BC boot repair
Posted: Tue May 10, 2022 12:39 pm
Hi all,
I stumbled on this forum as a result of a Google search for “Repairing a BC ski boot” and decided to register and post – so this is part introductory post, part trip-report and part discussion on how to prepare for a BC boot failure in the field.
On a recent long-distance tour in the mountains of southern Norway I had the misfortune of having a BC boot de-laminate (sole separated from upper). What mitigated my bad luck was that I had only just left Sognefjellshytta and hadn’t even gone 100 meters when it happened, so I could return to the hut and consider my options without undue stress. My options were:
1) Repair the boot: Araldite was available, as was a powerful hair dryer.
2) Break off the tour: The road was cleared all the way up to Sognefjellshytta, so there was the possibility of getting down to the valley, taking the bus to Oslo and a flight back home.
3) Buy new boots: The nearest village in the valley is Lom, which has a sports shop. Otherwise the larger town of Otta is situated where the valley merges into the main Gudbrandsdalen.
I decided on the latter option, as an araldite repair seemed too unreliable for the remaining 168km (104 miles) to Finse, and I was reluctant to break off a tour which I already had to skip twice in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid. A family very kindly offered me a lift down to Lom and even took me all the way to the door of the sports shop and came in to the shop with me to make sure I got what I needed. The shop had two boots in my size, both of the same brand as the defective boots (Alpina) and I chose the more robust model (Alaska BC).
I was lucky again, having spent the night in Lom, to get a lift back up to Sognefjellshytta the next morning. On arrival, I stepped into my skis and set off without further delay. The new boots, although exactly the same size as my two previous pairs of Alpinas, were not without their problems. My right foot is slightly broader than the left, but most boots stretch somewhat at the offending spot. These brand new ones didn’t – possibly as a result of the reinforcing rubber band which stretches around the boot. This made the remaining 168km through the Jotunheimen and Skarvheimen somewhat less than pleasurable, but at least I got there and finished the 340km (211 miles) MASSIV tour.
Although I also use the 3-pin 75mm system, I have no intention of ditching the NNN BC system, as I have several pairs of skis with the BC bindings. I can’t help but wonder how I would have dealt with the situation had the boots failed in a more inopportune place (the mountain cabins are spaced about 20 to 22km apart). With the 3-pin system, the duckbill is at least still clamped down in the binding mechanism, even if the soles start to part from the uppers, but with the BC system a similar boot failure is much more serious. I have had a 3-pin delaminate, but never a BC, so the experience shook me up a bit. I don’t use a pulk, so the idea of carrying an extra pair of boots is a non-starter.
This brings me to the final section of my epistle, namely how to prepare for a BC boot failure in the field – which materials to take along for a get-you-to-the-next-cabin repair or for a more fix-it-and-forget-it treatment. On inspecting the damaged boot in Sognefjellshytta, I was surprised to note that there didn’t appear to be any traces of adhesive on the bottom (plastic) surface of the upper nor on the top (inside) surface of the sole. In fact, it appeared that the two surfaces didn’t mate at all. This was due to the short overlap of the soft material of the upper creating a hollow space between upper and sole. I could be wrong on this, but it certainly looked like the only contact between upper and sole was the overlapping material itself. I always drill and mount the bindings myself, using araldite mixed with steel wool in the screw-holes, and on considering how to fix the damaged boot, I thought that coating both surfaces with araldite and then filling in the hollow space between them with steel wool which had been rolled in the araldite. Then again, while the araldite in the binding screw-holes is bombproof (I’ve never had a binding rip loose), I’m not certain if araldite/steel wool would hold up on surfaces where there is a lot of flexing. My repair kit (up until now) has included duct tape, zip-ties and 3mm dyneema. If I tour with 3-pins, I take a very short size 3 pozidriv screwdriver as well, in case the bindings rip out (although, as stated, they never have).
I present my case to the forum jury – in particular to those who have had to deal with such a situation and to those who understand something about the chemistry of adhesives and how they react to the materials used in BC ski boots. Please voice your opinions!
Jurassien
I stumbled on this forum as a result of a Google search for “Repairing a BC ski boot” and decided to register and post – so this is part introductory post, part trip-report and part discussion on how to prepare for a BC boot failure in the field.
On a recent long-distance tour in the mountains of southern Norway I had the misfortune of having a BC boot de-laminate (sole separated from upper). What mitigated my bad luck was that I had only just left Sognefjellshytta and hadn’t even gone 100 meters when it happened, so I could return to the hut and consider my options without undue stress. My options were:
1) Repair the boot: Araldite was available, as was a powerful hair dryer.
2) Break off the tour: The road was cleared all the way up to Sognefjellshytta, so there was the possibility of getting down to the valley, taking the bus to Oslo and a flight back home.
3) Buy new boots: The nearest village in the valley is Lom, which has a sports shop. Otherwise the larger town of Otta is situated where the valley merges into the main Gudbrandsdalen.
I decided on the latter option, as an araldite repair seemed too unreliable for the remaining 168km (104 miles) to Finse, and I was reluctant to break off a tour which I already had to skip twice in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid. A family very kindly offered me a lift down to Lom and even took me all the way to the door of the sports shop and came in to the shop with me to make sure I got what I needed. The shop had two boots in my size, both of the same brand as the defective boots (Alpina) and I chose the more robust model (Alaska BC).
I was lucky again, having spent the night in Lom, to get a lift back up to Sognefjellshytta the next morning. On arrival, I stepped into my skis and set off without further delay. The new boots, although exactly the same size as my two previous pairs of Alpinas, were not without their problems. My right foot is slightly broader than the left, but most boots stretch somewhat at the offending spot. These brand new ones didn’t – possibly as a result of the reinforcing rubber band which stretches around the boot. This made the remaining 168km through the Jotunheimen and Skarvheimen somewhat less than pleasurable, but at least I got there and finished the 340km (211 miles) MASSIV tour.
Although I also use the 3-pin 75mm system, I have no intention of ditching the NNN BC system, as I have several pairs of skis with the BC bindings. I can’t help but wonder how I would have dealt with the situation had the boots failed in a more inopportune place (the mountain cabins are spaced about 20 to 22km apart). With the 3-pin system, the duckbill is at least still clamped down in the binding mechanism, even if the soles start to part from the uppers, but with the BC system a similar boot failure is much more serious. I have had a 3-pin delaminate, but never a BC, so the experience shook me up a bit. I don’t use a pulk, so the idea of carrying an extra pair of boots is a non-starter.
This brings me to the final section of my epistle, namely how to prepare for a BC boot failure in the field – which materials to take along for a get-you-to-the-next-cabin repair or for a more fix-it-and-forget-it treatment. On inspecting the damaged boot in Sognefjellshytta, I was surprised to note that there didn’t appear to be any traces of adhesive on the bottom (plastic) surface of the upper nor on the top (inside) surface of the sole. In fact, it appeared that the two surfaces didn’t mate at all. This was due to the short overlap of the soft material of the upper creating a hollow space between upper and sole. I could be wrong on this, but it certainly looked like the only contact between upper and sole was the overlapping material itself. I always drill and mount the bindings myself, using araldite mixed with steel wool in the screw-holes, and on considering how to fix the damaged boot, I thought that coating both surfaces with araldite and then filling in the hollow space between them with steel wool which had been rolled in the araldite. Then again, while the araldite in the binding screw-holes is bombproof (I’ve never had a binding rip loose), I’m not certain if araldite/steel wool would hold up on surfaces where there is a lot of flexing. My repair kit (up until now) has included duct tape, zip-ties and 3mm dyneema. If I tour with 3-pins, I take a very short size 3 pozidriv screwdriver as well, in case the bindings rip out (although, as stated, they never have).
I present my case to the forum jury – in particular to those who have had to deal with such a situation and to those who understand something about the chemistry of adhesives and how they react to the materials used in BC ski boots. Please voice your opinions!
Jurassien