Alpina Alaska XP failure?!

[Arringtonpalmer]

Has anyone had an Alpina Alaska XP fail in this mode? Yesterday I thought “I need to tighten the laces on my right toe.” when making turns in the woods. Today I thought there must be snow between the boot and binding but looked down to see that it was between the shoe and sole

Till now I have loved every moment in these boots and on Xplore bindings, truly the best Nordic bc gear I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been skiing these with Asnes Ingstads.

This is sort of their third season, but I bought them at the end of the season in 2022, was Skimo racing in 22-23, used them very little, and have skied them three times so far this year. Bottom line there are close to new.

Has anyone had success with Alpina Warranty? Their website says go to a dealer, I bought them at Ragged Mountain Equipment in NH.

Option two, has anyone reglued soles to shoes with good results? It looks like the failure is between glue and sole, as seen in this image.

Been lurking here a long time, but everyone likes broken stuff right?

[Manney]

Looks more like a glue failure than an XP failure tbh. They worked for two seasons, so it’s worth posing rhetorical questions whether the boots were often put away wet, inner soles soaked, not allowed to dry, dried near a heat source, stored next to a furnace or wood stove etc.

Fixed similar failures in the past with GearAid Aqua Seal.

https://www.gearaid.com/collections/aquaseal

The stuff works and lasts as long as the instructions are followed. Boots and soles must be maniacally clean. Degreased with isopropyl alcohol. Remove as much old glue residue as possible. Lightly rough up surfaces to be glued. Apply glue to both sole and boot surface before bonding. Sole clamped and taped to boot as thoroughly as possible… try wrapping tightly with strips of Gorilla Tape (leaving a few spaces for drying unless you’re using an accelerator). Left to dry and cure completely undisturbed at room temperature… give it a week even though it sounds like a lot.

[Arringtonpalmer]

Skied the old SNSBC and Madshus Voss today, speaking of boots that needed repair.

I have plenty of Aquaseal around, I’ll probably go that route, thanks @Manney.

I also do not think this in any way an Xplore fail, adhesive as you said. Storage has been fine with them, sit in a dry house after use with all the other boots and dry out, stored in a dry cool basement all winter. I’m not particularly mad about the failure, stuff happens. I posted curious if it was common, if Alpina has a reputation for sending out new boots (rest of the interwebs says no), and to get the DIY repair tip you gave me.

[Rickg707]

I have had similar separations with hiking boots, shoes, sneakers. I find that good, old-fashioned contact cement works great. as its name implies, it bonds on contact- to itself. In case you (or others) are unfamiliar, spread a thin, even layer on both surfaces, then, let each side dry BUT do not let them touch. use something to keep them spread apart or put cardboard or paper between them. once both side are both dry ( a slight tackiness to the touch), make sure they are aligned/oriented and stick them together. there is no do over. once you press them together, there will be no moving or adjusting. then take a hammer and tap moderately or step on the shoe (add pressure) to improve the adhesion.

[JohnSKepler]

I have had similar separations with hiking boots, shoes, sneakers. I find that good, old-fashioned contact cement works great. as its name implies, it bonds on contact- to itself. In case you (or others) are unfamiliar, spread a thin, even layer on both surfaces, then, let each side dry BUT do not let them touch. use something to keep them spread apart or put cardboard or paper between them. once both side are both dry ( a slight tackiness to the touch), make sure they are aligned/oriented and stick them together. there is no do over. once you press them together, there will be no moving or adjusting. then take a hammer and tap moderately or step on the shoe (add pressure) to improve the adhesion.

Barge Cement is the standard and is actually made for shoes. It looks and smells like rubber cement. I'd probably take that to a cobbler before I tried to do it myself, and I do everything myself. That's likely highly repairable but there are tricks cobblers have learned that lead to much better success. Mostly stuff about cleaning and preparing the surfaces and spreading the glue.

To do it yourself you'll need to remove ALL the old glue. I'd roughen the surface with some 220 sandpaper and then clean thoroughly with a solvent. I'd probably use mineral spirits but others might be better. Mineral spirits is just unlikely to damage anything. When you've go it prepped, don't touch it again! Spread the cement on both pieces as evenly as possible. When it's dry, push them together and work out any openings by pressing them firmly together. A cobbler would have some process that he is confident will work well.

Let us know how it goes. We might all be facing this with our Alaskas at some point!

[JohnSKepler]

I have had similar separations with hiking boots, shoes, sneakers. I find that good, old-fashioned contact cement works great. as its name implies, it bonds on contact- to itself. In case you (or others) are unfamiliar, spread a thin, even layer on both surfaces, then, let each side dry BUT do not let them touch. use something to keep them spread apart or put cardboard or paper between them. once both side are both dry ( a slight tackiness to the touch), make sure they are aligned/oriented and stick them together. there is no do over. once you press them together, there will be no moving or adjusting. then take a hammer and tap moderately or step on the shoe (add pressure) to improve the adhesion.

Barge Cement is the standard and is actually made for shoes. It looks and smells like rubber cement. I'd probably take that to a cobbler before I tried to do it myself, and I do everything myself. That's likely highly repairable but there are tricks cobblers have learned that lead to much better success. Mostly stuff about cleaning and preparing the surfaces and spreading the glue.

To do it yourself you'll need to remove ALL the old glue. I'd roughen the surface with some 220 sandpaper and then clean thoroughly with a solvent. I'd probably use mineral spirits but others might be better. Mineral spirits is just unlikely to damage anything. When you've go it prepped, don't touch it again! Spread the cement on both pieces as evenly as possible. When it's dry, push them together and work out any openings by pressing them firmly together. A cobbler would have some process that he is confident will work well.

Let us know how it goes. We might all be facing this with our Alaskas at some point!

On another note, I've been interested in the construction of the Xplore sole. That picture provides some clues as to how Rottefella has mounted the spring pins...

[JohnSKepler]

I have had similar separations with hiking boots, shoes, sneakers. I find that good, old-fashioned contact cement works great. as its name implies, it bonds on contact- to itself. In case you (or others) are unfamiliar, spread a thin, even layer on both surfaces, then, let each side dry BUT do not let them touch. use something to keep them spread apart or put cardboard or paper between them. once both side are both dry ( a slight tackiness to the touch), make sure they are aligned/oriented and stick them together. there is no do over. once you press them together, there will be no moving or adjusting. then take a hammer and tap moderately or step on the shoe (add pressure) to improve the adhesion.

Barge Cement is the standard and is actually made for shoes. It looks and smells like rubber cement. I'd probably take that to a cobbler before I tried to do it myself, and I do everything myself. That's likely highly repairable but there are tricks cobblers have learned that lead to much better success. Mostly stuff about cleaning and preparing the surfaces and spreading the glue.

To do it yourself you'll need to remove ALL the old glue. I'd roughen the surface with some 220 sandpaper and then clean thoroughly with a solvent. I'd probably use mineral spirits but others might be better. Mineral spirits is just unlikely to damage anything. When you've go it prepped, don't touch it again! Spread the cement on both pieces as evenly as possible. When it's dry, push them together and work out any openings by pressing them firmly together. A cobbler would have some process that he is confident will work well.

Let us know how it goes. We might all be facing this with our Alaskas at some point!

On another note, I've been interested in the construction of the Xplore sole. @Arringtonpalmer 's last picture provides some clues as to how Rottefella has mounted the spring pins in the sole...

[paulzo]

I would try the warranty approach first befoe attempting a reglue yourself. If you try to fix it yourself and fail that might impact any warranty claim.

[wabene]

The best option is the warranty of course and you may even be able to keep the old boots for further experimentation. I don't know about mineral spirits, it is oily and, while gentle, leaves a residue. Solvents that flash off quickly are better for cleaning before glueing like denatured alcohol or acetone.

[oldboy]

Alaska XP owner as well here. Same failure as you. They haven’t fully separated like yours but I’m guessing one or two more outings and I’ll be there. Checking with Alpina about warranty…