Protective toe coating

[Bruce]

Like many other people, I am starting to find some wear in the fabric in between the toes on my KSOs and komodosports. They haven't worn all the way through, and in an attempt to keep then that way, I have put a thin coat of shoe goo on the fabric where the rubber from the next toe rubs. Has anyone else tried this? I tried to put a very thin coat in order to prevent the toes from becoming too stuff, but obviously this means it will require maintenance as the coat wears off. If it works, I may just start doing it to all of my Vibrams as I get them. Does anyone know if something like this would void the warranty? If anyone is interested, I can let you know how well it works after some use.

-Bruce

[Shiraz-mataz]

Last week I asked about using Shoo Goo to do some preemptive maintenance on a thinning area near the ball of my foot.  I haven't tried it yet but would love to know how it works for you.

[kissel]

When I see an area start to fray, I put a thin coat of Loctite's "vinyl, fabric & plastic flexible adhesive" using a toothpick or small flat screwdriver.  It comes in a tube like toothpaste.  Got it at Target for like $5.  Little dab'll do ya.  I use a clothespin to bend back the adjacent toes so they don't stick together.

[Bruce]

If you are talking about using the shoe goo on the outsole of the shoe, that may be more work than it is worth. I have used shoe goo to fill in a hole on the outsole of my red wing duty boots at work, and it didn't stay on there for one tour or duty (3 days). I think the friction with the ground is just too much for the adhesive to compete against. My komodosports have wear in the tread, in the ball of the foot and on the 3 middle toes, and I really can't think of a realistic fix for that. But that wear is less substantial than the wear in between the toe pockets, which, if not remedied, will result in a hole fairly soon. Let me know if you think of anything for the outsole wear.  

Thanks!

-Bruce

[nwrunnergirl]

Hi Bruce - I'm with McNett, the manufacturer of Gear Aid gear care & repair products. If you give us a shout through the contact field on our website I'd love to send you a sample of one of our Gear Aid adhesives. They're urethane based and will provide permanent repair that will bond to the fabric & stay flexible when dry, instead of getting brittle and cracking/falling off (like you experienced with another adhesive). Below is our contact link & a link to repair instructions with this product:
Contact Link:
http://www.mcnett-outdoor.com/Contact-Us/127.aspx
Repair Link:
http://www.mcnett-outdoor.com/Repair-Guide/Footwear/Boot-Heel-Repair/226.aspx

[Bruce]

Thanks, yeah, I need to find something more flexible than the shoe goo. It works great on the rubber parts of the shoe, but it makes the fabric fairly rigid. Plus it is difficult to only apply a thin layer. I actually saw your post on abother thread about trying out your rank away product and when they sent that, they sent a sample of the adhesive as well. They just got in yesterday, and I haven't had the chance to either of them yet, but I will soon. Thanks!

-Bruce