UKC

Anyone got any advice on repairing the rand on my girlfriends's rock shoes?

One foot has some how got a 6mm ish slice (as opposed to being worn through) that's opening up a little.

The shoe's sole is fine so I'm loathe to pay for resole and rand for the time being.

In reply to jezb1:

All my shoes wear out at the toe first. I just bite the bullet and get the lot done. £35-40 might be worth it. If they are comfort shoes the resole won't change them too much. I did try to repair a slit in the side of a pair with a tube of freesole which worked ok but I don't think it would last for long at a high wear area (and it might look a bit pants).

In reply to jezb1:

If I imagine correctly, some super glue might work. It definitely helped my flatmate who still uses crappy 40 quid Climb X shoes with glued soles. Some new splits appear again, though.

The damage looked something similar like this: http://www.robertsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/1020755.jpg . The cracks/splits were few centimeters long.

I'm in the same boat, I've got a pair of 5:10's that have a near perfect sole but the rand is about to go through, it seems a waste of money to resole the whole shoe but I'm struggling to think of any thing to do with them.

I emailed a shoe repair company to see if they could do anything but they said that they had to resole the whole shoe to repair a tiny hole in the rand.

Does anybody know a shoe repair place that can patch the rand without a complete resole?

In reply to jezb1:

Are they Evolv. If so take them back to where you bought them. They have had a lot of rands splitting, and I have friends who have had shoes replaced because of it.

In reply to jezb1:

Stealth paint?

In reply to jezb1:

Stealth paint, Black Witch, Shoe Goo can all help certain types of toe holes. They don't last long but if you keep doing it you may get some more milage out of them.

Most attempts at patching won't be worth the effort as they need to wrap under the sole - otherwise they peel off pretty quickly.

As johncook says, if they are Evolvs and its a horizontal split around the sole/rand join then its worth trying for a refund. That was a known issue on certain batches of shoes I believe - I see it a lot on Bandits particularly.

In reply to jezb1:

Cheers guys, will try something before getting them resoled.

In reply to jezb1:

What about melting the existing rubber and sealing the split that way? I'm imagining using a soldering iron to locally melt the rubber until it's almost liquid, then press the sides of the split together. I've welded plastic this way and always lasts a fair while.

In reply to jezb1:

Melting rubber does not work, it doesn't behave in the same way as plastic (but nice idea).

Patching holes never works for very long unless its done properly (i.e. tucked under the sole like the original rand is - hence why I (or other resolers) have to do a full resole to deal with rand holes. It never hurts to try of course but its not something I'd ever offer as a professional service.

Stealth paint ( or Shoe goo, or Black Witch) can work as a temporary measure. It won't last long but if you keep doing it it can help - it depends a bit on the kind of hole. It won't hold the rubber together but can protect the leather/fabric underneath if you've only worn through the rubber.

If they are Evolvs and the split is a horizontal one and just at the rand/sole join then I know lots have failed there and Evolv has replaced some as a warranty issue - at least that is what I've been told by various customers, I haven't dealt directly with evolv so can't swear to it but its worth trying them.

I hope that is of some help, Torquil (Llanberis Resoles)