While ago, I raised the question:
"Please share your wisdom with the list if you have long-term experience using Snow Proof (brand) on quality leather saddles, as an alternative to or in addition to things like Brooks Prooofhide. some seem to think it is the best thing ever, and others that it breaks down the leather and ruins the saddle. Heck, if you don't have experience, prejudices and urban legends are a close second. :-) "
Here are some of the responses I got, in no particular order (but grouped), just to get the thread together:
GENERAL: Ken Freeman: Thanks for the information, but it doesn't mean that SnoSeal is generally a good choice. It also doesn't mean it's a bad choice. It only means they (the Cyclopedia experts) had good enough experience to be feel the recommendation would be helpful. It IS helpful to know this, but there are many other "recommended" Brooks treatments put forward, on this list and elsewhere such as iBOB, rec.bikes.tech and bikeforums.net. In many cases when someone makes such a recommendation one or several others chime in on how such a technique either ruined a good saddle, or didn't work the magic that was expected or promised.
My main point isn't that "only Proofide can help," because if the saddle isn't a correct size or shape for your bones, it probably won't help. My main point IS about advice, and that the listener takes responsibility for the result by acting on any given piece of advice. Considering that a new Brooks is not cheap, and that considerable time may be invested in attempting to break it in, taking risks with it might be a bad idea, IMO.
If you've had good results with SnoSeal, or hammering, or motor oil, or soaking, have at it. But others should keep in mind that it might not work for them. Considering this is a classic list, there are added risks when the saddle was original to a classic laid-back International or PX-10.
Similarly, if a B-17 worked for me (which it did not), that's no guarantee it will work for someone else. Brooks (and other saddle companies) offers a variety of sizes and shapes for good reasons, besides looks, variety, profit, and mojo.
SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVES: Bruce Thomson: I have used another product that seems to work better than most I have tried on all my leather products. Its Skidmores Leather Cream. I have used this for many projects and on some darned good leather saddles. Its not greasy or slick and is not soggy like Neatsfoot Oil. It has a good reputation and if I said that I used it on my cowboy boots would you think less of me? O.K. I use it on my Detto and Vittoria shoes.
Doug van Cleve: The old Cyclopedia catalog recommended SnoSeal for the Brooks and Ideale saddles they sold...
Reid Fisher: My vaguely related experience is in using "Sno-Seal" and "Huberd's Shoe Grease" on leather snowshoe bindings. They definitely protect the leather, but they do seem to allow more stretching of the leather than relatively fresh leather might undergo if untreated. If the leather's old already, it definitely needs something, and something's better than nothing. Both of these leave the leather greasy feeling.
I also used "Lexol" on my geologic field belt, and on softball mitts -- also just killer great stuff for preservation. The leather on both of these has always been old, so I don't know how it affects new leather. Can't say whether it promotes/allows stretching or not. The leather feels great afterward, is not greasy.
All of these darken the leather.
Willie Carton: i agree that wax, proofhide etc will do the trick... i use coacholine, red color, probably what Brooks stuff was originally , as a lover of tan and brown saddles i sure don't let them sit getting wet i discovered some new old stock pvc tight fitting covers, bright yellow with olympic bands.. elastic on the lower edge .. i carry one of these should i feel the need to stop. Brooks also did a waterproof pertex nylon type black slip over cover back a few years ago, i got a newish one in a trade
MIXED MATERIALS: Emanuel Lowi: I've been riding the same Brooks Professional since 1974 and recently got a new Brooks -- my second.
Here's how I've treated #1 (which looks gorgeous, in perfect condition, no rotted leather etc.) and how I plan to treat #2, despite what all the bigshot mavens out there say.
First, apply a good coat of liquid silicone shoe waterproofing liquid to top and botton. This is the piss-coloured liquid you find at shoe repairs, the pharmacy shoe care section, etc. comes with a swab brush inside. Let the liquid dry for a day or two at room temperature, not in a particularly warm place.
This gives the saddle a basic water-resistant protection but also tends to promote dryness.
So, next I apply a coat of Neatsfoot oil (brownish oily liquid, get it at the same place) to top and bottom. Let that dry the same way and time. This gets a coat oil leather-appropriate natural oil over the silicone waterproofing.
Then I rub in an application of Mink Oil (which is actually a paste) to both sides, dry same way & time. This is a thick greasy substance that conditions the leather a little.
Lastly, I rub in an application of Brooks Proofide. After a few days of drying same way, you ride on the saddle.
About once a year I do the Proofide thing again.
I try not to ride in the rain. But if I get caught in a downpour by accident, I let the saddle dry slowly, away from heat, undisturbed, for few days. Depending on what I have around, I may give it a light treatment after it is thoroughly dry, with Mink Oil or Proofide.
Otherwise, I leave it alone.
Do not play around with saddle tension. I may have tensioned saddle #1 twice in 25 years. I don't try to speed up the breaking in process or get it greasy more than once a year, except if it gets soaked.
If it gets scuffed somehow, I dab a drop of Neatsfoot oil on the scar and let that dry for a few hours. Then I apply good paste black shoe polish, and buff that after a few hours, followed by a light application of Proofide. The scar usually disappers.
These things are sturdy and built to last and you should not fuss over them too much except when they really need it.
That's my story. STICK WITH PROOFHIDE: Ken Freeman: Ok, here are some prejudices, since I don't do much to saddles to make them work: If the sagging of an expensive and critical component, a favorite saddle, is a risk, why would you take it if you don't have to? In other words, why would you use anything other than what Brooks recommended as a dressing on a Brooks saddle? That means use Proofide, not neatsfoot, Snoseal, Snow Proof, motor oil, Wesson oil, or anything else. If the saddle as new does not have adequate comfort, you really shouldn't ride it for "ever" to force it to break in. If the shape or dimensions are wrong for you, break=in won't change that, and softening is just likely to move the pressure points to places you don't want tthem, like the perineum rather than the ischial tuberosities. End of prejudicial rant!
Warren Young However, Brooks has recently changed the formula themselves. What was a thick red wax is now a creamy white paste. Even smells different. What's up with that? Should I be hording Ye Olde Brooks Proofhide with the intention of cornering the ebay market 15 years from now? What if it's a carcinogen, hence the change?
Rob Dayton: You may want to horde it. It's basically bee's wax and lanolin and with the onset of colony collapse who knows how long the bees will be around.
Art Link: So after "150 years of sorting it out" Brooks has suddenly changed the formula from red pasty goo to white creamy goo----maybe just like the Kiwi leather dressing I buy at the local grocery for my saddles. At least they are not so hidebound to resist change. Art-waxy pants-Link,San Antonio,TX,USA
John Pergolizzi: I got some a dat white stuff at least 4 years ago, so the change hasn't been recently sudden. I've found that the new formula Profide is in fact less waxy and penetrates more easily. I use it on the underside of the saddle to seal the leather from water.