Extending life of sneakers

[friedmmj]

I have a pair of Teva water resistant sneakers that I really like and they have held up extremely well.

The only issue is that the soles have worn to a point they are smooth rubber over the majority of the surface.  No holes. It decreased traction.  Has anyone found a good aftermarket product that can be glued to the bottom of sneakers to provide traction or something similar?

I’d hate to throw them away since the tops have lots of life and they are really comfortable.

[socaso]

I have never had Tevas but I've had many pairs of shoes repaired with quite good results. I'd start by searching and calling shoe repair in your area and if that doesn't work look for mail in services. There are quite a few shoe restoration services out there doing mail in. It's a great feeling to get more life out of a favorite pair of shoes. Good luck!

[Retire-Canada]

I'd have two concerns trying to extend the life of shoes that were that worn:

1. Unless you wear the soles out precisely evenly over the whole surface you are tilting the shoes and therefore your feet. That's not great for your biomechanics and the wear/tilt will accelerate since you are shifting your weight on each foot in the direction of the tilt.

2. Modern shoes have constructions that absorb shocks that wear out over time so the shoe isn't performing as designed, which can lead to more biomechanical problems.

I see a fair number of people walking around on worn out shoes with their feet tilted. Presumably they are not having serious problems at that point, but they are doing repetitive strain type damage that will eventually lead to an acute problem unless they replace the shoes.

[kay02]

I'd have two concerns trying to extend the life of shoes that were that worn:

1. Unless you wear the soles out precisely evenly over the whole surface you are tilting the shoes and therefore your feet. That's not great for your biomechanics and the wear/tilt will accelerate since you are shifting your weight on each foot in the direction of the tilt.

2. Modern shoes have constructions that absorb shocks that wear out over time so the shoe isn't performing as designed, which can lead to more biomechanical problems.

I see a fair number of people walking around on worn out shoes with their feet tilted. Presumably they are not having serious problems at that point, but they are doing repetitive strain type damage that will eventually lead to an acute problem unless they replace the shoes.

Yes!  I run/walk a lot and shoes need to be replaced more often than people think!!

It's worth the money to get decent shoes overall too but that's another conversation. :)

[friedmmj]

I'd have two concerns trying to extend the life of shoes that were that worn:

1. Unless you wear the soles out precisely evenly over the whole surface you are tilting the shoes and therefore your feet. That's not great for your biomechanics and the wear/tilt will accelerate since you are shifting your weight on each foot in the direction of the tilt.

2. Modern shoes have constructions that absorb shocks that wear out over time so the shoe isn't performing as designed, which can lead to more biomechanical problems.

I see a fair number of people walking around on worn out shoes with their feet tilted. Presumably they are not having serious problems at that point, but they are doing repetitive strain type damage that will eventually lead to an acute problem unless they replace the shoes.

thanks for the thought provoking reply.  I've ordered a new pair in the same style and color as my worn out ones.

[Hotstreak]

I have my office-job shoes re-soled at least once before replacing.  It's been a few years but I think it cost $30 or $40 or something like that.  They cut off the old sole and glue a new one on, so there are no concerns about uneven wear (although if your insole is uneven, you may want to replace that too).  I wonder if this is possible for athletic shoes since they have more specialized soles.

[Metalcat]

I have my office-job shoes re-soled at least once before replacing.  It's been a few years but I think it cost $30 or $40 or something like that.  They cut off the old sole and glue a new one on, so there are no concerns about uneven wear (although if your insole is uneven, you may want to replace that too).  I wonder if this is possible for athletic shoes since they have more specialized soles.

I really don't think this is possible for athletic shoes. The soles are pretty integrated into the structure unlike dress type shoes where there's a bottom strip that can be removed and replaced.

[Retire-Canada]

There was a popular outdoor sandal brand that would resole and re-strap their sandals if you sent them in before you started to wear into the midsole. However, once you factored in the shipping both ways and the cost of the resole/re-strap it was questionable whether it made sense from a cost perspective or an environmental perspective vs. buying new.