Skate shoes don’t last very long. And it doesn’t matter if the roller shoes have double or triple stitching and if the laces are protected by reinforcements or if the areas of the shoe that often come into contact with the grip are made of a durable material… skateboarding prematurely wears out shoes.
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Features to consider for skate shoes
Areas that wear out on skate shoes
- Where the grip rubs : on the side of the shoe near the toe. Particularly noticeable among street skaters and practitioners who throw their tricks relatively hard (during 3-6 flips for example). Potentially repairable
- At the laces : for practitioners who pop big ollies and really bend their ankles, the laces wear out faster than normal. Not really serious since laces are not too expensive to replace.
- At the sole : with the sole in contact with the board, it develops areas of fragility. The sole can come unglued (bad luck), crack, or become very thin and no longer protect the foot. Nothing can be done in this case; you need to change shoes.
Not wearing your skate shoes?
To make shoes last longer, it is possible to avoid wearing them. By stopping skateboarding or having a grip that doesn’t catch. Not really realistic as solutions.
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However, having multiple pairs of shoes and keeping the most damaged pair for skating is something feasible.
Repairing your skate shoes?
There is a product called ShoeGoo that can repair shoes.
Bought in a tube, this soft paste is applied to the weakened area of the shoe with a wet finger or an ice cube (it smooths the paste and prevents it from sticking). After waiting a few hours (24 if possible), the ShoeGoo hardens. With a soft and relatively elastic consistency, ShoeGoo is shiny and sticks when you scrape the shoe against the grip.
Dry ShoeGoo can fill holes, temporarily reinforce shoes, and allow you to continue skating for a while. Shoes repaired this way are no longer really presentable, but for skateboarding, that’s not fundamental.
A tube of ShoeGoo
Is ShoeGoo dangerous?
A product banned for sale in France a few years ago due to its harmfulness (it was used as a narcotic for inhalation), the product is once again available but not necessarily easy to find. It is possible to buy it online here.
What are the alternatives to ShoeGoo?
Special glue tubes like Solarez or All Star Gum skate have the same mixture.
Tag : the profession of shoemaker