Boot misfortune - can anyone help?

[fgd135]

Honestly, I don't think it would be worth the dollars spent to try to resole the OP's boots; and no adhesive that I am aware of will repair a detached sole.
Try to find a cheap pair of used 75mm boots that are intact, whether stitched or vulcanized soles, to use for now. Craigslist or Ebay might be worth a look, or a local second hand store.

[DG99]

It looks like all the commonly available 3 pin nordic backcountry boots have that same rubbery Vibram sole. You can tell, it has those same curves in the molding by the toe. I found mine are overly flexible compared to the stitched Norwegian welt soles on the boots that used to be more available before plastic Scarpa boots took over. I’m not surprised people could have trouble breaking up those rubber soles. The good thing is they’re relatively cheap, light and flexible for XC skiing. But I’d agree, might be better to go NNNBC or Xplore than those cheesy rubber soles.

Hmmmm……

[fisheater]

It looks like all the commonly available 3 pin nordic backcountry boots have that same rubbery Vibram sole. You can tell, it has those same curves in the molding by the toe. I found mine are overly flexible compared to the stitched Norwegian welt soles on the boots that used to be more available before plastic Scarpa boots took over. I’m not surprised people could have trouble breaking up those rubber soles. The good thing is they’re relatively cheap, light and flexible for XC skiing. But I’d agree, might be better to go NNNBC or Xplore than those cheesy rubber soles.

Hmmmm……

To me it appears as though the Alaska 75 is both thinner and longer. However, I will miss mine should the day comes that it fails. I really think I get a better kick out of my Alaska 75 than I do out of my Alaska BC.
For me, I have been really impressed with the K&G performance I get from the soft Alaska 75, while getting outstanding downhill performance by attaching a Rotte cable.
Don’t forget that Andrew is still manufacturing Norwegian welt 75 mm boots. They are difficult to acquire. It appears Crispi may be no longer manufacturing the Antarctic.
I guess my final thought in regards to my breakable Alaska 75, I bought my on close out for less than $100 to my door. That means I can buy two more pair and still be a bit cheaper than Alfa Free.
@DG99 the above is just my thoughts on 75mm. Preference for NNN-BC or Xplore is certainly every bit as valid. I’m not casting dispersions upon you or your preferences. It was really was the photo you posted, which really seemed to make it apparent that the Alaska 75 does indeed have a thinner and longer duckbill, than some of the other offerings.

[Capercaillie]

There is no way to fix that other than a complete resole. If there is some glue that bonds properly and is strong enough, what tends to happen is that the rubber immediately next to the bond starts tearing off.

Today NNNBC has the largest selection of boots (IMO the selection is even better than in the larger NNN market - for example, there is only *one* wide-width NNN boot model currently available), the boots are lighter than 75mm, they cost less, and they seem to be a lot more durable. Hard to go wrong with NNNBC.

Then you do not understand how Norwegian industry works. You see a new Rotty binding every year? Every ten years? Sorry to disappoint you, the Xplore works perfectly.

I don't find this racialist explanation in any way convincing. In hindsight NTN was a half-baked standard. Rottefella has been churning through various incompatible NNN binding and binding plate "standard" combinations for the past decade. The Xplore pins are a design with an inherently limited life - unlike bearings, retractable pins cannot be sealed effectively, and I can't picture ski boots with grease fittings being sold. The big question remains whether the pins will fail before some other part of the boot. One thing for sure is that Xplore soles do not have the duckbill bending and leverage issues that are causing all the reported 75mm glued boot failures.

I don't see why Rottefella would discontinue NNNBC bindings two years from now. If they want to force a switch to Xplore they can make more money by raising NNNBC binding prices.

[DG99]

[
DG99 the above is just my thoughts on 75mm. Preference for NNN-BC or Xplore is certainly every bit as valid. I’m not casting dispersions upon you or your preferences. It was really was the photo you posted, which really seemed to make it apparent that the Alaska 75 does indeed have a thinner and longer duckbill, than some of the other offerings.

No problem! All 2 of my boots are 75 mm. That’s just a Scarpa T2x and that bendy BCX675 which is sketchy on ice etc.

I was looking at getting a beefier 75 mm XC boot but feel skeptical given, if you look closely, all those glued boot soles are the same, though different boot manufacturers. I think it’s just an optical illusion that the Alaska is longer. I’ve looked at internet pictures and in the store a bit and the soles and lowers all have those same swoops and grooves. I guess Vibram makes them and hands them out. It doesn’t seem a beefier cuff would help if the sole is the same as my 675s.

[CwmRaider]

The sticking pin (which effected my wife's Alfa boot) problem was identified and fixed rapidly and with no hassle by Rottefella/Alfa. The problem does not exist anymore. It occurred while we are about three days from a road in Nothern Norway, we got the pin to unstick ourselves and finished the last days of our tour. Sent the boot to Alfa in Norway got it back a week later and it works great. 75 mm are dinosaur boots, new ones anyway.

I switched from 75 to Xplore recently so i already have been convinced of Xplore system.
How did you perform field repairs?

@Didier Lafond Crispi may be your best bet
https://www.crispi.it/en/shop-online/snow
https://www.crispi.no/aktivitet/fjellskisko
Im selling a pair of Crispi Bre in good condition, size 46 EU, from Norway.

Alternatively someone mentioned Andrew. I looked hard for the Andrew St Moritz without ever seeing one in my size including online, and i never got convinced that the other models were better than Crispi's offering.

[Krummholz]

@Didier Lafond

Have you looked in to Cold Vulcanizing Fluid? Mainly used for innertube / tire repair with a patch. I wonder if you prepped boot and sole, applied CVF to both, then clamped together, let cure 24 hours. Of course it would only hold if the boot is made with a rubber layer that the Vibram rubber soul could bond to.

Or

SC 2000 Cold Vulcanising Cement

A two part vulcanising cement that is used for bonding rubber to steel, rubber to rubber, fibreglass, concrete, wood and fabrics.

This versatile liquid adhesive will cure at room temperature which eliminates the need for heat curing

[randoskier]

The sticking pin (which effected my wife's Alfa boot) problem was identified and fixed rapidly and with no hassle by Rottefella/Alfa. The problem does not exist anymore. It occurred while we are about three days from a road in Nothern Norway, we got the pin to unstick ourselves and finished the last days of our tour. Sent the boot to Alfa in Norway got it back a week later and it works great. 75 mm are dinosaur boots, new ones anyway.

I switched from 75 to Xplore recently so i already have been convinced of Xplore system.
How did you perform field repairs?

@Didier Lafond Crispi may be your best bet
https://www.crispi.it/en/shop-online/snow
https://www.crispi.no/aktivitet/fjellskisko
Im selling a pair of Crispi Bre in good condition, size 46 EU, from Norway.

Alternatively someone mentioned Andrew. I looked hard for the Andrew St Moritz without ever seeing one in my size including online, and i never got convinced that the other models were better than Crispi's offering.

I took the skinny tip of my knife (a nail would have been better) and kept pushing straight into the hole repeatedly and it eventually popped out, had to do the same thing the next day. When we returned to civilization we contacted Alfa who had become aware of this early model problem with the the Rotty pins (they explained the engineering problem that they had rectified, I forget what the issue was). Sent it back to Norway and they got it back here to Italy ASAP and it is has been 100% fine ever since. Phew- I was so happy when my wife's pin popped back out, it was during a difficult part of the day and I had just broken through thin ice (water was only upper-calf high) and my Yeti gaiters kept my feet 100% dry. It would have been hose-clamp, Voile straps, duct tape binding if it had not come out.

[randoskier]

There is no way to fix that other than a complete resole. If there is some glue that bonds properly and is strong enough, what tends to happen is that the rubber immediately next to the bond starts tearing off.

Today NNNBC has the largest selection of boots (IMO the selection is even better than in the larger NNN market - for example, there is only *one* wide-width NNN boot model currently available), the boots are lighter than 75mm, they cost less, and they seem to be a lot more durable. Hard to go wrong with NNNBC.

Then you do not understand how Norwegian industry works. You see a new Rotty binding every year? Every ten years? Sorry to disappoint you, the Xplore works perfectly.

I don't find this racialist explanation in any way convincing. In hindsight NTN was a half-baked standard. Rottefella has been churning through various incompatible NNN binding and binding plate "standard" combinations for the past decade. The Xplore pins are a design with an inherently limited life - unlike bearings, retractable pins cannot be sealed effectively, and I can't picture ski boots with grease fittings being sold. The big question remains whether the pins will fail before some other part of the boot. One thing for sure is that Xplore soles do not have the duckbill bending and leverage issues that are causing all the reported 75mm glued boot failures.

I don't see why Rottefella would discontinue NNNBC bindings two years from now. If they want to force a switch to Xplore they can make more money by raising NNNBC binding prices.

NTN "was"? It has replaced 75mm in the offer of the top three makers of downhill-oriented plastic telemark boots. All three of the leading manufacturers completely stopped making 75mm plastic boots, no more, zero models, gone goodbye, gone forever. NTN replaced 75 mm for these heavier set-ups and wide skis. I believe the same will happen within two years to the NNN BC binding and quite possibly to XCD 75mm boots (already you see less and less of the 75mm versions of the Alaska, etc.). Small manufacturers like Alpina, and my neighbor here in Veneto- Crispi, do not want to manage a gazillion SKUs and all the shoe sizes across three variants of the same model in their inventories and distribution networks- they will rally around the Xplore as a standard.

Not sure what "racialist" means exactly but there is nothing racist about that post- the Norwegians are not a race they are a nationality and a diverse one.

I can buy the Xplore for 108 EUR here in Europe, that is roughly $115 The price will continue to narrow vis a vis the NNN BC and that will kill off the latter as it has no other advantages vs. the Xplore. Price will drop sharply as the pay off the large R & D, engineering, tooling and launch costs.

That's my 2 (EUR) cents anyway! Bon ski!

[randoskier]

Honestly, I don't think it would be worth the dollars spent to try to resole the OP's boots; and no adhesive that I am aware of will repair a detached sole.
Try to find a cheap pair of used 75mm boots that are intact, whether stitched or vulcanized soles, to use for now. Craigslist or Ebay might be worth a look, or a local second hand store.

What size? I think I have one pair left of Alico Ski March boots here, unused. I would part with it for postage. Let me rummage around and see. I have about 7 pairs of 75mm telemark boots that when lined up look like Darwin's theory of evolution- those are my wife's boots which she does not use, she is on the Xplore. She still uses 75 mm on the lift-serviced slopes in the Alps/Dolomites because she does not want to reinvest in new equipment. We were at the Tre Cime and Kronplatz last weekend (connected by a free ski train) and we only saw two other telemark skiers- one was a beginner and one was awesome good. I see less and less of them in the Alps, there was not that many to start with here.