Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Not sure where this should go? DYI Boot repair?

Sole is coming loose on my Russels and not enough time to send them back. I have had good luck with Barges Cement but the last pair I couldn't find any and used E6000 on a pair of Danners. The soles blew out in the middle of a muddy crossing. With the Danners the mid soles deteriorated from ozone so not necessarily the cements fault.

Should I run screws in the Russells? They have a leather mid sole and double vamps so maybe enough for purchase with out me feeling the screws.

Worst case I can have some tire treads put on in Mexico. Knee high Huraches, could set a new trend. Not a big deal as I probably won't need snake boots anyway, but will bring them just in case. This area has Rattlers, Fluer du lances, and Pit Vipers. Pit vipers do scare me because they are so well camouflaged and they don't warn you like rattlers. Very unlikely to encounter any of them. The bird boys swing a stick in front of them if an area looks snakey.

Just send them back to Russell. Geezuz, why do a halfassed repair when a couple/few weeks wait time is all it takes? What is so pressing that you would contemplate a gimcrack fix? Are you barefoot otherwise?

Are these Russels glue on soles or stitch down with a welt? If the latter, take them to the local shoe repair. I've done it with Red Wings, who like you to send them back to them.

Good luck.

Geno

PS, were the Danner's a glue on sole?

Russell probably uses Barges or equivalent. Aquaseal will work too. You can get it on Amazon. Aquaseal comes in a whole host of varieties. The original is some tenacious stuff and works on a wide range of materials including rubber and leather. I keep it on hand for for repairs like yours.

You might could call/e-mail Russell and ask them what they'd use if you haven't already done.

Just for curiousity's sake, how old are these boots that are falling apart?

Ambroid ( spelling ?) is a waterproof glue used by Cobblers on shoes . I used it for years making cork decoys .
A shoe repair will sell / give you a small bottle .

(Shoe Goo) will cement it back on.

The Russells are only about 4 yrs. old. The heat in the closet is not good for boots and there must be high ozone levels or something else strange in the air. Just had a pair of Merrells self destruct, I think some of the shoes must be off gassing something for this to keep happening. Will move the more expensive pairs to a closet that I will keep the door open slightly to see if this helps, it will at least keep the closet from getting so hot.

I only use Obenaufs so that shouldn't be the problem. This is a minor separation if the repair doesn't take I will send to Russell when I get back. My other snake boots are hotter thanks to the padding and Goretex. Russell didn't comment on DYI repairs. These are moccasin construction with a glued on or vulcanized sole, no welt or sewn through except for the leather mid sole.

I miss my red wings with the Norwegian welt. On my mountaineering boots they are sewn through, glued, and screwed on. The belt and suspender theory for shoes.

Thanks for the advice, I will take inventory now so I can get any repairs done before the fall.

Good luck on your journey with the pit vipers and fer de lances. Seems like some of the compounds recommended here will work for you. Like Kingston, I've had good luck with Aquaseal, decent results with ShoeGoo,.

If it wasn't for weight and heat issues, I'd be in mountaineering boots all the time. Or stitched down Danners/Red Wings or other quality shoes.

Most times though, I'm hunting in my moccasins if it's not freezing and wet.

Geno

I've had good luck getting soles repaired by a local shoe repair shop. They've had them done either same day or next day, and the repairs seemed to be as good or better than the original. That makes sense when you consider that a skilled person making a living fixing shoes might do better work than minimum wage employees in a shoe factory.

Thanks all, some good advice.

RE: Vipers I went to a little museum on a banana plantation in Honduras and one closet sized room was filled with whacked off digits in formaldehyde. The locals call the two bad ass snakes one steppers and will amputate a finger rather than going through the ordeal of a bite. These were mostly fer de lances that were in trees. The pit vipers are terrestrial and bite no more than calf high. Left quite an impression on me though, the thought of using your own machete on yourself.

In Central America, the most dangerous snakes are Terciopelos (Bothrops asper, sometimes called Fer de Lance) which are on the ground. The small arboreal pit vipers are much less dangerous but could still cause a nasty bite. The main thing is just to watch where you step and put your hands. If you do that you should be fine. The Terciopelos will be most common in areas around human habitation because they eat rodents associated with humans.

Send them to the maker. Have a pair or Whites here that are going back shortly for their second rebuild.