Finest leather? You're right! Look at that...

[Rodbelan]

Geez man... I am tired of leather boots. I had bad luck with them. Second pair I destroy after 2-3 outings. Is anybody here that had similar problem and a successful repair? The other one was Alpina Tele lite; new! But since the sole is thermo glued, noting can be done to reglue... Hope I can deal with this one; it is a Merrell XCD. The fit is PERFECT!

[bgregoire]

Hello my friend GnarlyRod!

Those are nice looking boots. Probably worth reparing.

Now don't get all mad at those cracks. I am presuming those darn boots must be 20 years old or more. THAT is why they (hard nylon midsole) are cracking under your feet today. plastic is plastic. Just like us, it cannot last forever.

The good news is a proper cobbler will replace that midsole during a resole job. Dave the cobbler did a fine job resoling my Alico Teletours a few weeks ago. Its going to cost you 30$ to ship out to him in Seattle, WA. 120$USD for the job and 50$ for him to ship back (Québec, land of the gnarz). Only you can figure out if they are worth your money.

Another option would get to convince some norwegian on Finn.no to send you their old pair of Varg Skavls. They are much younger in age and basically the same boot. They are going for peanuts these days, and with shipping, it should be less than the resole...or do like me, and get both!!!

Be swell. Looking forward to some nice spring skiing with you soon!

[Rodbelan]

On t'attend de pied ferme! De pied ferme oui, mais avec des semelles craquées...

[Cannatonic]

the hazards of 25-year old rubber - it eventually cracks. the leather uppers are going strong. not sure where you're located - Rocky Mountain Resole in CO is another expert re-soler of welted tele boots. Not sure if Limmer in NH will do them - isn't there a good cobbler in Vermont also? I don't have the info in my contacts database, pretty sure there is one near Burlington.

[Rodbelan]

Since I am in Quebec, I'll try to find a cobbler around here... Thanks anyway!

[bgregoire]

Since I am in Quebec, I'll try to find a cobbler around here... Thanks anyway!

Rod, I did my best to find one a few months back. You had actually suggested your cobbler in Limoilou and I talked with the man. Managed to calm him down for a 4 minute conversation. Turns out he is getting out of the 75mm resole business because Vibram will only sell soles in packs of 100 or so (even the canadian distributors will not carry them anymore). You can imagine that there is no money for him then! Besides, he admitted, that even if he does find a pair of 75mm soles laying around in his shop, he does not actually stitch the soles back on but used tacks. Ugh.

I think most all of the cobblers that can do the job have been mentioned here.

https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... ole#p26729

How's the bazooka? Have you had to scare away any alpine skiers yet?

Keep that smile. you know you love leathers deep down. its okay.

[lowangle al]

You do have to be careful with old boots. One time my wife and I were skiing on twenty year old boots. We hiked up a couple hundred feet of steep trail, no kickstepping. When we got to the top all four boots were cracked at the pin line on the vibrim outsole rendering them unskiable.

[Woodserson]

I feel like I need popcorn for this thread!

[Rodbelan]

You do have to be careful with old boots. One time my wife and I were skiing on twenty year old boots. We hiked up a couple hundred feet of steep trail, no kickstepping. When we got to the top all four boots were cracked at the pin line on the vibrim outsole rendering them unskiable.

My Vibram outer sole is intact... It is just the sole in-between that is cracked. I wonder if I could inject some sort of low viscosity glue (epoxy)... I'll see a cobbler first.

[Rodbelan]

How's the bazooka? Have you had to scare away any alpine skiers yet?

Keep that smile. you know you love leathers deep down. its okay.

I feel more like a sort of Bazooka Joe, with my 2 pairs of cracked/broken leather boots. If I scare alpine skier away, it is beyond my control... I prefer to scare snowmobilers... It is pretty hard; they ride fast in their big machines!