Teva trouble.. reglue sole

[Clif]

1st let me say.. they are a couple of years old and no time to send back. My favs!! Still should have some life left as far as tread and strap condition. They are separating from the sole. One major and the other a bit but not yet a problem. Any ideas what to glue them with? Should be something that stays flexible. I NEED them next week. They get wet a lot!! HELP

[Jim Krueger]

Clif,

I have been wearing the Teva sandals since they came out some 15 or more years ago. Of the three or four pairs I've owned, the first several pairs were the earlier, flatter-soled models. I liked them best, due to my long feet, they were the less bulky in my kayaks.
At any rate, I think by the second and third pair, they started developing delamination problems. At first I tried water-based contact cement, then petroleum-based contact cement but it seemed to fail fairly shortly. Since then, I have happily settled on using Aqua Seal, it's been just the best!
Sometimes I would just have some short delaminations at various places around the sole. I would just enlarge them a little with my knife, pry them open, squirt in some Aqua Seal, then clamp the area overnight. Other times the delaminations have been severe enough that I took my knife and finished
completely seperating the sole layers, cleaned them well, and roughed them with course sandpaper for the best bond, then applied Aqua Seal to all surfaces, then clamped both pairs in between two boards for a day or two. ( if it weren't for the straps and buckles getting in the way, this clamping technique would be even better.)
Over the years I have come to understand the shortfalls of wearing open-toed sandals on the river... Marlo gave me a really nice pair of Keen shoes a couple of years ago that are so much better, and real comfortable, but with them comes enough length and bulk that I just can't fit them in any of my kayaks except my largest Rec. boat. Wouldn't be an issue if I paddled a canoe This is probably more than you wanted, but I do like my old Tevas, they have been pretty reliable. I just wish the company would have paid more attention to this detail to begin with.

Best Regards
Jim

[Clif]

Hey.. I have some of that!! and I know the feeling of only certain shoes fitting in my kayak. I hiked LOTS of miles in these Tevas, cooler feet makes less sweating. A creek to wade thru or rain is no issue.

Gorilla glue was also suggested, never used that stuff

[okieboater]

Having used Gorilla glue for several projects, for your teva project I recommend Aquaseal over Gorilla.

I am a big fan of Teva's for all the reasons mentioned above. I especially like the rugged sole pattern. Wearing them around camp is a good deal to air out feet that spent the day in paddle shoes.
The only problem I have is I lost count of toe nails ripped off in rafts or hiking.

I went to Keen water shoes for raft wear and they have solved the damage to toes issue. Only problem is the Keen sole design (at least for me) is not as good as Teva's are.

[Clif]

O No! The toe in mine are totally covered. Agree that is better than hangin out!

[T Yamashita]

I've fixed my old Tevas with goop glue and overnight clamping. It worked well. I now have Chacos and Keens. The Chacos are pretty kool and I've had them resoled once. Good luck, ty

[The Red Prophet]

Okie Boater wroe, "The only problem I have is I lost count of toe nails ripped off in rafts or hiking."

I hear you can pick up loose change with those toes.

[Moniker]

Had same thing happen with my Chacos,sent them back to Chaco and had them resoled at no charge.The straps on my Tevas are'nt as comfy as Chacos but I have'nt had any problems with my Tevas.Toe protection would be nice,also might help keep hot coals from being scooped between sandal and foot.