WHEN TO RESOLE
If you want you expensive climbing shoes to last longer, resole earlier for less
When to Resole video
When is the best time to resole your beloved climbing shoes? Click the video link to find out more...
DOES MY TOE RAND RUBBER NEED TO BE REPLACED?
Does my toe rand rubber need replacing? The picture here shows an example of two replaced toe rands. See original pics here.
For examples of our repaired toe rands please see our "Before and After Pics" page.
Toe rand rubber needs to be replaced if:
1. There is the smallest hole in the toe rand rubber.
2. If the rubber has not broken through yet but is too thin in the in the toe box area of your shoes.
New rand rubber is 1.5mm - 2mm thick. Worn rand rubber needs to be at least 1mm thick to take a resole.
To self assess:
Firstly look for areas of abrasions or holes.
Feel for inconsistency in rubber thickness. Feel for soft spots indicating worn, thin, rubber.
Feel for usually horizontal indents or creases around the toe box area.
If these are present, then the rand rubber may be too thin to take a fresh resole.
Feel and push around the big toe area to gauge the thickness of the rand. If it feels less than 1mm thick it likely needs to be replaced.
FYI - If you have climbed on a pair of climbing shoes for 6 months and say only 30-40% of the thickness of toe rand rubber remains, it is likely the thin rands will not outlast the brand new sole rubber underneath from a resole in the next few months.
We will assess your shoes after we receive them and let you know then what repairs are absolutely necessary. This ensures the rand rubber lasts longer than the freshly resole sole rubber and allows you to climb longer.
We cannot resole shoes that have rands worn too thin as it may rip, puncture or tear during the resoling process.
We use rand rubber that matches closely the original rand rubber for most models as well as lasts that match the exact shape of your climbing shoes. This ensures a near return to factory specifications (see photo above and Resoled Shoe Gallery page).
Too far gone
These climbing shoes are too far gone to be resoled as there are extra repairs needed to stitch and patch the holes in the suede. If there are small holes through only the rubber, then they are easily repairable and can be resoled.
Time for a new pair of shoes.
WHEN TO RESOLE YOUR CLIMBING SHOES
Keep it cheap, just replace the sole.
Climbing shoes are constructed with materials to have a long life. The rubber on the sole at the toes however wears quickly and is designed to be replaced periodically to perform optimally.
Resole your shoes before there is any toe rand damage due to the sole being worn thin. This is cheaper and your shoes will be returned to you faster. Your shoes will have a longer life and most importantly they will preform better.
Avoid damaging the inner suede under the toe rand. Any holes through the inner suede may not be repairable and will be returned to you without being repaired or resoled (see below).
Please follow our Home page for current turnaround time which varies depending on the amount of work we receive.
SHOE CONSTRUCTION
These shoes only had the soles replaced.
This will be the cheapest way to resole your shoes.
Sole rubber is generally 3.5mm to 4mm thick. It is common to wear through the sole rubber at the toe tip or inside edge of the shoe.
Rand rubber is the 1.5mm to 2mm thin band of rubber covering your toes on top of the rubber sole and wrapping half way or fully around the top of the shoe. The rubber is sticky but not durable at all.
Want more info? Click on the link:
CLIMBING ON THE RAND - NEW RANDS LIKELY
How to reduce the cost of your resoles:
Avoiding climbing on the rand will reduce the cost of your resoles and your shoes will also be returned to you more quickly.
Climbing on the sole rubber is what climbing shoes are designed to do. Any climbing on the thin rand rubber (where the sole should be) means that the sole rubber has been worn through enough and the shoes are ready to be resoled.
These shoes may likely need the rand replaced depending on how thin it is. If the rand rubber is too thin to attach the sole then replacing this will increase the cost of your resole significantly.
See FAQ's page for how to self assess your rands.
This is avoidable by getting these shoes resoled earlier.
HOLES
No longer just a resole:
These shoes are too far gone for simple resole. Any holes through the inner suede will not be repaired and the shoes will be returned to you without being repaired or resoled.
Time for a new pair of shoes.
FULL RAND DAMAGE
No longer just a resole:
Too damaged, too late, these TC Pros needed substantial repair.
If there is extensive damage to the upper rand, replacing a full wrap-around rand is possible but yet again more expensive, adding more time, more materials and repair work.
They can be done but you will have to ask yourself whether you want these shoes repaired. See final full rand repaired and resoled photo next.
Prolong the quality of your climbing shoes
These are the same TC Pros from the photo above that had their full rands replaced plus inner suede was stitched.
Preserve the integrity of your shoes by only climbing on the sole.
Bottom line, resole earlier than is obvious.
Have fun climbing,
Sticky Rubber team.