Field Repairs – Shoe Goo, by Jessie Blaine
Shoe GOO is a must have item in any repair kit. This simple adhesive is flexible, waterproof, and easy to apply. It is versatile, cost effective, and will make gear repairs a cinch.
I have saved a lot of money over the years by repairing gear instead of replacing it. And with the current supply chain struggles, the ability to make repairs instead of buying replacements could look completely different in the very near future. There may come a time when, despite how much cash is in your pocket, replacement items simply aren’t available. You might find yourself in the dilemma of repairing gear or simply doing without.
I’d like to be able to make repairs, not only for me, but for my family, friends, and community. Remember, we don’t live in a vacuum and being positioned with skills, abilities, and equipment to support others is a quick way to foster unity.
Being a contributor instead of a consumer goes a long way in a community.
Over the past few months, by making repairs instead of replacement, I have saved nearly $180 on shoes alone. I had a pair of Merrell Moab shoes that have failed me twice, once when they were a few weeks old and just recently after being used daily for a few months. Each time they failed, I made repairs instead of purchasing replacements. At $90 for a pair of shoes, that’s a $180 saving with only a $6 tube of Shoe GOO.
Pictured below is the first repair I made about 4 months ago and it’s holding strong.
Here are a few tips for using Shoe GOO footwear when the sole separates from the upper:
- Clean the area as best you can with a dry brush (toothbrush or paint brush works well)
- With a damp cloth, wipe the are as best you can to remove any remaining dirt, dust or debris and then let the area completely dry
- Evenly apply a thin layer of Shoe GOO over the entire affected area
(I’ve had good success using a plastic knife or the back of a plastic spoon)
- Put your hand inside the footwear and press down to help ensure the GOO is evenly distributed.
And that’s it.
One word of caution though. When applying to footwear, make sure the Shoe GOO is spread as evenly as possible. If you apply more than just a thin layer and you don’t spread it out evenly, you might feel some unpleasant lumps of glue every time you take a step.
Don’t wait until ‘someday’ to get your Shoe GOO because it might not be on the shelf when you need it. And when you get it, use it. Don’t ‘save it’ for a rainy day. Get comfortable repairing your gear now when you have options, instead of in the future when you may not have a choice.
Jessie
Jessie Blaine is a former Marine living in refuge somewhere in the Lone Star state. He is in a perpetual state of learning, which is the second-best state to be in, with the Lone Star state being the first.
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I gotta agree!! This stuff is great, and you are only limited by your imagination. it’s for more than shoes!!!
Shoe Goo is great, and another adhesive that is really good when you want something a little stiffer after curing is E6000. One thing I use it for is to repair the welding helmet shells at school that the students are constantly cracking. They never rebreak where I glue them, it is always somewhere else.
Don’t think I can find that around here. But I also hate throwing away things that have still more life in them, even though they just crapped-out at the first sign of decent use.
I bought a pair of Lowa GTX’s in 2010, used them on one trek with my then girlfriend, used them again a year later on our honeymoon ( trekking the Hardangervidda – lugging a 42 Kg pack on all sorts of terrain).
Then life happend and I put them in storage, and kinda forgot about them. Till last year that is. I’m an invalid, short on cash as usual and my mobility is bad. Found the boots, decided to give them a spin. Wore them once, and wow, I was mobile again, no pain or discomfort. The next day checked them…and the rubber ‘ seal ‘ that runs around the whole shoe, just went brittle and flaked. Decided to repair them. Ended up with ‘ foam clay ‘, and a sealer. Works good enough, and re-doing it every now and then is not a problem as the foam stuff costs peanuts compared to the price of a new pair ( if one can find a pair ) of boots.
By the time they finally kick the bucket and ‘ the brown stuff has met the ventilation ‘, I probably will be able to ‘ find ‘ a pair in my local outdoor store… . Till then, I’m not giving up on them.
I’ve never had all that great a luck with it honestly. I had a pair of Llowas, great boots but they had sat in a closet for along time- backups, broke in and put away….Well, the original adhesive for the soles broke down and the soles came off. I carefully cleaned the soles and the boot bottoms etc…bought a brand new tube of Goo, applied it carefully and put some weight in the shoes to help adhesion. Just didn’t stick. Cleaned them off, tried again, same result. They’re sitting in my closet collecting dust….I should take them to a cobbler and see if they can do something with them. They’re almost new boots in terms of wear though 15 years or more old…..I hate to just toss them.
A cobbler cement like masters might give you better luck.
Yea and the other thing is- I watched some videos on repairing similar shoes- I don’t have a press and I didn’t “hammer down” the soles. You don’t know what you don’t know.
I’m hopeful that the local cobbler who has the right tools can fix them- $250 boots and near new– other than no soles! Same thing as old tires and tread separations- they can look really good, great tread etc…but if the adhesive compounds between the carcass and the tread have broken down over time a tread de lamination is really going to change your morning commute!
I have both the big tube, and in my field gear I carry a small tube of this and super glue for field repairs.