How to Get the Smell Out of Walking & Hiking Boots

Hiking boots have it worse than most footwear — hours of walking, thick socks, waterproof membranes that trap heat and moisture in, and often days between wears while they sit in a cupboard or the boot of a car. Here's how to actually get on top of it.

Why Hiking Boots Smell Worse Than Other Shoes

Waterproof membranes like Gore-Tex are brilliant at keeping water out, but that same barrier keeps moisture in too — sweat has nowhere to evaporate to. Combined with thick socks, long wear times, and boots that often don't get a proper chance to dry out between walks, you end up with a warm, damp environment that's ideal for the bacteria that cause odour.

Dry Them Properly Between Walks

This is the step most people skip, and it's the one that matters most. After a walk, loosen the laces fully and pull the tongue back so air can actually get inside the boot — a laced-up boot traps moisture just as effectively as a sealed bag. Remove the insoles if they come out and let them air separately; insoles hold a huge amount of the moisture and often dry much slower than the boot itself.

Avoid drying boots on a radiator or near direct heat — it dries the outer material faster than the inside, which can crack leather and warm-set any built-in odour rather than remove it. Room temperature, good airflow, and a bit of patience works better than speeding things up with heat.

Rotate Your Socks and Consider Your Feet

A large part of hiking boot odour actually starts with your feet and socks, not the boot itself. Merino wool socks manage moisture and resist odour far better than cotton, and giving boots a day or two to fully dry out between wears (rather than back-to-back days in the same pair) makes a real difference — it breaks the cycle of a boot never fully drying before it's damp again.

Use a Natural Deodoriser Between Walks

Once a boot has properly dried, a natural deodoriser sachet — bamboo charcoal and zeolite are the most effective combination — left inside overnight will adsorb any remaining odour and moisture that drying alone didn't fully clear. Unlike a spray, it keeps working passively for as long as it's left in, and a reusable one recharges in sunlight every couple of weeks rather than being thrown away.

This matters especially for boots that get stored for stretches between hikes — a deodoriser left inside during storage stops smells building back up in a cupboard or garage over weeks of not being worn.

Don't Store Them Sealed Up

The instinct to zip boots into a bag or box for storage is understandable, but it's counterproductive — a sealed space with no airflow is exactly the environment that lets any residual moisture and bacteria keep working. Store boots somewhere with airflow, laces loosened, and ideally with a deodoriser sachet inside if you're not planning to wear them again soon.

The Bottom Line

Hiking boot odour comes down to trapped moisture more than anything else — waterproof membranes and thick socks create the perfect conditions for it. Air and dry boots properly after every walk, rotate socks and give boots a day off between wears where possible, and use a natural, reusable deodoriser to deal with what drying alone can't fully clear.

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Shoe Sausage's bamboo charcoal and zeolite sachets work in hiking boots just as well as climbing shoes — reusable, natural, and handmade in Bristol. Have a look.