When it comes to protecting your leather shoes or other items, it can be tricky navigating how to care for them, what products to buy, what may actually ruin them, and more. Thankfully, there are tons of all-season weather protectors made for keeping your leather goods in tip-top shape, which brings us to two of the most popular protectors on the market: Sno Seal and Obenauf’s.

So, which one is the best at protecting all your prized leather shoes and items? Let’s get into it. Here’s everything you need to know about Sno Seal and Obenauf’s, including the slight differences between the two, what they can be used on, how effective they are, and more. 

What Is Sno Seal?

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Sno Seal is an all-season weather protector made from beeswax and chemical-based solvents for leather shoes and can be used on casual footwear, dress shoes, work boots, golf shoes, and any leather product meant for mountaineering, cross-country skiing, hunting, fishing, and more. Sno Seal protects leather from a wide range of material-destroying elements, like snow, salt, rain, and even the sun.

Per the product description, Sno Seal is also great to use on waxed cotton and tent seams, and will also help to keep your feet dry and warm throughout even the harshest weather conditions. Additionally, Sno Seal will help your feet fight fatigue as it blocks out moisture and water, as “a typical leather boot can soak up to a pound of water,” meaning “you lift an additional 2,212 lbs. to walk one mile.”

What Is Obenauf’s?

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Obenauf’s was created by Marv Obenauf in 1989 and is also an all-season weather protector meant to be used on leather shoes. As a firefighter of over 34 years, Marv Obenauf sought out the perfect product to help protect firefighter’s boots, which were often exposed to “steam, heat, wet ashes (lye), and caustic fire retardants” in the line of duty, and with tons of research and testing, Obenauf finally came up with the perfect formula to protect leather footwear from the harshest elements, and the company’s Heavy Duty Leather Preservative (LP) was born.