A few years ago I bought the nastiest, lightest, and cheapest trainers I could find, from Asda. They are light and squishy so great for multiday bike trips.

I’m considering buying a can of Fabsil for them, if I can make them even slightly water repellent for wet/dewy grass campsites that would be a big bonus for a couple of upcoming trips.

However, they are fairly thin construction, for the most part there is no faux suede or plastic, just nylon/polyester or whatever. Is it going to be a complete waste of £7?

I dosed an old pair of Salomon mids that were no longer waterproof in anyway with it and it worked, but they’re obviously fairly materially dense, not like some thin trainers.

I literally poured it all.over them and then left them to dry 🤣

Thanks, that’s what I’m wondering. I reckon there is a high likelihood that it will only work on dense, originally waterproof fabrics

Try some dilute PVA glue?

Or a couple of bread bags as liners for in camp?

complete waste of £7

This. Not a chance!

Fabsil, any point applying to trainers?

Yes ! To get that 1970’s/80’s smell of nostalgia of chemicals

I bought the spray variety for my son’s football supposed waterproof top.

It immediately took me back to joyful holidays being dragged out by parents for long boring walks etc in the rain in the lakes or Scotland

It was horrible to apply to my sons jacket, I made the mistake of doing it in the garage so the garage stank for weeks, but it appeared to make sod all difference to how waterproof the top was.

His sports bag did smell better than teenage boy though for a few days, as in the chemical smell that lingered was an improvement

Haha yeh! It was exceptionally stinky. I think I left my boots in the coal shed for weeks until it wore off and was safe to bring them in the house 😂

At the very least theyll dry faster

Why not try something designed specifically for waterproofing footwear? You’ll add some water repellency – how much will depend on the structure and tyre of the fabric uppers and how clean it is before application.