JJ, the minute you get them home from the store sit down in front of the TV and spend 2 hrs treating them. Every crack/stitch/piece of leather. Waterproof the shit out of them. I don't give a damn if they're going to be desert boots, STILL waterproof/treat every seam/stitch/leather. Use your choice of one of the "gels".
I STILL like mink oil, but whatever...just do it by hand, and push the gel into every crack/stitch. It will change the color, but they'll last. Then, when you think you're DONE...do it again. I also like the "athletic" (flat) laces, but they don't last as long.
But, they also don't come untied at the worst possible fucking moment.
In a small zip-lock sandwich bag, I always carry several spare laces in my pack, along with extra random velcro pieces (both male/female, adhesive backed), plastic tie wraps, small beeners, nylon scraps, etc...all in one ziplock "repair" bag (and a small tube of "shoe glue" which is also good for other repairs than just shoes), and several feet of 100mph (duct) tape.
:cool: