13 April, 2010

Velo Orange Saddle Care


For many years I've been wearing hiking boots made by Peter Limmer and Sons. Since 1919 this small New Hampshire company has been creating what are among the finest custom-made boots in the world. In fact, I used to live a few miles from their Intervale, NH shop and remember when they also had a climbing shop on the premises.

Many years ago I had a long discussion with Peter about leather care. I thought the latest high-tech treatments were the way to go, but Peter patiently explained how they broke down the leather and shortened the leather's useful life. He had developed a natural leather treatment that would not over-soften or break down the leather over the years. I've used it on my boots and saddles and briefcases ever since.

So when we decided to make a VO leather treatment we called Peter Limmer. It turns out that Peter rides a Brooks saddle (we're sending him a VO saddle ) and agreed to make a leather saddle treatment for us. It contains natural hydrocarbons, lanolin, silicone, oils, and a just little white camphor oil. That camphor oil was added because Peter's dog tried to eat the original mix, plus camphor oil smells nice.

A four ounce (118g) jar costs $8.50 and will last for many years. Compare that to $9.75 for 28g of Proofide!


By the way, I have a size 11.5W  11W pair of Limmer boots that's too small for me if anyone is interested. Update; they are sold.
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10 comments:

  1. Rex4/13/10, 4:14 PM

    Having not decided yet on a treatment for my VO saddle (currently with about 300 miles on it), I will be buying some right away.

    Captcha: intrack. Subtle promotion of fixies?

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  2. Noah Iliinsky4/13/10, 4:19 PM

    Chris,

    I'm curious to hear if you have any opinions about using Obenauf's on the VO saddles. I first ran into it as the recommended treatment for Nick's Boots, and have since seen it recommended for Brooks saddles as well.

    Cheers, Noah

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  3. jhamani i4/13/10, 9:22 PM

    I have also used Obenauf LP on my leather saddle but will gladly purchase a jar of VO saddle care. Peter Limmer & Sons can be relied on to know a thing or two about proper care of leather. Hey Chris, I am a size 11.5 and interested in the boots. Contact me: ptah.samo at gmail.com

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  4. allen4/13/10, 10:20 PM

    So close, I need an 11M pair of boots. Limmers are on my short list.

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  5. Velo Orange4/14/10, 8:21 AM

    I got a bunch of e-mails about the boots. So here are the details:

    The Limmers are size 11.0W (or 10.5W British size), not 11.5w as I thought. I normally wear 11.5-12 shoes and these are wearable for me, but get tight on longer walks. They are the Lightweight model, which would be heavyweight in any other brand. They've been worn 10-15 times and are in excellent condition save for a scuff on one toe from some impromptu rock climbing. The soles look new. Photos here:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/VeloOrange/Limmer?feat=directlink

    I'd like $130, which is exactly half of the new cost. Shipping is a flat $8 in the lower 48.

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  6. Velo Orange4/14/10, 8:22 AM

    I've not used Obenauf LP, so no opinion.

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  7. Roadscrape884/14/10, 10:23 AM

    I have a can of Limmers Boot Treatment from 1980, which I've used on my Brooks saddle for a couple of years. Seems like it had some bees wax in it, too, back then.

    I was fortunate to have Mr. Limmer measure and take a mold my foot for a custom pair of boots (fit great, but eventually replaced by something about half the weight). The boots are now in my "museum" case, next to a brass Svea 123 stove.

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  8. Goon4/14/10, 1:47 PM

    Bill,

    What stove do you use now?

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  9. Patrick McMahon1/31/12, 8:26 AM

    I'd recommend that you include something asking customers purchasing a VO saddle if they'd like to get a can of this. I wish that I'd purchased the saddle care when checking out and now regret that I need to either pay shipping again or ride down to Annapolis to get some. Guessing you don't have any Baltimore stores carrying this product, do you?

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  10. Will8/31/14, 1:14 PM

    Since there are no review options on the page, I thought I'd post my experience with the saddle treatment. I've currently used it on two saddles, one which gets near daily use on my commuter, the other is on my errand bike. The VO saddle treatment does a fine job of treating the saddle, but my experience has been that it will stain your shorts something fierce. Certainly much more than Proofhide will. Not sure if there's a solution for that, but it's definitely a problem when running errands (hey, do you have a load in your pants?). Stains wash out just fine, but are definitely unsightly at the time.

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