ORIGINAL: nodog
Any coating will rub off quick. Just can't beat rubber for water. Mine are the talls and I keep my pants inside them most of the time. I've had them out with "waterproof" boots on and all became soak going through wet, tall grass. One of the worst 2 days hunting happen then. When they dried they got stiff and cut my feet up good. Never had that problem again since I started using lacross boots.
Rubber boots aren't much of an option for a hiking type trip in Alaska.
No worries, went coyote hunting this morning in the Danners, splashed around in the creek submersed in 6" of water for about 10 minutes....bone dry. They should be good to go. Im going to run a garden hose over them for all day this spring to see if they slowly let water in...but they should work fine.
Ill keep mink oil in mind Mez if the need arises for a waterproofing.