors, cause I want what's on sale, sale. So I'm very interested in the stain remover, as, I mean, anybody would be. But what I do you brought it up and what I do want to bring up is it's. It's like anything else when you use a heavy degreaser, anything of that nature. It is extremely highly causic and that's going to kind of tear down, break down what was already there. So, yeah, go ahead, take that from there.
Speaker 2:Yes, so well, I'll start kind of a top level with our NICWAX products. Right, we make cleaning products, we make waterproofing products and we make deodorizing products. And the cleaning products are really key because household detergents are not good for any sort of waterproof gear. They leave behind residues that will cause your gear to absorb water, or what they'd call wet out in the industry. So if you're chucking your you know Gore-Tex jacket in the wash with your Tide Cool Breeze, it's probably not going to help your jacket perform as good as it should.
Speaker 2:So TechWash is our number one cleaner. It's great for all sorts of hard shells, synthetic insulated jackets and vests, and it effectively cleans those items, because dirt and crud on the inside of your jacket will also cause your jacket to absorb water, which again, is not what you want a rain jacket to do. So cleaning is the most important thing you can do to keep your gear working the way that it should be working. It helps maintain that water repellent coating by getting rid of any nasty stuff that's kind of getting all over your jacket, and then, with the addition of stain scrum, you can get rid of even worse nasty stuff and and I always add the waterproofer, like I have the waterproofer, I add that in with the tech wash when I do my, when I wash my waterproofing, my waterproof stuff.
Speaker 2:Yes. So you always want to do a two-step process. If you're going to waterproof, you always want to clean first. Our great analogy is you would never put wax on a dirty car. You got to clean your car before you wax it. You don't want to try to waterproof dirty jacket. Don't mix the products, though. There it's a two-step process. Um again. Similarly, you wouldn't dump your cleaner in with your wax. Wouldn't work so great. Not that Nick wax is a wax, by the way. This is an analogy for purposes.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Anyway, I yes.
Speaker 1:I knew that was wrong, so I just was wrong, so I had to springing it up. Guys, I don't do that, but I wanted to say I do it because it it'd be very easy to do um, the same thing, um, another product, that's, that's that I'm, that I've used for a very long time. Well and well is the tent, is all the stuff for the tent? Um, but before actually I want to digress a little bit you, you had mentioned stuff stinks, okay, so you get scents on it. You guys also have a sport wash for that exact reason.
Speaker 2:Yes. So we have deodorizing products three big main ones and a couple of other kind of more niche ones. So we make a product called Sports Refresh, which is a cleaner and a deodorizer that also enhances the wicking of any kind of next to skin active wear. If you go to the gym, if you play a team sport, anything that gets rank and stinky. You just use it in the washing machine instead of your regular detergent and again, it really gets rid of pretty persistent odors as well as helps your stuff dry faster, which really helps prevent future odor buildup, because it's when it's wet is when bacteria is having a little party in your clothes. So by drying faster you're helping it to not build up as much odor over time. So it's worth. Refresh, great for all those clothes. It is not great, however, for outerwear anything that's supposed to have a waterproof finish because, again, because it does enhance wicking, it causes here's a little fun enhanced capillary action, causes moisture to spread across the surface more effectively and quickly, and that's the opposite of what you want when you want something to be waterproof, so good for stuff that isn't meant to be waterproof.
Speaker 2:Basically, we also have footwear refresh refresh, which is awesome for cleaning and deodorizing climbing shoes. So you know, the inside of climbing shoes get pretty gnarly. Uh, this is kind of a squirt gel and you get up in there with a brush. I recommend an old toothbrush. You get the toes of your climbing shoes because those gross, uh. It's also good for sandals. So if you've got chacos, flip-flops, anything, those get pretty nasty in the summer too. It's also good for sandals. So if you've got chacos, flip-flops, anything, those get pretty nasty in the summer too. It's great for that, as well as just insoles. You can pull the insole out of your shoe and give those good scrub down for the deodorizing.
Speaker 2:Um, and then the last main refresh product is Wetsuit Refresh. So if you have any surfers that are listening and your wetsuits and booties get real nasty, uh, wetsuit, uh wet. Super refresh is great for cleaning and deodorizing and actually conditioning those neoprene items, kind of softening them up, making them more supple so they don't crack prematurely. Yeah, that's. And then we've got others too. We've got one from marina wool like we've we'll, we've got a nip wax for all your stuff that's what I was gonna say.
Speaker 1:It's like so overwhelming. I talk about it from the tent waterproof, you know rain gear, but like there's so much I like I, there's just so much, I was like I've got to get somebody on to even discuss it, cause I like to discuss stuff I know about, and I've never used the polar proof, I've never used the leather Like I, it's just not. It's just not anything I've ever used. But one thing that I do talk a lot about is merino wool products, and you guys do have a specific product for that. And I talk about merino wool like it's like you know the skin of the, you know like the best thing since ever.
Speaker 1:And so I push merino wool. You know underwear, smart wool, heavy, you know using those things when it's cold outside. Sometimes they're good when it's cold outside, sometimes they're good when it's hot outside. They're just very good at regulating temperatures and you guys have a specific wash for that so that you're not hurting those products, cause, as you said, you put your Tide Pod in there with its whatever fabric softener and that's going to stay in it and it's kind of it's almost like your merino wool is not merino wool now, it's more you know downy wool essentially, so I wanted to bring to light that there is a specific wash for that, and would you so talk about that just briefly. I don't think it's anything too revolutionary, but yeah, it's actually one of my favorite products.
Speaker 2:They, uh, they. My moniker at work currently is the merino maniac, because I won't shut up about merino wool. But, um, we've had wool wash around for probably gosh, I'd say at least 17 or 18 years, um, but I've been seeing it even more and more coming in more of kind of casual lifestyle travel wear, not just, like you know, your merino wool base layers for skiing, um. But so wool wash is great because it cleans. Like you said, it doesn't have any nasty like fabric softeners that hurt the wicking abilities. So fabric softeners are terrible for anything that's supposed to be moisture wicking, kind of gum up that ability, uh, in clothing. But it does actually soften without a fabric softener.
Speaker 2:So, even though merino wool is awesome and super, super soft, it can make it even softer without harming the wool fiber. It also again enhances the wicking, so your merino wool will dry faster. So I love using it for travel, because merino is awesome when you're traveling around or you're out in your rig for a long period of time and you know merino doesn't stink as bad as other stuff. So you can wear wear a shirt for a few days a week, whatever, uh, but by cleaning it with wool wash it'll dry faster, so it has again less opportunity to build up odor, and if you do need to wash it while you're out there, it'll dry quicker. So I think that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to, I'm going to take you away from nick wax for a minute. You call yourself the merino maniac. Let's get into this, because I would. I'm like I'm right there with you and I really talk about it a lot because it's going to be summer and I don't want to be like I don't want to get tdi with anybody, but it is summer and I talk about it a lot like you're gonna sweat, it's gonna stink. So I'm a big, big, big, big fan of Merino underwear. I tell everybody I'm like girls, guys, everybody If there's a part on your body that stinks, you need Merino wool for that. So you know t-shirts, you know everything. So I talk about that a lot. So let's, I want to hear your give me your five minute Marino wool spiel from a whole, just a different person's Marino wools perspective, because I think that my listeners hear me say a lot, but it would be nice to hear somebody else talk about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I, I like that. It's a natural fiber, but it's not like a super hippy-dippy thing. It's so comfortable and, like you said, it both keeps you warm and cool. It has a really great temperature-regulating ability. A lot of people think, well, it's going to be really, really hot, but it isn't. It's almost the opposite of that. I like it for travel. If you're on a plane, you can wear fewer layers, you'll sweat less, but you'll also be less cold, like it's. It's kind of magical in that way.
Speaker 2:And then, of course, the odor thing is awesome. I mean it's, yeah, if you sweat into your merino wool shirt that you wear for a week, uh, it will eventually start to smell, but it's not going to smell like from the first hour, like a lot of synthetics will. So it takes a while for things to get stinky. Um, yeah, and, of course, as a as a lady, uh, they have a lot of kind of cute dresses and stuff these days too, summer's coming up, so that's a big thing. I'm a big fan of bike shorts. Merino wool bike shorts are the jam, they're the best. Um, yeah, I just have merino wool everything these days because, as he said, it's so versatile and you get it's, yeah, use it for everything.
Speaker 1:That's my pitch yeah, and I I want you to pitch it because, like, like you said, I didn't provoke it fully but like you're a different human than me and a female and that's because I think people come into it and they're like I don't need that, it's kind of expensive and I'm like it's not expensive enough. Like it's, I would never even call merino wool something that's worth the money. It's probably worth more money. Like it's that good and I try to. I try to pass that down to people and when I tell people like we push it, like you know, me and my girlfriend go a lot. We both are Merino wooled out because you can push it and you can pack less and then you got to deal with less and then if you get the wash, you don't have to wash as much. You know it's just it's it's it's such a good product. It's very awesome that you guys make a specific thing to wash it, because anybody that has it and has washed it in tide knows it kind of isn't the same afterwards.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like it was really good the first time and now it's a little less good yeah, and and like like all other outdoor gear, I feel like, uh, a lot of people are afraid to wash it because they're like, oh, maybe I shouldn't wash it because it's well, it's like. No, actually merino wool you can wash and it's fine, like so don't you don't have to be totally disgusting, you can absolutely wash your Merino bulk here.
Speaker 2:Not going to kill it. Use the right detergent, You'll be fine. Same same goes for the rest of your outdoor gear. If you just use the right detergent, please wash your gear. That's PSA.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I'm a huge fan of washing it. I'm just like you had mentioned. From when I started using Nick wax, I learned, like you know, if your water like and this is just you know PSA, but if you're, if your rain gear gets full of dirt, it's not effective. You know it's got to get cleaned for the membranes to work appropriately, but you also need to be cleaning it with the right stuff for the membranes to be working appropriately. So it's like a catch 22 where you don't want to ruin it but you also can't just let it sit and not not wash it. So that's a that's a huge thing.
Speaker 1:Um, I want to jump right into tents. Um, because rooftop tents, ground tents, I use it on my awning, one thing that I think doesn't. So I feel like everybody at least at this point, everybody knows nick wax is going to prevent you from getting. You know it's going to help. Even if you get kind of that mold and mildew smell in there because you don't air it out as much, you can use a wash. It helps. It's not magic, okay, it'll help though, and then you can re waterproof it, but it also provides just like wax on a car, even though it's not wax, but it provides UV protection. Don't realize that, even if you only camp in the desert and it doesn't rain, the.
Speaker 2:UV protection that comes with it is so worth your time to do it. Yeah, so, especially with the fabrics tent fabrics specifically, but even awnings, although they're a little less delicate than tent fabrics, especially if you're an ultralighter, but yeah, tent fabrics if, if you're an ultralighter, but yeah, tent fabrics if they're exposed to summer sun can reduce, like their tear resistance by almost half by just sitting out for like a week in the sun. So UV protection is a really great way to add a little bit of extra longevity to your tents and awnings and that sort of thing. Um, when it comes to like seam sealed that sort of thing, there are products that are great for resealing if you do have any issues with stuff delaminating. Our products are more for the fabrics, um, but yeah, I use the um. We have an awb awning on one of our um, one of our rings. That sounds very, uh, very macho of me, but uh, yes that we.
Speaker 2:I've used the tent and gear products on to both clean and then add some more water or pellet seed to just make sure that you know if you're stuck out there it's gonna do the best that it can. And the other benefit for me with awnings is if you waterproof them. They're gonna absorb less water. So when it's time to put them away, they'll dry faster, because it's nothing worse than like it's pouring. It's pouring. You have to put your soggy awning away and then you have to set it up later and you're sitting in your driveway for three days until it dries. So, yeah, just the drying faster thing for me is a big benefit yeah, and I like that it when it.
Speaker 1:So. Awnings typically aren't something that are waterproof. If you have an awning, you know this. So they, whether or not they're protecting you, they kind of absorb some. So you're carrying in, at least in the overland space, you're adding weight, you're also adding weight with that water. So it's nice that they're waterproof when you kind of get them to fold up and you can get it all off of there, at least for the most part, um. But but one thing I get a lot um is my tent. My rooftop tent is not new, it looks new though because I use nick wax. Probably I don't know nothing, I'm not like over every six months, you know. So I've probably nick waxed it four times in 200 nights, you know. But it's out all the time. It's dark, green, green. So everybody's like, how is it not fading? And as much as I'd like to give the credit to the company made the tent, I don't believe that's why it's that way. I believe it's the UV protectant from the Nikwax products.
Speaker 2:Well, that, really that'll depend on the tent. So I will say our products protect the fibers. Protecting dye is another ballgame entirely. So on some tents it might help with fading, on other tents it might not at all. So I won't make that promise around the actual fading, but it will maintain the strength of the fibers of your tent, your rooftop tent, your awning, et cetera. So it'll still stay strong, even if it does get a little bit lighter in color over the years.
Speaker 1:For sure. My tent's like a eco fabric. It's not a canvas or anything, so there's no dye. I do know that when I used so again back to the military when we had like our rain layers they're green camo and such things, so fading is a huge negative and they blasted very. They did stay true to color, but they're Gore-Tex so they also weren't a dyed product necessarily, so I noticed that it lasted way better there. But yeah, that's Something I really wanted to get at is the tent stuff, because because I think that that is something that, for whatever reason, I think everybody knows you should wash it, you should air it out, you should do these things. I don't believe that it's getting done with any type of regularity, as it should.
Speaker 2:Well, it's one of our top selling products, so more people might be doing it than you think, but it is important. I would absolutely agree. Uh, either we like to say, you know, either at the beginning of the season, middle of the season or end of season somewhere in there, you should definitely be cleaning and re-waterproofing your tent if you're using it with some regularity. Um, you know, there's all the usual tent care stuff like never put it away wet, never, never, never, and some other things are also with tents. Probably don't put them away in a super, super sealed area, especially if it's kind of a new tent.
Speaker 2:I've had some folks who've put away a brand new tent in a like a really sealed container and actually some of the material off gas and caused it to kind of degrade itself, which was wild. I hadn't seen that before. But really the best thing you can do is just clean, re-waterproof it every now and again. Um, cleaning gets all the dirt and stuff off of it that can cause more bacterial growth. If you put away dirty and then, like you talked about re-waterproofing, it just makes sure that it lasts a lot longer in the uv protection same way.
Speaker 2:So it's just a great way to, and tensor investments like they're not super cheap unless you know, you're going to wally world and getting yourself a 40 40 dollar number, but then that's not going to last very long either way.
Speaker 1:So we so pretty much. I mean we're operating with rooftop tents, so you're looking anywhere from really $1,500 to four grand, so it's. It blows my mind that people don't. You get it, you use it, but you don't know how to maintain it. But it's not a throwaway product. A rooftop tent is not a not a big pen, it's a huge investment. So you want to take care of it. Same thing with an awning, though I mean treat the awning the same and typically your awning is probably in the sun a little bit more. But one thing you just brought up that I never even thought about is Tempur-Pedic mattress. I'm going to use Tempur-Pedic mattress for this is going to. When you get a Tempur-Pedic mattress, they say don't sleep on it for 36 hours Cause you got to let it off gas. I never have even considered rooftop tents are made out of who knows what. I mean any tents made out of who knows what. I've never bought a tent and set it up to off gas and that's just a great. I mean that's a great.
Speaker 2:I mean that's a thought yeah that I just never had I hadn't heard of that either until this. I had this person have this experience because they called and were like we need to do something with our tent and we're like yeah, probably not that one um, yeah again.
Speaker 2:Maybe it was not a very nice tent, I don't know, but yeah I think, off-gassing is good and and if you're setting up your tent to clean or waterproof it, that's a great time to obviously shake out all the debris. It freshens it up too, so you don't put it doesn't smell like you know, dirty socks and that when you put it away, so it doesn't smell like dirty socks when you take it out again right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and in in one thing that I want to mention about the tent stuff, guys, is um application. It's a spray, it's a spray on, so it's not like you need a bucket, and I mean I have found that when you do the waterproofer after you wash it, if you spray it on and then let it sit for a little bit and wipe the excess a little bit, it does work better. But it's not something that you're going to be like. It's a rooftop tent. Now you're up there with a sponge trying to get everywhere. It's a spray bottle, so it's gonna you can kind of point it and shoot it kind of where you need to put it. So it's not going to be like a huge dangerous thing either. Guys, just to set, just for the sake of conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you nailed it. You just, I mean, it's just important to wipe up any like excess puddles of pools and things, but the spray really helps and the cleaner is also a spray on cleaner. So just kind of hose your tent off best you can spray it on. You know, if it's super dirty, which most rooftop tents are a little bit elevated above the well, they're a lot elevated above the ground, right?
Speaker 2:so yeah you're not sitting on dirty mud, but they might still get dusty and that sort of thing. So give it the spray clean, wipe it off and then, yeah, just apply the waterproofing while it's still wet, um, and wipe off any excess and you're good to go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and and it works fantastic. It works so good, guys. One other thing that I do talk about a lot when I'm talking about winter fabrics and we're kind of jumping all over when I talk about winter fabrics I'm talking about cotton kills. So you don't want to ever have anything that's wet, that's going to absorb moisture. So I talk a lot about wool and merino wool, because they keep about 65% of their thermal properties when wet. Another really good product you guys have, and another really good fabric for that instance, is fleece. Fleece is great for this. Fleece is something that you guys have a product for. If you guys get fleece, you can get it with some waterproof, water repellent properties. I personally have never had a water repellent fleece that lasted a wash ever, but you guys make a wash for that as well yeah, we make a product called polar proof which is, yeah, you can add water repellency to any fleece, polar fleece item.
Speaker 2:Um, that said, I will say you, if you are adding waterproofing to an item, you then need to clean it with the correct cleaner. So if you add waterproofing with PolarProof and then you check it in again we're picking on Tide here a little bit, checking in with your Tide pod then it's going to be a bummer on that water repellency you just added, so you got to use TechWash to clean it. But I've used polar proof on a lot of different items. It's great because polar proof is a versatile mid-layer. We all know this.
Speaker 2:But if you're setting up camp and you don't want to throw on your hard shell and it starts kind of sprinkling, you can still wear your polar fleece and stay dry and happy and it's not going to protect you in a downpour for two hours but it will shed water and dry a lot faster. It also helps protect against some levels of pilling, which is a common problem with certain types, especially the smooth-faced fleeces. They pill a bunch, so it helps a little bit with that, which is nice. Yeah, all sorts of fun little extra bonuses thrown in.
Speaker 1:And I have a fleece mid-layer that I absolutely love. But one thing that I have well, one thing, a thing I have many of, is fleece beanies, and that's I have very enthused to use it on those, cause that is a place where a little water repellency would be primo, so I'm pretty excited to try it out. I, just before we did before this, was like was like what all, what, what don't I know about? And I was like, oh, a lot I was like oh, I've done a whole lot actually.
Speaker 1:So I I saw that and was like man that I am into that and that'll work with all fleeces. Obviously it's polar proof and polar tech is a is a popular fleece brand, but that works with all fleeces, correct?
Speaker 2:yeah, all, any, yeah, synthetic fleece. So your, you know cinchillas and your polar techs and your, what has it any anything that's.
Speaker 1:You get your Walmart fleece and essentially, uh, you know, make it better? Yep, absolutely. So that's, that's freaking sick as well. Um, one thing that, yeah, that's just awesome. I, I, I want to just say that's a. That's such an awesome thing Cause I have tried to find ways to kind of rejuvenate my fleeces in the past and I just have been pretty let down, honestly. Um, not that I think that's going to be everybody. I mean, I might be you know a little more of a user than some, but I think that's going to be everybody. I mean, I might be you know a little more of a user than some, but I think that is just fantastic. So I'm very thrilled to give that a whirl. So I think, yeah, that's great. What does Nick Wax have for by way of, like, waterproof shoes?
Speaker 2:Yes, so actually Footwear was how Nick Wax was founded. The owner and founder, the previous owner and the founder, nick Brown, developed a waterproofing wax for full grain leather hiking boots back in 1977, called Nick's Wax that's where the name came from, nick Wax and basically his goal at the time was to develop a waterproofing for leather boots that did not soften the leather, because at the time most of the products, or all the products available, would over soften leather, which if you wanted a nice rigid hiking boot for backpacking you know mat trekking you don't want them to be all floppy and the support to be compromised. So he developed a waterproofing wax that did not soften the leather and then from there we developed a product line, a bunch. So, like the rest of our products, we make a cleaner and some waterproofers. I haven't said this yet, but this is a little fun thing to remember for Nickwags. With our products you can tell if they're a cleaner or a proofer by the color of their cap. So if it's green green is for clean, it's a cleaner, and if it's purple purple is for proof, it's a waterproofer. So that's kind of how you can see the difference when there's a giant shelf of bottles in front of you at your outdoor retailer store. So yeah, for footwear we make a product called Footwear Cleaning Gel that cleans all types of waterproof footwear. It comes with a scrubber brush integrated, which is really handy dandy, and it helps, again, get rid of all the crud on your footwear without harming existing water repellency. And then, as with other gear, that water repellent finish wears off over time. It's a durable finish but it's not permanent, and so we make a bunch of products that add it back to footwear. So waterproofing wax for leather is awesome for full grain leather footwear.
Speaker 2:If we've got blundstone wearers in the audience and I'm sure there are some that is going to be the best product for those. I use it on mine. I've had them for probably 10 plus years now and they're still kicking. We also make a product called fabric and leather proof. So that's great for any combination footwear, which is a lot of the footwear these days. It's got some fabric, it's got some leather. It's also great for old fabric footwear. So if you got some band slip-ons or whatever, you can chuck some of that on there and add some water repellency to those. And then we have a product called Nubuck and Suede Proof, which is great for any textured leather footwear. So, again, a lot of hiking boots are also kind of Nubuck, which is like a velvety finish. And then you know, suede is a little bit rougher than that. So this waterproofs without affecting the aesthetic of that leather, because some people really like to maintain the look and feel of suede, especially on the fancier side of footwear. But yeah, those are the main kind of top ones.
Speaker 2:We do make a conditioner for leather, which is more of like a leather feeder, I don't know. It's great for anything, that's when your leather is really drying out and getting kind of cracked. It adds more moisture back in the leather. It does soften a little bit, um, so it's great for breaking in. If you have leather boots that are super duper stiff, it's good for breaking them in a little bit. I've had people use it on baseball gloves to break them in, which I think is a hilarious uh appropriation of it. But hey, if it works, it works um. Yeah, those are the footwear products that we make and, like I said, like everything else, specialized to the material that is designed for. That's kind of our shtick, but it's really important because materials are very different and just a one size fits all solution will be fine, but you're not going to get the best possible performance out of it especially, um, at least in what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:You know, when you're in recovery situations with winches and stuff, you wear gloves. Well, wet leather gloves are crap. I mean they're they tear apart. You're going to tear seams, you're going to do all these things. So the fact that you're not using something like mink oil that oversaturates the leather for then it gets wet still, it's going to get saturated.
Speaker 1:I have used the leather waterproof or the original on gloves for ever, forever and ever. Another place where I think that's super useful, that I have used it previously in winter conditions is belts. Um, you get a soggy belt. I talk about it a lot on here, so you guys are probably sick of hearing about it. Um, but nothing's worse than having anything between your waist and your knees wet period. That's the worst. That's chafing, that's all kinds of terrible things, and a leather belt will saturate and just rub you raw. So I also use it on belts. Um, gloves and belts that's my big, that's my big place to use it and it works great. I know that at least probably 50 of you guys that'll listen to this have seen me in the winter with leather gloves and you're probably thinking what a dummy. And I'm always still in the same gloves. That's exactly how.
Speaker 2:That's exactly how yeah, it's awesome for leather gloves. We actually, uh, we work with a bunch of different glove companies that include samples of the product on the gloves like from the start. Um, and some of those gloves are great. They're kind of, um, I say, lower price point gloves, but a lot of like lifties and ski patrollers use them because they're more affordable.
Speaker 1:But if you nitwax them they'll last a really long time and they're really durable, and so you can kind of get a really great solution for a little bit less money yeah, I, I would concur, like I have not awesome gloves, like tractor supply lows gloves, and they will last years, just by, you know, staying up on that, um, and that's something that I, I mean you, really, in what we do, it is, having dexterity is super important building fires, cutting wood, you know, pulling winches, opening car doors I mean it's a car based. You know we got all these gadgets, overlanders or overpackers or overdone whatever, but everything requires your hand and you don't want your hand to be on in the winter, you don't want your hand to be uncovered, but you also don't want to have. You know you can get a synthetic of any type and it's still going to waterlog. I mean, snow is water. So I've found that to help me tremendously with those things.
Speaker 1:So, heidi, that's, I mean, we've covered so much, covered so much stuff. So, um, I wanted to. So Nick wax has a website and there's tons of retailers of Nick wax, so pretty much what I guess my question would be where can somebody view a full line of Nick wax outside of Nick wax?
Speaker 2:A full line.
Speaker 1:That's right Because say, say today, I have listeners today and they're like I want to get six different things. I'm huge REI guy. I usually get it from REI but you can't get. You know, can't get the polar from REI. The leather's typically not at REI. You can get the down, you can get the waterproof or the tech wash, the tent wash, the solar proof. So is is Nick wax, probably the only place where you could one-stop shop the full line.
Speaker 2:I mean we have. We do have a lot of online retail as well. So if you're looking for a specific product, like if you know what you want, um, if you look that up, you'll find some great online resources for that. We obviously we sell everything that that we make on our own website, but there are other online retailers that will have most of our products. So, yeah, it just depends on the assortment that you're looking for.
Speaker 1:But yeah, they exist out there. And that was just my question because I got on the site and was like whoa, because I'm an REI guy, so I buy stuff at REI, I get points, I take those $20, $30 worth of points, I buy the two products I need. So essentially, rei paid for my Knick Wax. That's how I roll with it.
Speaker 2:Thanks, REI.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you get your membership, they give you the money back. So, yeah, cool, so that works great for me. But as I looked, I was like whoa, there's quite a bit more to take in here. Now, that being said, nick Wax's site is not going to give you REI points where you can get it for free once a year or whatever you want to do. That's just how I do it, but they're not going to do that. So that was just my question.
Speaker 1:Guys, nick Wax has been around since, like said like 10 times, but it's very well known. It was very well known before the internet. I mean, I don't think that iPhones existed when I started using Nick wax, uh, 25 years ago, like I don't know when that started, but I've been using it since long before things like what we're doing right now existed. So it's, it should be well known, but for whatever reason, um, it maintenance is just not a popular thing in the overlanding space. For whatever reason, um, I think when I was around hikers and climbers, it's extremely it's, it's extremely prominent, like everybody's talking about. Take care of your stuff.
Speaker 2:It's funny because I feel like maintenance in general is a very popular topic for overlanders.
Speaker 2:I just saw a recent one about why you wash your truck. Well, you know what? Your rain jacket is also a piece of gear that's important. When you're overlanding, you'd want to be setting up camp, pulling out your awning, doing all that stuff and pouring rain and have your rain jacket fail, or have your boots wet out and have soggy socks. Yeah, you're not hiking necessarily, you know three days in the back country, but you're still outdoors, you are still using the gear and I think it's important to maintain all of the things that you invest in.
Speaker 1:For sure.
Speaker 2:And I feel best in, so sure, and and I feel like, again, I feel like the overlanding community is great at maintaining all of their gear. Like that's what you're all about. Like you're constantly noodling and tweaking and I gotta get the latest thingy doodle here and fix that and change out this particular element of my vehicle and yeah so, yeah, real, real gear, heavy, very gear and trinket heavy, um, but I would like to.
Speaker 1:I wish it was more. You know I hear a lot by once, cry once. But because of Nick wax, you could buy a lot of technical gear once and cry once. You can buy once and cry once and not take care of it, right, and you're going to be crying a couple other times. So I think it's really important. That's why I wanted to get you on.
Speaker 1:So bad is because if you use this stuff in extreme circumstances hundreds of days you know thousands of hours of light or rain or whatever you can't really look at the brand and go, this gear stinks. You kind of got to look at the user and go, you don't know how to take care of it Seriously. So I talk about it a lot because you are right, the overland community is huge on maintenance when it comes to grease and oil and gears and all this, all these other things. But they're they. I see a lot of people that don't like camping when it's negative outside or when it's really rainy, that don't like camping when it's negative outside or when it's really rainy, and that that's solely because they're not paying attention to their on person gear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I. So I wanted to get that's a big part of me getting you on here and I was like I got to get somebody that knows about it all so we could talk about you know, not just maintain your truck, check your tire, do all this stuff, but like, look at what you're wearing, like, what are you doing with your pants, your socks, your shoes, your gloves, your hat, your whatever? So, guys, I think we're going to wrap it up there. Um, I really really appreciate you, heidi, for coming on like so much. I know you're extremely busy and you're about to travel tomorrow. Even so, thank you for taking the time to get with me. I really, really do appreciate you.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for having me. I always love nerding out about gear care, so, uh, always a pleasure to do that and it was great chatting with you. Thanks again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and, guys, I will be back on with a couple other people next week and I look forward to talking to you guys about something new then too. So have a good one, guys.
