[pct-l] shoe replacement

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Toby,

Contrary to what I experienced when running on pavement, I don’t find the
degradation of EVA cushioning to be the biggest factor when determining
whether to ditch a pair of hiking shoes.  With the low-G impact of walking I
don’t notice much difference.  Neither do I find the pattern-wear of the
soles to be a big problem.  I’ve had tread wear down, but I’ve never worn
through it.  My reason for rejection is most often due to the tops -- they
just get crappy and will no longer stay together.


I’ll start at the front:  Most shoes have an extension of sole rubber
wrapping up the front of the toe to form a narrow(er) tab of sorts.  This
seems to be more prevalent with running shoes compared to trail shoes which
usually have a sturdier toe-box.  Often – read usually – this extension tab
comes un-glued and begins to point forward, approaching horizontal.  The
beginning of that separation can be seen on the toe of the shoe at:
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=429942&back=1  and that’s a
relatively low-mileage shoe.  The more it detaches, the greater the
probability it will catch on some trail surface feature and tear even
further.  Because of dirt and residual glue it’s difficult to re-glue the
things and have them say in place.  Good luck with that.  I’ve had some luck
with just trimming this point off, but I find that’s just an
aggravation-reducing stopgap; once begun, the separation will continue.



The non-fabric portion of the shoe tops is usually leather or synthetic faux
leather.  The portion across the ball of the foot behind the toes receives a
great deal of flexing.  Over time the material – particularly the synthetic
– tends to harden and subsequently crack.  In addition to allowing trash to
enter, any gaps in this structure will over-stress the adjacent fabric;
worsening the situation.  There’s not much of a cure for this come-apart
except wrapping the toe with duct tape, and that’s not very effective.


Often the fabric or mesh of the uppers will separate from the other
structures and allow gaps to open.  This isn’t usually a problem except gaps
can/will admit trail-mix.


Laces may take a beating, but they are easy to replace, shorten, or
patch-up.  Mine usually last as long as the remainder of the shoe, probably
because I keep them so loose they don’t work very hard.  Similarly, I
haven’t had much trouble with lace eyelets.


The material inside the vertical wall of the heel – usually fabric – gets
trashed very quickly.  I’ve had good results lining the heel with thin
leather or duct tape, but doing so is a real pain so I quit doing it:  I
just let them wear out; snipping out any troublesome wads or folds.  Again,
my shoes are loose and I seldom notice a real heel problem.



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 4:56 PM, Toby Maxwell <tmm19 at geneseo.edu> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
>
> Just curious what causes people to replace shoes most of the time.  Is it
> because they are torn to shreds and barely hold your feet, or is it because
> they have lost their ability to cushion your foot and are sort of
> 'compressed' and useless?  If it is the latter then when do you decide to
> bite the bullet and get a new pair?
>
> thanks,
>
>
> -Toby
>
>
> p.s. 26 days and its impossible to study for my classes!!!
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