Slippery soles?

Runcarla

I have a pair of sandals that I adore, however the soles are leather and the heel cap is a hard plastic. Besides being a tad noisy, they can be slippery. I know a cobbler could affix a rubber layer to the heel/sole - but I do not have access to a cobbler.

Is there a ‘hack’ or a product that is available for do-it-yourself that might resolve this problem?

6 months ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from Runcarla

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have no idea how durable these would be but this kind of thing is do-able, I think, and inexpensive enough to be worth a shot?

https://www.amazon.ca/Protecto....._1_8?crid=

6 months ago

pirouette

Active Member

I have a pair of boots that were slippy. I wore them to meet friends for lunch and ended up going into a shop called Foot Solutions and they were able to stick patches on the soles that solved the problem and they have remained in place ever since.

6 months ago

Chris987

Veteran

I’ve had some success with this by scuffing the soles on a rough surface like a gravel walkway. Wear the shoes normally and make the same motion you would to scrape off mud before going indoors. Asphalt is not rough enough. You’d have to find a gravel surface … easy for me because my driveway is.

6 months ago

Aquamarine

Veteran

Agree with Chris…this is what I’ve done too.

6 months ago

notsaf

Veteran

Sand paper!

6 months ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Take to these to a cobbler and they will sort it out

6 months ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I've roughed up the bottoms of my Aquitalia boots (below), by scuffing them on our driveway but they remain a bit slippy on wet or very smooth surfaces. That was actually my cobbler's suggestion! I'm thinking of finding something very thin to apply to the soles, but I think the problem is really the back edge of the heel -- it seems that is the part that slips sometimes when I step forward. I noticed it on our newly finished garage floor. Following along for more suggestions!

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Aquatalia Renza Block Heel Zip Bootie (Women)

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6 months ago

Runcarla

Veteran

I’ve had success with roughing up bottoms in the past, and this will probably work for the leather sole. The heel, however, is a hard plastic over the stacked leather and is resistant to roughing up. It’s the heel that feels insecure on some surfaces - painted concrete (like Janet) mentioned and glazed tiles.

6 months ago

missvee

Veteran

I googled Rubber Heel Replacements and it looks like there are a few products available (Amazon.ca, Etsy etc.) where you cut a rubber pad to size and glue on. Worth a try?
What a nuisance that you don’t have a local cobbler.

6 months ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

No access to a cobbler! I am shocked . Well a little, there are cobblers everywhere here. A good cobbler though is hard to find.

6 months ago

Indigoprint

Veteran

Adhesive tape works pretty good.
It has a rough surface and sticks pretty well and is easy to replace as needed.
I found some sticky patches at our Target store for that purpose.They worked ok, but did not stick as well as adhesive tape.

6 months ago

April

Veteran

RC, I think Suz is onto something. I have honestly had zero luck scuffing up a sole for traction unless it's slippery because it's right out of the box.

6 months ago

Runcarla

Veteran

We had a cobbler, but he moved to a city 1 hour north. If I can’t find a DIY solution, I’ll make the trip.

6 months ago

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