Orienteering Shoes that fall apart

[LostOldTimer]

Has anyone had the unfortunate occurrence of their orienteering shoes falling apart - usually the soles coming apart. This has happened to me with my last 2 pairs of shoes. First a hole appears andthe sole starts coming apart, but this can be stuck back with a suitable adhesive, but after further events they completely fall apart.
In both cases the shoes were the same make / type, and seem not to be manufactured as well as they ought.
i am reluctant to name them here, but wondered if anyone else has had the same happend recently. I know some have in the last year as i see them carrying their shoe in one hand, and the sole in the other, hoping to repair it.

[Oldman]

Yes, I have had this problem both with the sole coming away from the upper and the toe piece separating from the forefoot.

I was actually intending today to start a new thread on the value of O shoes, so your post enables me to do that easily.

Why do O shoes cost so much? (and as we have seen above suffer from poor quality often). I believe it is because they are made in Scandinavia. Why is there not an entrepreneur out there to get our shoes made at a fraction of European sourced shoes in an emerging market with shoe technology skills, such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, etc? Is there a vested interest in the O suppliers being unwilling to see prices drop and hence their profit go the same way? Is there an entrepreneur out there who can enter the market and solve this?

[andy]

had this too with an old(er) pair a few years ago. I was at an event and they were the only pair I had with me - some electrical tape made my run possible
I'm still using the same brand though - used them since day 1 pretty much.

[IanD]

Ken Broad used to say that drying O shoes using articficial heat, e.g. putting them on the radiator, would cause this.

[Oldman]

I was aware of this and have always since ensured that my shoes are dried slowly away from heat, so that's not the cause in my case.

[deebee]

I think this is the Scandinavian influence on all things orienteering. Many Swedish Orienteers renew their gear almost on an annual basis - new club suit, new training suit, new compass and new shoes, a lot of them wouldn't be seen dead in anything but the latest model. Consequently the shoes aren't made to (if you'll pardon the pun) last. When we used to wear Reebock Fab XC and the like in the old days, they lasted for ever but they were built using similar techniques to WW2 warships, and were about as comfortable to wear. Then came manufacturers such as adidas and nike making what were in effect studded trainers and Jalas and the like realised there was a market for comfortable o-shoes, even if they did wear out quickly. So you pays your money and you takes your choice, or rather you don't anymore because nobody makes the old style shoe.

[Gross]

and Jalas and the like realised there was a market for comfortable o-shoes, even if they did wear out quickly.

Not really an accurate statement Jalas shoes used to be almost indestructable... the pink champion lasted for ever.... One comment I made to them was that the shoes lasted too long...

And about Reebok - the old Fab XC was basically a hockey boot... the Contour was designed for orienteering... these were the days when Reebok was a small independent company operating out of Bolton... Norman Walsh also made O shoes... again he took a hockey boot sole & stuck it on a fell running shoe... remember getting a batch for Highland 77 & the glue was still wet

[mharky]

I think this is the Scandinavian influence on all things orienteering. Many Swedish Orienteers renew their gear almost on an annual basis - new club suit, new training suit, new compass and new shoes, a lot of them wouldn't be seen dead in anything but the latest model. Consequently the shoes aren't made to (if you'll pardon the pun) last.

WTF???

Stop talking jobby.

[RS]

Yes I've had a problem with my Walsh - they lasted less than a year and the sole came away from the upper but couldn't be glued back as on previous pairs because there was so little material to 'fold under'. Was told I'd been unlucky and had a rogue pair (but no offer of replacement)

[helen]

and Jalas and the like realised there was a market for comfortable o-shoes, even if they did wear out quickly.

Not really an accurate statement Jalas shoes used to be almost indestructable... the pink champion lasted for ever.... One comment I made to them was that the shoes lasted too long...

Agree with Gross - my Jalas Blacks have been the best O shoes I've ever used by far, and lasted fantastically well. Bought them at JK 04, have survived 3 O-Ringens, 2 weeks at Halden as well as countless UK events and still going, although they are starting to look a bit worn out!

[Becks]

There's been some complaints about Integrators before but I absolutely love my pairs and I've never had any last less than a year - with at least two uses a week and six or eight weeks of virtually constant O' in the summer! Wouldn't buy anything else. I wonder if how long they last has anything to do with running style or foot movement?

[HOCOLITE]

Besks I think you could be right there as I've had a pair of VJ's for years, but Rob goes through O shoes like there's no tomorrow. He has a pretty big foot problem and ends up with soles off usually twice a year. Hubby has less of a problem but still manages to get soles off in a fairly short time. Me I have to forget shoes for an event as an excuse to get a new pair

[Granny Babs]

Glad that the Integrators are worth the cash. I bought a pair in the summer having had really bad blisters from every other pair of shoes under the sun (except walshes). When I asked the young chappy what I was getting for my money when compared to other cheaper models he looked at me and said 'at your age ... you need all the stability that you can get .... and these are the right shoes for you'. At my age ..... I was 30 at the time .... cheeky monkey!!!! At least they have solved my blister problems.

[roadrunner]

I too find that Integrators and Walshes are the most comfortable, with Integrators lasting rather better. Adidas Swoop are good too, but I haven't had mine long enough yet to see how well they last.

Isn't it strange that we orienteers expect out O-shoes to last for ever, whereas a distance runner would expect to get through several pairs of trainers a year?

[Domhnull Mor]

We were discussing this subject the other week. I had found the same with drying the shoes too quickly, i.e. the sole came off but if I didn't dry the shoes then holes would quickly appear in the material due to scuffing of the softened material against rocks (more of a problem here admittedly). One of the other guys had solved this problem when the soles of his shoes started to fall off. He took them to a shoe-maker who literally "stitched" the soles in place. He has been happily using the shoes for over four years now without any problems (and he's a Scandinavian!)