I have a year old pair of 10" Bean rubber bottoms. The upper leather just doesn't want to soften up. The leather is really stiff. I have applied Bear grease ( commercial name) and heated it in several times and it doesn't seem to have much effect on the leather.

All suggestions to soften the uppers will be appreciated.

Jon i have a couple pairs of been boots,mine were very stiff when i got them.I used Red Wing boot oil a couple coats did the trick.I'll send ya some if you send me your addy.Some other boot oil's may work also.Just got to work in in good.

Use the oil and bend and twist the stuffing out of them. Twising and bending them will help to soften them as well.

This is the best stuff I’ve ever used.

Thanks for the info and offer Slick. We have a Red Wing store near by I will stop by and pick up some oil to work in.

Oil them and wear them, they soften with use.

I don’t get it guys. My first thought is guys must be soft. No offense to anyone btw but I wear mine all the time. Almost every weekend, sometimes during the week and I’ll often wear them to work. Got other pairs that sit on my porch til I hunt. Not one of them gets even remotely what I call hard. They’re not baby soft but they’re leather. I don’t get it, never had a problem

i use neats foot and then mink oil after the neats foot drys

are they 100% leather nowadays?

I have older ones I've had for years and a new pair. The new leather is stiffer, I think they switched. I like the new leather better. I always get the 12" uppers and only use a waterproofing about once every couple of years. I use mine for flatland and don't care for them in steep slick terrain.

Hip

They appear to be 100 % leather but they seem to be stiffer than the last two pair that I owned. No offense taken bowguy, I am just an old softee.

Your feet are pretty important when you need to spend a day in the woods. I think you need to be comfortable in your footwear. I'll take softer uppers as well since it's easier on the ankles and won't chafe like stiff leather can. And I am unanimous in that. ;)

How about that MONTANA PITCHBLEND (??) STUFF??? Will it do anything for the boots? Just askin'

I personally use to soak the leather thoroughly until plyable. Then I would put them on and wear until dry. At that point I would treat them.

Pitch blend is great that's what I always used and heated her up a little to smooth it out getting to really soak into the leather. I use it on my tab also.

Beans are yuppy boots made for wine tastings and cheese parties

That era has passed JR, that was back in the 80's when camo became church wear and Bean Boots the foot covering for the Vogue crowd. That wore off by the mid 90's.

Not here in WV. The yuppy crowd still wears them around here. And I'm sure the only time they have been in the woods is to look for their golf ball. The tops are not the problem. The bottoms are so slippery I couldn't hunt in mine.

Love the Bean boots, but as others have noted, they are not the best in hilly terrain.

Contact LL Bean. Don't know about now, but they used to have the BEST guarantee of anyone on their boots.

Bean makes two styles of their boot, the Maine hunting boot (aimed at yuppie market) and the Maine Hunting shoe (original style). Look the same but have differences in bottoms, leather and construction. Call Beans customer service and they will give you info.

JR, I tried to avoid the W.V. connection since my mom's family came from the Hedgesville surburban area. ))

I went to high school at Hedgesville George

Do you recall a G&M Pizza Shop on the north side of town?

Had a pair or three for the last 40 years. They are not fo hillsides. They are meant o hunt and the ability to send them back and have a new rubbler bottom for $39 is hard to beat. Why are there granola crunching yuppies in WV? Thought they were out here in the west-this week at the Burning Man—-look that up on you tube. Reno is full of them buying up water before they go to the Black Rock desert

I literally just shipped mine back after >25 years to have the rubber foot replaced, as they wore out and had holes. The uppers are nice and soft and I was hoping that the cost would be reasonable. On the phone it was "send in and we will call you after we see if they are fixable". In the mean time I have the buffalo leather ones which are soft and still have a decent tread. They are good for what they are good for. No bowhunter has only one set of boots ( or just one of anything). I do have Schnees also and they are a different boots altogether. They have also served me well and going on well over 15 years with new liners. The soles are soft material on all of these boots and wears out much more quickly than a "a regular boot" so expect to get out of it what the product can provide you and not more. Pacs on hard or abrasive surfaces do not last long, plain and simple

Called customer service and asked them what they recommended. She said, Mink Oil. I told her that is what I have been applying. She told me I could send them back for a look see but I declined and told her I would work on them some more. As I mentioned this pair seems to have stiffer leather than the last two pair I owned. I like them when we are tracking deer. I wear rubber boots when hunting and never wear them outside of that. Thanks for all the positive responses.

I kinda like the moccasins I got in Maine this past June. They are great for that wet grass in the morning when I tend my chickens and let the dog have his walk. They are actually very heavy though and not all that comfortable for long time wearing. But as mentioned, rarely do people have just one pair of boots, and in the early season here, I'm mostly in sneakers..then onto the hiking boots after that. They do look cool so I'll wear them next time I go through our southern neighbor. I'll be the talk of Berkley Springs fo sho.

My daughter sent me this pair about 7 years ago for Christmas. The uppers looks like cow. I think they now use buffalo that needs no extra water proofing right out of the box and quite a bit stiffer. She also had the speed laces put on them. I'm still using my old pair, I guess I'll save these for stomping around the yuppy bars I been called a lot of things in my life but yuppy is a new one. :-)

Hip

Hip, neither you nor I come close to being Yuppies.

Stands for Young Urban Professional. Yuppies are usually the children of doctors and lawyers, hold Master's degrees from Ivy League universities, and are very concerned with their appearance. Many were in fraternities and many live in expensive houses or apartments.

I do recall that

We are the bedroom community for northern Va and DC thus the yuppies

The LL Bean hunting boots I bought last year states that they are indeed the Main hunting boot on the rubber tag above the heel. So no yuppie here. Could not buy the "hunting" boot at the local LL Bean outlet store though.

Yuppies drove Volvos.

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