I have several pairs of boots, and I want to do right by them. I cannot seem to find exactly which products would be be best to use and in what order. Nikwax makes leather waterproofing and they make a conditioner that waterproofs. Folks are recommending that boots be cleaned (pretty straight forward), but then it gets a bit confusing. Should a waterproofing be used and then a conditioner, or does the waterproofing conditioner do both? The Nikwax site doesn’t even address this. I have an email in to them, meanwhile I’d love to know what you folks do and why. The boots in question are Zams (Vioz GTX), Garmont Civetta, and Lowa Renegade (the only split grain of the group). Thanks all in advance!
I live in the Tetons, so that might influence my boot care a little bit. Its dry-ish in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter. I’m concerned about the dry and cold conditions splitting and cracking leather, but waterproofing for snow is essential.
I occasionally use mink oil on the parts of my Vasque leather boots, and that seems to be enough. They are about 9 years old. I use mink oil on a lot of other things, like dress shoes and bags, it seems to be pretty multipurpose, both a conditioner and a water proofing agent. I have 20 year old riding boots that look as good as the day I got them, and that is all I use on them. Just have to keep it away from the dog - he loves that stuff and will lick my boots dry again 
My husband uses SnoSeal on his Sorels that he wears to do winter chores and sometimes snowmobile with, those are close to 30 years old at this point. I would not recommend it for anything that is breathable, your feet will get HOT.
For everything else, I have found the factory waterproofing to be enough. I have a pair of mountaineering boots (leather, Lowa something or other, ~15 years old) that I snowshoe and fat bike in, and I have never had problems with those. I like Salomon trail runners, and the shells get holes in them or the tread wears out long before the Gore-tex does.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate the response. I did hear back from Zam and they gave me contact info. for their authorized cobblers. A response from one essentially says let the waxy layer wear off (however long it takes) and use Hydrobloc from there, so…that’s what I shall do. Thanks again!