Hot Glue shoe repair

[Gershon]

Last night I was looking at my cheap Chinese (never to buy again) shoes and realized that after 150 miles or so, the soles were separating in places and some of the threads were looking pretty frayed.

So, I took out my hot glue gun and reglued the soles and put glue over the places the threads were getting frayed and reglued the soles.

It appears the repairs have worked. I wouldn't trust them for multi-day hike, but they are certainly good enough for local training hikes to save putting miles on my new shoes.

Maybe I can stretch the life enough to wear holes in the soles and put cardboard inside to cover the holes.

[whiteOak]

this is excellent. great job fixing your own things. and good luck finding hiking boots which are not made in china, next time.

[outdoorlove]

I honestly think tape and some glue can fix anything

[Gershon]

The hot glue didn't last. It's good to know what doesn't work, too. However, Shoo Goo did work.

Now, I have over 400 miles on these shoes. The heels are smooth and the soles are getting that way. So I used Shoe Goo to glue half a small coffee can lid to each of the heels. I'm looking around for something free and more durable. I'm going to see how many miles I can milk out of these shoes. Turns out the are comfortable except for wet weather. So I'm using them for training hikes.

[Rockytibby]

Shoe Goo works great, I have used it on some boots and it held up for the entire life of the boot. Yeah, hot glue isn't strong enough. Gorilla Glue I have heard is pretty good as well, but have never tried it.

[Sergemaster]

Whatever method you use for fixing boots, always make sure to carry some duct tape in your pack when in the field. That tape if it's quality can you allot of headaches when in a pinch, from a ripped pack or bag, to a quick shoe sole repair. Make sure you get the quality stuff though, since there are some cheaper Chicom made variants floating around out there.

Cheers,
Serge

[GDeadPhans]

I had a similar experience with another Chinese made shoe, errr slipper called Izod. Bought a pair of slippers and they fell apart very quickly, less than 3 months. I stitched them up so I can continue using them but now they are almost a tripping hazard. I refuse to buy anything Chinese made but I bet that will be verrry tough.

[Gershon]

Using Shoe Goo to glue on the coffee can lid pieces didn't work. They fell off. Maybe if I drilled holes in them first.

I did learn a trick. To spread Shoo Goo use an ice cube. It doesn't stick to ice like it does to other things. It also seems to thin it out a bit so it will flow into split seams.

[customcrafter]

use a rubber cement for the glueing of shoes. its a strong flexable glue. and then protect it with shoe goo. i've done amazing things with shoe goo. from makeing knife handles, patching a boat or a tent. just put duct tape on whatever and cover. you could proly seal pipes with that stuff