Thread: Meindl Boot Failure !

Thought I would see how many folks have had they Meindl Boots sole fail/disintegrate, I love my Meindl Boots & have 5 pairs, some 10yrs old & just had a sole disintegrate on a 4-5yr old pair, that were in 85+ percent condition, very little wear on the sole, lucky it was a 3hr walk, talked to the agent & they said tough get them resoled at my expense, this happens to a lot of them if you don't wear them regularly (one lady said ever day/week) !!!

Well a lot of people may only wear them once or twice a year & expect (when you paid out over $600) them to be Ok cleaned, oiled & put away till next hunt, you don't wear the same boots for all types of hunt, what if I had been half way home near dark on a Thar hunt, you could die up there in your socks !

It would also be good if we knew what type of sole was most at risk, I hear it is the "Vibram"in the yellow emblem, same as my 7yr old Burma's which are Ok for now, I have a 12-14yr old pair with the "Meindl Shoes For Active" in the Blue emblem that are still in great condition ?

Yes - its a lot more common than we all think/know
As you know I have been bringing in exc quality "used" Boots from East Europe - Lowa - Meindl - Hanwag - Scarpa etc

One lot we got from same person - all failed in the Sole
The material between the Vibram & inner sole turns to mush - like a crumbly cottage cheese texture
Then the Vibram sole peels off and all this crumbly stuff literally fall out

Anyway - its to do with storage and age
One of the pair I sold to a FM - sent them to Meindl here in NZ and they said this

"boots need to be worn also need to be kept in cool dry place away from humidity"
He also said (for memory) that the soles are designed to pump - so when in use they circulate air - when not in use and stored damp/humid place they will deteriorate in the area between tread sole and inner sole


So - yes - paying 5-600 notes then have them fail is not good, why I never buy New
Make sure they are fully dry and do not use excessive heat to dry them and then keep them in a dry cool cupboard when not used

So use as much a possible - wear to town or work occasionally - about all you can do

Good to have you back@sarvo good info there

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I’d be really pissed off. Meindl used to have a great reputation for quality and reliability- would not touch them now ! Heard too many stories like this.

Originally Posted by chainsaw

I’d be really pissed off. Meindl used to have a great reputation for quality and reliability- would not touch them now ! Heard too many stories like this.

As I said above the 3 pairs I had fail were - Lowa - Meindl and a a pair of Hanwag
I don't actually think its unique to one Brand in particular

Meindl - maybe because 70% out there last 20 years were Meindl - so you hear more about them, remember bad news travel wider and faster than good :-)

Yeah this happens too our meindls at work, at approximatly 5yrs old the soles peel off regardless of how little use they've had. I spoke to a cobbler and he said that the polyurethane(?)
impact cushion breaks down over time and has nothing to do with the glue and there is nothing that you can do about it, the boots are made to be worn daily until they're stuffed, not one every three months over 20 years.

Yip had my sole fall off when I was working in Canada. Half way through a 12hr hike was not ideal

4-5 yr old boots and you are having a go at the supplier really?

Common problem. I found the sole off a Meindl boot a long way into the Kawakas once. I bet the owner was pretty pissed off.
I have heard this BS about "they will fail if you don't use them". If you pay $600 for a pair of boots you expect them to last more than 5 years regardless of how often you wear them. I have a pair of Scarpa's going on 25 years old and they are just starting fall apart now but I now hear Scarpa are advertising their mid soles as "environmentally friendly" because they break down in landfills (and probably prior to that too).

Yup happened to mine the newer ones not the really old ones go figure. Cost me a fortune to have Stager resole them. Left a really sour taste in the wallet.

5 years is a pretty good lifespan on a pair of boots really.

it could be worse, a quick google of the problem and i found this on the lowa site, seems its not uncommon as mentioned above

Boot Sole Separation (Hydrolysis)
Sole Units will degrade when your footwear is used only occasionally and is stored for long periods of time. Sole units degrade faster than if the footwear is worn regularly. Hydrolysis is a normal material aging process that occurs in all footwear with a cushioned PU midsole independent of the manufacturer. The process also occurs in automobile, tires, ski boots or helmets and does not represent lower quality or even a quality issue in materials or workmanship.

There are two types of sole injection technology popular with outdoor boots: EVA and PU. LOWA uses PU Injected Technology, to extend the life of their boots.

PU vs. EVA
We use PU on our midsoles. It's a terrific shock absorber, rebounds well, will last longer on the trail and offers better comfort. You will get two to five times the performance life compared to molded EVA midsoles.

When a PU midsole begins to deteriorate, you'll see small cracks along the injection area, above the sole unit. This is an indication that your boots are wearing out.

* If you are experiencing sole unit separation, or degradation, please send us an email. Our customer service team will contact you regarding the age of the boots and what steps can be taken regarding the sole separation.

https://www.lowaboots.com/about-lowa...nty-and-repair

Originally Posted by scoped

5 years is a pretty good lifespan on a pair of boots really.

it could be worse, a quick google of the problem and i found this on the lowa site, seems its not uncommon as mentioned above

Boot Sole Separation (Hydrolysis)
Sole Units will degrade when your footwear is used only occasionally and is stored for long periods of time. Sole units degrade faster than if the footwear is worn regularly. Hydrolysis is a normal material aging process that occurs in all footwear with a cushioned PU midsole independent of the manufacturer. The process also occurs in automobile, tires, ski boots or helmets and does not represent lower quality or even a quality issue in materials or workmans
There are two types of sole injection technology popular with outdoor boots: EVA and PU. LOWA uses PU Injected Technology, to extend the life of their boots.

PU vs. EVA
We use PU on our midsoles. It's a terrific shock absorber, rebounds well, will last longer on the trail and offers better comfort. You will get two to five times the performance life compared to molded EVA midsoles.

When a PU midsole begins to deteriorate, you'll see small cracks along the injection area, above the sole unit. This is an indication that your boots are wearing out.

* If you are experiencing sole unit separation, or degradation, please send us an email. Our customer service team will contact you regarding the age of the boots and what steps can be taken regarding the sole separation.

https://www.lowaboots.com/about-lowa...nty-and-repair

If the said boots are only being worn for the occasional hunt/tramp, then NO , 5 years is not good enough

Originally Posted by Sarvo

Yes - its a lot more common than we all think/know
As you know I have been bringing in exc quality "used" Boots from East Europe - Lowa - Meindl - Hanwag - Scarpa etc

One lot we got from same person - all failed in the Sole
The material between the Vibram & inner sole turns to mush - like a crumbly cottage cheese texture
Then the Vibram sole peels off and all this crumbly stuff literally fall out

Anyway - its to do with storage and age
One of the pair I sold to a FM - sent them to Meindl here in NZ and they said this

"boots need to be worn also need to be kept in cool dry place away from humidity"
He also said (for memory) that the soles are designed to pump - so when in use they circulate air - when not in use and stored damp/humid place they will deteriorate in the area between tread sole and inner sole


So - yes - paying 5-600 notes then have them fail is not good, why I never buy New
Make sure they are fully dry and do not use excessive heat to dry them and then keep them in a dry cool cupboard when not used

So use as much a possible - wear to town or work occasionally - about all you can do

It cant be to do with storage and age can it? Must be the products they use? Glue etc?

Originally Posted by Gibo

It cant be to do with storage and age can it? Must be the products they use? Glue etc?

Yea - @scoped above covered it correct

I got a pair of Mindls from @Sarvo and they shit themselves.
I went through Stagers to get some resolution as the boots I brought were MINT. They re-glued soles twice.
I got ahold of Sarvo and kept him in the loop about what was going on. Because hes such a good bastard he replaced them with a pair of Han Wags. Thats customer service right there.

Sorry Paul, its really out of our hands, Most high end boots have Vibram soles and if they are not worn often the PU material of the sole unit created by Vibram does show a slow degradation over time when left in storage with no use. The boot is designed to be worn often. The walking motion pushes air through the structure and materials of the boot and sole. This fresh air movement dries the materials and staves off the degradation. Life spans of more than 10yrs are normal when the boots are worn regularly.
The number one worst thing to do with boots with PU and EVA sole units is to not wear them and leave them stored for ages after a couple of field uses. Water and humidity will be sitting inside the boot materials and structure for years slowly degrading the materials. The boots should be worn for minimum a few days per month and ideally once a week. These will need to be resoled as no point in gluing them again. This would have to be at your cost however. We can send them to the repairer should take about two weeks. Cost is $180.