Where to fix wading boots?

[A Matthews]

I have some spiked felt Patagonia wading shoes and need to get them repaired. One shoe lost the felt sole a while back and the other is starting to come off. I called Patagonia and their guarantee doesn't apply since I've had the shoes for more than a year. They recommended a place in Colorado called Dardanos but with postage and all it will probably cost about $70. Is there a local place in the Sacramento area that can fix my boots? Or, is there a place I can buy my own felt soles and fix these boots myself? Thanks.

Anthony

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

If you package them up with a nice note and send them to Patagonia, they will probably give you a new pair.

[flyfshrmn]

I've reglued felt soles a couple of times. It's not that difficult. Pull or cut the old soles off and smooth the bottom of the boot, removing any old cement or felt pieces still adhering. Roughen the surface slightly with an abrasive -sandpaper or a coarse 3M pad. Wash the soles clean and let them dry thoroughly, then apply a moderately thick layer of good quality cement, Shoo Goo, Barge cement, etc. and place the new soles on. Place thin flexible wood or plastic on the new felts and clamp in place with large clamps. Let them set for at least 48 hours in a warm dry place.

This has worked well on cheaper shoes. My more expensive (and higher quality) shoes from James Scott have never needed resoling. I wore out the uppers before the soles.

I suspect that Bill is correct. Patagonia seems to be a reputable company and if you send the shoes back to them, they may well repair or replace them at no cost, simply to keep their customer's good will. I have found several companies in the fishing equipment business will do this, amongst them Simms, Scientific Anglers, and Cabelas. These companies may on occasion try to save some cost by purchasing cheaper goods and when they fail to live up the companies' quality standards, rather than lose customers, they will replace the items far beyond a warranty period.

[David Lee]

There's a good Cobbler on the corner of San Juan and Sunset - if you can find some felts , he can put them on for you .

HTH ,

David

[Terry Thomas]

We also have a name of a shoe repair that sews felt on to wading boots. I believe it is on Arden Way. Give the shop a call tomorrow, Kiene'e, and I'll give you their phone number.
Terry

[A Matthews]

Thank you all for the suggestions. My boots are still in pretty good shape aside from the felt and I'd rather try and fix them instead of replace them.

[flycaster5]

I've had Patagonia boots for the last 6 years and have replaced the felt soles a number of times. Typically I'd take them in to the nearest Patagonia store and they'd give me a new pair on the spot, whether they were a year old or older.

However, after doing that a number of times (this is a common issue from what I hear), I decided it would be easier to do it myself. Some shoo-goo does the trick, with prescribed preparation above. I love the boots, and it's too bad they didn't sew on the soles in addition to glueing them, but the fix is simple enough and the shoo-goo works great; I've had 60 or 70 trips since my first fix and no problems.