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Repairing walking boots

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ala...@googlemail.com

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Oct 28, 2012, 4:44:55 AM10/28/12
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Has any had a good pair of walking boots re-soled?

I've worn the tread completely flat on my nice comfortable pair of brasher boots. Just wondering if they could be repaired instead of junking them?
They have a Goretex membrane, so maybe that would be a problem.

BTW, they've done about 1400 miles, is that good going, or what?

Phil Cook

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Oct 28, 2012, 5:27:41 AM10/28/12
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On 28/10/2012 08:44, ala...@googlemail.com wrote:
> Has any had a good pair of walking boots re-soled?
>
> I've worn the tread completely flat on my nice comfortable pair of brasher boots.

http://www.lancashiresportsrepairs.co.uk/

Brasher Resole using original soles - for Hillmaster, Country Master,
Superlite and Superlite II boots (per pair) £55

--
Phil Cook

Peter Clinch

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Oct 28, 2012, 1:09:07 PM10/28/12
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On 28/10/2012 08:44, ala...@googlemail.com wrote:
> Has any had a good pair of walking boots re-soled?

Yes, my old Scarpa Fitzies had a new sole after I flattened the
originals. No problem with the new sole and the boots were fine.

> I've worn the tread completely flat on my nice comfortable pair of
> brasher boots. Just wondering if they could be repaired instead of
> junking them? They have a Goretex membrane, so maybe that would be a
> problem.

I think it's the case that the stiffer the boot the more you're likely
to get away with it. Mine were full-shank winter boots for use with
crampons and thus very stiff, and I think that contributed to the
success. My belief about stiffer == better for resole is down to the
upper not actually being stretched much in general use because the sole
(and thus the upper it's attached to) hardly flexes with a step, so
there'll be a lot less wear on the upper where a softer boot bends
around the toe.

So depending on what model of Brashers they were it may or may not go
well. The stiffer ones I'd be surprised if it didn't work, softer ones
are perhaps less likely to succeed. I'd ask a Brasher dealer what they
reckon.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net p.j.c...@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Alan473829

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Oct 29, 2012, 5:16:53 AM10/29/12
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I looked at the Lancashire repair place, they look well professional but it's not cheap, £55 to re-sole my Brashers, I'm guessing at least a tenner postage. A brand new pair off Ebay can be had for around £79 so I don't think it's worth it for me.

I always buy Brasher boots as I know they'll fit me well, my current pair are "Superlites", rather than "Hillmasters" which I've had before. I never considered repair before because, as you said, the previous boots failed when the leather split across the toes. The Supalites seem to have lighter, more flexible, leather and it hasn't worn there hardly at all.

BTW, much prefer the Superlites, a half-kilo off the feet really notices after a long walk.

Ted Ferenc

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Oct 29, 2012, 6:59:27 AM10/29/12
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On Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:16:53 -0700, Alan473829 wrote:

> I looked at the Lancashire repair place, they look well professional but
> it's not cheap, £55 to re-sole my Brashers, I'm guessing at least a
> tenner postage. A brand new pair off Ebay can be had for around £79 so I
> don't think it's worth it for me.


Another place is http://www.feetfirst.resoles.co.uk/ Chesterfield,
Derbyshire price seems to be £55 as well.

--
Ted Ferenc. (http://walks.ndrw.co.uk http://ndrw.co.uk)

Peter Clinch

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Oct 29, 2012, 7:56:43 AM10/29/12
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On 29/10/2012 09:16, Alan473829 wrote:
> I looked at the Lancashire repair place, they look well professional
> but it's not cheap, £55 to re-sole my Brashers, I'm guessing at least
> a tenner postage. A brand new pair off Ebay can be had for around £79
> so I don't think it's worth it for me.
>
> I always buy Brasher boots as I know they'll fit me well

If you know what you're getting in to then the usual advice to always
try before you buy can go out the window (I'm happy buying shoes online
if they're Scarpa or Saucony size 43).

And for the difference between new and a resole the resole does look a
bit pointless, I'll grant you. Another reason bigger, stiffer boots
tend to be good resole candidates is a replaceable is usually
substantially more expensive.

Gordon H

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Oct 29, 2012, 12:37:24 PM10/29/12
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In message <677b7936-1ec9-4548...@googlegroups.com>,
Alan473829 <ala...@googlemail.com> writes
I am using my first pair of Brashers, and the only snag is that I find
them treacherous on wet stones and rocks (as compared with several
previous pairs of Zamberlan Treklites). They are not Vibram soles.
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

PAUL {HAMILTON ROONEY}

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Oct 29, 2012, 2:41:59 PM10/29/12
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Vibram soles can be equally treacherous - it depends partly on the
density of the sole. My Meindl Burmas were lethal on wet rock (as
compared with every piece of footwear I've ever had, except Adidas
fell-running shoes (Swoop, iirc) which were just slightly deadlier than
the Meindls).
These days I experiment on wet tiles before I buy. It's easy to do here
as just about all the footways are tiled. I go for something that still
provides grip on wet glossy tiles. I'm now something of a tile expert
where friction is concerned.
Softer compounds are often cheaper but don't last as well, yet I find
they do the job in the wet.
A Chinese peasant has been using the Meindls for the past few years
(mainly in muddy fields) and swears they are the most comfortable boots
he has ever had. They are warm and waterproof, but no use to me on the
hill.

--
"THOSE WHO INDULGE IN CHEST-BEATING ABOUT HOW THEY ALWAYS WIN SEEM TO
OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT THE SO-CALLED SIG-ABUSERS ALWAYS WIN, TOO. USENET
IS LIKE THAT. IF SUCH MEANINGLESS LABELS ARE TO BE PRESSED INTO SERVICE,
THEN I WOULD SAY THAT PAUL HAS WON. NOT ONLY BY HIS UNDOUBTED STAMINA,
BUT BY THE SUSTAINED GRACE, CHARM, AND MISCHIEVOUS WIT OF HIS RESPONSES."
JAMES FOLLETT, NOVELIST (WRITING IN THE NEWSGROUP DEMON.LOCAL)

PAUL {HAMILTON ROONEY}

Gordon H

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Oct 29, 2012, 6:29:01 PM10/29/12
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In message <af80vm...@mid.individual.net>, PAUL {HAMILTON ROONEY}
<PAULV...@SNOTMAIL.COM> writes
The best gripping soles I have are on a pair of fabric boots I got from
LiDL or ALDI a few years ago for £17. ;-)

PAUL {HAMILTON ROONEY}

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Oct 30, 2012, 4:40:43 AM10/30/12
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I had a superb pair of Merrells, sold as water shoes or something like
that, but about 60 pounds. They lasted several years, astonishingly for
such lightweight things, including about 18 months when I wore them
every day. They wore out all of a sudden, on a steep mountain in
Xinjiang, at an awkward time. I replaced them with a 7 pound pair of
boots, locally made, which had a marvellous grip but fell to bits after
one summer.

Allan

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Oct 30, 2012, 6:57:59 AM10/30/12
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I like LSR very much, and have been using them for resoles for about 10
years. You go in, and the folks at LSRR eat, sleep & breathe boots &
gear and what they don't know isn't worth knowing. (I've finally got
over the hassle of trawling across Burnley to get to their workshops
when they moved from a premise 2 mins off Jn11 M65 to a larger space
across town near the football ground). I think Feetfirst are pretty
good too, it's just that LSR are down the road (ish) from me, and I
often pass Burnley so save the postage and it's often a bit quicker to
go in person.

Having said that, I took a pair of my sister's beloved fabric boots in
to LSR about a year ago for resole, and she got them back, and said the
resole had completely changed the dynamic of her boots and she couldn't
use them any more.

Simon

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Nov 9, 2012, 10:13:17 AM11/9/12
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I have just had my elderly Brasher Hillmasters resoled with Vibram soles
and the grip is much better, though to be honest I'm comparing worn out
original soles with brand new Vibram, so it's no surprise. This cost me
£40 as a personal caller at Cheshire Shoe Repairs in Stockton Heath (
http://www.cheshireshoe.co.uk/ ). They do a postal service for £45,
though obviously it costs you the postage to Stockton Heath too. I
thought it was expensive beforehand but having paid, I think it was well
worthwhile - a new lease of life for Boots I've enjoyed wearing.

Gordon H

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Nov 9, 2012, 3:57:52 PM11/9/12
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In message <ag4kti...@mid.individual.net>, Simon
<not.th...@any.rate> writes
Worth knowing, thanks for that, Stockton Heath is only about 25 minutes
along the M way from here.

Boo

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Nov 9, 2012, 8:05:14 PM11/9/12
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> I have just had my elderly Brasher Hillmasters resoled with Vibram soles
> and the grip is much better, though to be honest I'm comparing worn out
> original soles with brand new Vibram, so it's no surprise.
Surprises me. Vibram are the worst gripping soles the world has ever seen.
Utter shite in fact.

But, obviously, I'm glad you're happy :-)

Boo

Alan White

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Nov 10, 2012, 4:20:49 AM11/10/12
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On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:05:14 +0000, Boo
<reply_to_group_not_me@spam_me_no_spam.net> wrote:

>Surprises me. Vibram are the worst gripping soles the world has ever seen.
>Utter shite in fact.

Which are the best?

--
Alan White
Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent.
By Loch Long, twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, Scotland.
Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.co.uk/weather

PAUL {HAMILTON ROONEY}

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Nov 10, 2012, 4:42:51 AM11/10/12
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On 10-Nov-12 5:20 PM, Alan White wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:05:14 +0000, Boo
> <reply_to_group_not_me@spam_me_no_spam.net> wrote:
>
>> Surprises me. Vibram are the worst gripping soles the world has ever seen.
>> Utter shite in fact.
>
> Which are the best?
>
>


I agree with Boo. Vibram soles are useless to me. The best? Hard to
say. I've had fairly reliable experiences with cheap Hi-Tec footwear.
Vibrams last for years, but they would outlive me - I'd have slipped off
many a cliff or crag if I'd continued to use them, and one of those
slips would surely have been fatal (the last one).

Boo

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Nov 10, 2012, 7:11:01 AM11/10/12
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>> Surprises me. Vibram are the worst gripping soles the world has ever seen.
>> Utter shite in fact.
>
> Which are the best?

That's the $64k q. Beats me but if anyone knows an alternative then I'm
interested to know as well. Vibram seem to have a stranglehold in the UK market
at least, but when I lost a sole off of my SL's in the Pyrenees once I bought a
pair of cheap Spanish fabric boots with non-Vibram soles, grip was a big
improvement.

Boo2


Bill Grey

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Nov 13, 2012, 10:41:47 AM11/13/12
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"Alan White" <alan....@windycroft.co.uk> wrote in message
news:p27s981h2q855mbk1...@4ax.com...
On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:05:14 +0000, Boo
<reply_to_group_not_me@spam_me_no_spam.net> wrote:

>Surprises me. Vibram are the worst gripping soles the world has ever seen.
>Utter shite in fact.

Which are the best?

Good question this !
Vibram are well know to be bad on wet rocks, we all know this, but if you
consider the plight of an angler who frquently wades on wet rocks/pebbles
Vibram soles or Rubber soles on thigh boots are totally useless so they use
tungsten studded boots or felt soles boots. There doesn't seem to be a
decent compromise. Vibram is great on hillsides other than wet rock, or
tungsten studded boots or felt soled boots are good on wet rock, but note
the felt are absolutely lethal on grass. I know this post mixes up
different disciplines, but it does illustrate the problem of getting a boot
or sole that will do everything

Bill

Phil Cook

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Nov 13, 2012, 10:52:25 AM11/13/12
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On 13/11/2012 15:41, Bill Grey wrote:
> "Alan White" <alan....@windycroft.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:p27s981h2q855mbk1...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:05:14 +0000, Boo

> I know this post mixes up
> different disciplines, but it does illustrate the problem of getting a boot
> or sole that will do everything
>
> Bill
> Alan White
> Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent.
> By Loch Long, twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, Scotland.
> Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.co.uk/weather

It also makes a complete horlicks of the sig!

dash dash space newline helps your newsreader to strip out the previous
one. You're not supposed to put it back in! ;-)
--
Phil Cook

Bill Grey

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Nov 13, 2012, 3:43:01 PM11/13/12
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"Phil Cook" <ph...@p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:agf8ls...@mid.individual.net...
Ok Phil, don't get technical - its a one-off :-)

Bill


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