Bushwalk Australia

My La Sportiva Tibet boots need a resole, as they have been around for about 10 years and have been fantasic but I have punctured the outersole and water is getting in, and the tread in very minimal these days. I have tried big johns retreads but he said no, so was wondering if anyone has had their leather hike boots resoled with a decent outersole somewhere, preferably in hobart, but i am happy to post them elsewhere.

I'd try any climbing shoe resoler... I think big John's is one hey???

Might be hard for them to find tread patterns to reattach tho, considering that climbing soles are a wire brush finish. Thats some fiddly work to remake tread patterns.

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I too wore through a pair of LaSportiva Tibets.
When i enquired about resoling (about 5-6 years ago?), in melbourne,
the Vibram outer was from memory about $100, and then labour, about $50.

I figured that at that cost it was not worth it. I've seen the same boots on sale for $180 up here. Plus - at 10yrs old the uppers would be degraded too. you'd kick yourself if you forked out for the resole then the lace hooks came off, or the upper tore...

At the time i was attached to the boots coz they seemed comfy, but have since found that the newer boots have dual density etc soles, are way 'cushier', and more waterproof as well... Treat yourself to some new boots and plug the hole in ya busted ones with some kwikgrip for kicking around...

fair enough. with those prices it sounds like a trip to the shops to pick up a bargain sale pair instead of resoling old boots. will get at them with some adhesive to knock around in instead. Thanks for the quick suggestions, much appreciated.

Theres a mob in Melbourne who resole.
I sent a pair of Scarpas a few years ago for new Vibram sole fitted.
Whilst its a good job, its nothing like new and after 1 or 2 years they started lifting off...not good.
In hind site, the next time my vibram soles wear thin Im going to buy a new pair of shoes.

By the time mine could be resoled, the rest of the boot is wrecked from constantly going through the wet/dry cycle, or the stiching has been worn away on rock and bits are pulling apart.

Earthling wrote:Theres a mob in Melbourne who resole.
I sent a pair of Scarpas a few years ago for new Vibram sole fitted.
Whilst its a good job, its nothing like new and after 1 or 2 years they started lifting off...not good.
In hind site, the next time my vibram soles wear thin Im going to buy a new pair of shoes.

I've been wondering what to do about my Scarpa Treks which are at least ten years old. Today Pallin recommended a repairer in Camberwell named Walkalong for resoling them. Would this be where you went for your resoling?

They charge $160, so this has to be balanced against paying twice that amount for a new pair. Apart from the soles, mine are in good condition and have been well cared for. But as someone else mentioned, this doesn't mean that something else might go wrong with them. Or that a new model might have some improvements. I'd be grateful for any comments about which fork in the track to choose.

I had my Asolo Fugitives resoled at Walkalong a month or so ago. Yes, they charged me $160 which I thought reasonable seeing the replacement cost was double this. Very good job, but not the original sole. No comments about durability as I have only used them once since resoling.

I took them there because the original sole had detached and I thought that the reason I was getting wet feet was that the water was getting forced up through that area. Turns out that no, the Goretex liner was just f#*ked and when I contacted Gore to have them tested under their 'Lifetime warranty' they told me that because they had been resoled it voided this so-called warranty. Apparently the fact that Walkalong is an authorised repairer for Asolo does not come into it.

Goretex lined boots/shoes? Never again. Other Gore products? Not if I can help it.

I've had two sets of Treks resoled by two different companies. Both failed fairly quickly.

One of the soles is currently still residing at the bottom of a bog near Pass Creek. Couldn't retreive it and meant that the planned east-west traverse of the Western Arthurs had to be canned (at least I got to Federation before the failure !)The walk back along Arthurs plain was not amusing. I don't bother with resoling anymore. Nothing worse than having a long planned trip cut short because you tried to save a few bucks.
I've heard that the acidic waters in the SW eat boot glue .

Cheers

Thanks, Binder, nice description. Glad to know you got to Federation before the unbinding of your sole. Hmm, I wonder whether the acidic juices in the SW of my gut, over-stimulated by worrying about trying to save money, might also eat boot glue. Or me.

I'm not sure if I can wait long enough to find out whether Axel's recent repair job at Walkalong is a success because my soles are just about sold out (i.e. no tread left).

I am hoping to find out though where Earthling's Scarpa resoling job was done before coming to a decision. I hate the idea of throwing out good leather. Or do I just use the old boots for mowing the lawn or something? Sort of like one of my neighbours always wears gumboots for gardening, even in a mid-summer drought!

My surviving pair of resoled Scarpas have been relegated to yard work. An inglorious retirement for my Italian friends, but I should get a few mow's out of them...

I think I'm going to risk taking the old Asolos to Walkalong for resoling. the uppers are still in fairly good nick, but the soles are just about worn out. As long as I keep them away from Tasmania, they'll do a few more seasons walking.

Asolos, have you noticed they sell them on Sierra Trading Post? The 'normal' sizes go quickly but they can e cheap as chips with the right coupons.
Amazon were selling the Scarpa Treks last month for 170odd$ delivered..

I don't take normal size in footwear. My feet are about as abnormal as it gets.

Don't know if you get them already? but if anything suits I have dealflyer thingies that can be sent to a friend (chuckle), they give 25% off iirc (?)

Thanks, but I already have a new pair, waiting for their first walk.
It's just that I don't want to junk the old ones yet as there's still plenty of life in the leather, they only need a bit more grip and tread on the soles. And maybe some new laces . . .

I'm reviving an old tread yes but worth reviving..

I have these magnificent old Salomon boots that seem to defy any catalogue search and yes the soles are worn off. As they are just so lovely to wear I couldn't turf them so they have been boxed in the hope I will 'stumble' over a good repairer. But the soles! What are they and where on earth do you get them, gosh!!

Salomon, bless 'em, are just not interested in anything they made yesterday! So please fork out another $400 and be happy they gladly intimated; yeah right!

Well dang it! I finally found out what those 'blasted' soles were: VIBRAM® FOURA! Seems to be the standard army issue sole in Europe. Cool, so there is lots of spares..



Well I'm going to order up a set from Vibram in Aust (if they have an office here) and then get to work on finding some one who can properly bond them back onto the boot.. or find out how to do it myself!

Any suggestions besides "giv'em the boot" are welcome.

It was a few years ago now, but the shoe shop on Collins St that sold Birkenstocks, etc. (can't remember the name) had a very capable cobbler who I got to do various repairs. Not on hiking shoes as such, but amongst other things he did resole (with Vibram soles) and releather the inner uppers on a pair of well-worn Footprints shoes that I still have and love 6 years later (they cost nearly $300, so I wasn't about to just chuck 'em). His repairs have held up extremely well, was easy to deal with and from memory the price wasn't too bad either.

I moved north a few years ago so I have no idea if they're even still in business, but they might be worth checking out.

The last repair my Gortex Scarpas required was a DIY job... managed to nick the side with a chainsaw (don't ask!) which put in a nice hole right through to the inner liner. Nothing a bit of silicone sealant couldn't fix

Cheers, Ben.

I just remembered that Paddy Pallin used to stock new soles for Scarpa boots, from memory they were about 1/3 the cost of a whole new boot.

Interesting link..

REPAIR 2010 > Repair School > Lifestyle > Bonding Vibram Soling Materials
Bonding Vibram Soling Materials

http://www.vibram.com/index.php/us/REPAIR-2010/Repair-School/Lifestyle/Bonding-Vibram-Soling-Materials

So my Kathmandu hiking boots lost their soles spontaneously recently have been dug out of the cupboard for a bit of hiking. I returned them to Kathmandu hoping to have them suitably repaired or replaced. Three weeks later I received a phone call. Unrepairable. No way, they are an old school design with Vibram soles and have had little use. Funny I paid over $250 for them twenty plus years ago and had them replaced previously due to lining failure at no charge by Kathmandu. This pair has hardly been used compared to the original pair. This pair were supplied in 2007 after I returned from a trip to Europe and the boots lining disintegrated. I have done a search and will be visiting The Cobblers Last near the Vic Market tomorrow and see what they recommend.

Links to look at for Vibram repairs...

http://vibram.com/repair-customization
http://assets.vibram.com/pdfs/Catalogo_Repair_ENG.pdf
https://www.vibram.info/vibramrepair/ca ... a_master=4

The sole descriptions in the catalogue are like this below. The Foura 2 series that I am after...




...and my current el'cheapo Chinese boots have these Vibram Bifida soles which are fantastic for mountain trekking!

Getting a sole that will fit on the upper is the easy bit.

Finding an adhesive that will keep the new sole in place after prolonged exposure to Tasmanian bogs is something else. I'm still trying to reattach the soles on a pair of Asolos that separated after going through decontamination at Farmhouse Creek. Have tried so many different things and yet nothing holds them on for more than a day or two.
It's partly the adhesive, and partly the difficulty of achieving and maintaining 100% contact between the two surfaces during the curing process. But I've just about give up. What a waste of what would otherwise still be a perfectly good pair of boots..

What adhesive do they use in factories to bond these?

Something 100% waterproof and acid-resistant.

north-north-west wrote:Getting a sole that will fit on the upper is the easy bit.

Finding an adhesive that will keep the new sole in place after prolonged exposure to Tasmanian bogs is something else. I'm still trying to reattach the soles on a pair of Asolos that separated after going through decontamination at Farmhouse Creek. Have tried so many different things and yet nothing holds them on for more than a day or two.
It's partly the adhesive, and partly the difficulty of achieving and maintaining 100% contact between the two surfaces during the curing process. But I've just about give up. What a waste of what would otherwise still be a perfectly good pair of boots..

Here is a forum discussion from hikers that have been in contact with Vibram USA with this problem and they seem to have got the right answers for bonding Vibrams to leather...

...We did a lot of repair in the shop and you can bond Vibram to leather sole that you can't tear off even if you wanted to. Here's what we do, make a mixture of 50/50 barge and barge glue thinner, rough up you're soles, even new ones, brush on both leather and Vibram, let dry for about an hour; then regular barge, let dry and apply soles like normal. we just call it thin gluing, I thin glue everything, it works for me.

http://www.customcowboybootsandshoesfor ... 1170181281




...might help...

My Zamberlan Vioz 996 have the sole coming away from the midsole. When I contacted Z a year ago, before they stared to separate, I had no response on finding a resloer in OZ. Surprise surprise... They want me to by new ones right? Anyway, this time I looked on the website, theres a link to a guy called Dave the Cobbler, in Seattle US. Zamberlan, and he, claims that he's an authorised repairer for these and many other brands and soles.
Anyway, long story short, Ive emailed him and he says that he can do a factory quality full resole, with factory original soles and 'an Italian Boot Press' for $80 US plus shipping. Beats a new pair of $400 boots right? The thing wtih these boots is the leather. liner and eyes, are still in great condition, if they weren't wasnt, I'd chuck 'em. Anyhoo, heres some photos of the before. Ill update y'all when they come back from Seattle.

Just how much is the shipping? A pair of leather boots is neither particularly light nor all that small.