Scarpa Achilles repair

[Lophophaps]

My Scarpa boots have come apart at the Achilles region, both sides, This would not matter too much except that the blue anti-blister patches come off when the upper and lower sections come apart. There are a few options.

The inners could be stitched to the outer leather, but the leather is very tough and may be hard for an awl. The local cobbler is no use. Second, glue the two parts to the layer underneath, a soft black foam that may not be strong enough to resist the stress. Third, glue a thin patch over the tear.

Advice about which of these or a combination would be valued.

Scarpa Achilles

[Moondog55]

Never had to make such a repair, the only thing I can think of would be a silicon, or maybe one of the silicon modified urethanes. A very thin layer of such a glue probably wouldn't effect fit at all.
I repaired a rat hole in my big boots with such a glue and some cheap fleece, still holding up

[Lophophaps]

Moondog, thanks. I'll see what Bunnings have.

[Nuts]

I'd try stitching. Used a carpet needle and draw the fabric and leather together with some sort of locking suture style stitch, maybe catching a piece of fabric or light webbing in behind the stitch for reinforcement (and so you don't have to necessarily add tension /close the gap ) .. It may still pull out but..

[Lophophaps]

Nuts, thanks. I'll see if Spotlight have such a needle. Does the needle go through the outer leather?

[Nuts]

It's the curved needle you see in many kits (ie. a needle that can easily sew in and out from the one side) (spotted in supermarkets in the past)
Leather is not that difficult by hand, with a thimble or something similar to help drive the needle through.
But yes, i'd pick up the leather and the fabric sides a few mm out from the existing holes and draw them both together.
My awl had a set of needles including a curved 'carpet' needle, this would make it easier but those curved needles were also much thicker, making bigger holes. The key here would be to not over-tension and tear the holes.

There are some great glues now, but personally I can't see any glue holding that particular repair for long.

[deadwood]

Interesting - I've had three pairs of Scarpa Delta have this exact problem. Once it happens, it destroys your socks and then your heal. I changed boots with the last purchase for exactly this reason. It's a bit rubbish for an expensive pair of boots.

[telemarktim]

My Scarpa boots have come apart at the Achilles region, both sides, This would not matter too much except that the blue anti-blister patches come off when the upper and lower sections come apart. There are a few options.

The inners could be stitched to the outer leather, but the leather is very tough and may be hard for an awl. The local cobbler is no use. Second, glue the two parts to the layer underneath, a soft black foam that may not be strong enough to resist the stress. Third, glue a thin patch over the tear.

Advice about which of these or a combination would be valued.

Scarpa S.jpg

Hi Lophophaps and others, I also have Scarpa boots (Delta I think?). The liner around the heel failed early in their journey on my feet. The damage in my boot started somewhat lower down. My solution was to attach a protector to an inner sole or orthotic. Then I sewed the protector under the orthotic with hand stitching. The protector is made of two layers of thin polyester tent fabric with a heavier layer inside. It holds in place all day long. This attachment is quite wide and works similarly to a boot tongue. It wraps around my heel and Achilles and protrudes by ~50mm above the soft cuff of the boot. I pull on this protrusion when putting the boot on to set it in the right place. It has worked perfectly well for several years for very long through hikes and river walks and in-river fishing. It has arrested the damage to the boot and to me. I think it works so well because the two layers of polyester just eliminate the friction between my socks and the soft leather boot liner. It also had the virtue of doing no harm if it did not work! The boots are so comfortable that I don't want to replace them. "Maybe being a tightarse could be a factor as well." I hope this might help someone. The photo below might explain better than my words can.


PS. I have just edited this post to correct my description of the attachment of the protector after taking the photo. My previous description was mixed up with my method of making down slippers for scampering around while snow camping.
Tim

[telemarktim]

Interesting - I've had three pairs of Scarpa Delta have this exact problem. Once it happens, it destroys your socks and then your heal. I changed boots with the last purchase for exactly this reason. It's a bit rubbish for an expensive pair of boots.

Hi Deadwood, do you still have those crap Scarpa boots? If so what size are they? Can you guess my next question? Tim

[Lophophaps]

The protector is clever. To minimise friction that can cause blisters the protector should be be slippery.

[andrewa]

My expertise in medicine obviously extends to boots….!

I do do plenty of leatherwork , and also shoe repairs etc for the family. It’s not that complex.

I’d have used some decent leather glue to glue the loose bits down, and then cut some thin leather to sit around the heel, over the seam.

Leffler leather in Melb sells all this sort of stuff.

A