Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I have a pair of Rossi BC X6 boots, and there is a tear where the duckbill meets the toe. Any advice on how to fix?

And also - when this fails, will it fail catastrophically or can I just run them into the ground until they die, and assume that I’ll be able to ski back home when they implode?

Thanks!

Not sure about repairing those but if I was gonna chance continuing to use them I’d be packing a roll of duct tape and maybe a couple of larger hose clamps for the impending catastrophic failure.

^^^^^ X2, except you are not repairing that.

That's a very unusual crack, or tear. Maybe the toe bar on your binding digging into the toe bumper? In any case, I'm not sure it will worsen catastrophically. Not saying it won't but look at it... it's not de-laming from the sole, it's localized on the toe rand portion, and might (?) be due to abrasion rather than separation. If they were mine, I'd try running it by warranty just to see what they say (without expectation, but wouldn't hurt); most likely I'd end up using some shoe-goo repair glue or the like to seal it up, and give them some test tours before trying any longer ones. I'd definitely see what the toe bar/boot toe interface looks like.

That boot is burned toast. There's no way to reliably repair that injection molded sole, so your only options are to have the boots completely resoled, although I'm personally not aware of an outdoor boot repair shop that could do it, but maybe someone here knows of a place, or, buy another pair o' boots.

If your’e willing to spend some time and a few bucks on an experiment, here is what I would do:
(If not, just buy new boots).

1. Buy a 1 oz tube of 3M 5200 adhesive ($10 on Amazon — finding it in Black might cost a bit more)
- (there might be better adhesives, but the substrate usually fails when trying to remove this stuff);
2. With a sharp razor knife, cut away damaged material so you have a “V” groove (make sure to go all the way to the end of the existing crack — without enlarging it);
3. Clean the area with isopropyl alcohol;
4. Make sure the area is completely clean and dry;
5. Cut the end of the 5200 nozzle to the smallest hole possible (maybe even shape end to a “V”);
6. Get the nozzle all the way back in the boot’s crack and carefully and slowly apply the 5200 in the crack, without applying any more than is needed to fill crack;
7. The final exterior shape of the adhesive should be concave by using a rounded scraper, like a popsicle stick (definitely not bulging out), but a shallow concavity (this shape makes it less likely the adhesive will pull away from the boot);
8. Let the adhesive cure at least a couple of days, maybe a week, if you can.

I wouldn’t view this as “good as new.” May last a long time or not at all — just an experiment, if you want to try and salvage the boots.

Time for new boots, write Gear-Santa.

I appreciate all the replies. I will take the advice and buy new boots. My skiing partners are pressuring me not to be a liability on long trips.

blue_footed_boobie wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 23, 2024 12:49 pm

I appreciate all the replies. I will take the advice and buy new boots. My skiing partners are pressuring me not to be a liability on long trips.

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