Resoling materials

I’ve always heard a lot of good things about this guy Dave Page, cobbler. I’m not sure if he sells parts, but you could probably get some good leads from them about sourcing.
-Mark

Many shoe repair shops have foam sole material like the soles on HushPuppies in sheets. It’s light, protective and durable.

5.10 sells resoling kits. They have soles for their approach shoes with the “dot” pattern. Its a good lightweight, low impact, tread pattern. Probably not much use in soupy mud, but I like it for my location (CO Rockies)

JR,
I agree that the 5.10 “dot” sole material is nice ETC but it is not light. I have two pieces of the “dot” sole. It is 6″ by 14″ and one piece weighs 7.3oz. The dots are 1 cm or about 3/8″ diameter.

It might be the lightest sole material with a pattern on it that a MYOG person might be able to buy.

I have looked for something lighter and haven’t found anything that I like.

Well, if its the lightest out there for the DIYer, I guess it’ll just have to do ;) Its still about 5 lbs lighter than the lightest Vibram replacment sole.

At that weight, in that size, I bet if it was trimmed down to a size 9.5 (the average American foot size, or so Ive been told), that 7.3oz should trim down to 3 or 4oz per foot. Not too shabby if you can come up with a light upper. Maybe no-see-um with some grosgrain for reenforcment?

I tried some of their approach shoes in the 90s. The rubber tended to pick up a lot of dust and slip. Most noticeable on slick floors. Great for scrambling, but rock tends to clean out climbing rubber. Also, bouldering pads work like doormats. Maybe they have improved?

I am putting in another plug for Dave Page, a local treasure here in Seattle. I don't know if he will sell you materials, but besides the fact that he and his brother do GREAT work on repairing and modifying whatever footwear your sport requires, he's the go-to-guy for answers and ideas- he's also a walking movie trivia encyclopedia!
Dave Page Cobbler, Seattle Shoe Repair
3509 Evanston Ave N • Seattle, Washington 98103
(206) 632-8686
http://www.davepagecobbler.com/

You might look at inexpensive flip-flops in appropriate patterns and same-depth thickness. The soles glue very well to wood and various plastics with Gorilla glue and various two-part epoxies. I don't know why they would not glue to any number of fabics or leather.
How do I know this? I use constant-thickness flip-flop soles for ultra-lightweight rifle recoil pads. Hey, there's a big weight difference between a 4- or 5-ounce commercial and a half-ounce one that works just as well. Big cost difference, too: $3 (for two soles) vs. $29 for one Sorbothane pad.