Vibram # 1253 Lug Half Sole 47/48 Men's Pair

The 1/2 Vibram #1235 lug soles were purchased and installed to a new pair of 10 1/2 cowboy boots that came with a traditional walking heel and sole minimally grooved and suitable for dry/ wet conditions only. Given that these new boots were to be worn in snow and ice conditions, a lug sole was the option for added traction. Installation: I traced the outline of the boot sole to the Vibram lug sole leaving only about 1/16 surplus. The soles were trimmed with an X-acto #11 blade before gluing. Trimming was done from the solid surface down thru to the the lug sections and patience with cutting small depths at a time resulted in a very good initial trim fit. The trimming took about 10/15 minutes per sole. Solvent based contact cement was applied to both surfaces and allowed to dry. Wax paper was used between the dry glue surfaces to allow for proper alignment leaving an equal amount material for final trim. To get a good bond with the contact cement I put the boots on and "stepped" them to the best possible contact area. Small spring type clamps (not baggie clips) were applied to the perimeter of the sole to insure good edge bonding. You do not want edge gaps so use the spring type clamps. Final trim was accomplished on a bench sander after 24 hours of dry time insuring a complete bond. I suspect the #11 X-acto blade could have also completed the final trim too, but the bench sander took far less time. The resoled boots have been worn every day for many weeks in snow, ice, dry and wet conditions with zero sign of the soles delaminating. As stated, the soles are as advertised, installed easily with the correct cement, edge clamps and trim tools. I will now resole a pair of dress boots whose soles have gone to a better place using the Vibram dress shoe sole. Update: 6.10.15 Wore these boots thru midwest winter and worst the wet spring had to offer; the soles remain perfectly bonded. The dress boots were resoled with the dress Vibram sole and dittos for installation and bonding.

I installed this along with a matching heel lift on my Wolverine 1000 mile boots. They turned out great and my boots are no longer a hazard in bad weather. These added a lot of grip over the original leather soles.

I was expecting it to be a little thicker, and was a little disappointed by the size. However, it's still not a bad product, just thinner that I thought. Still recommend it, though.

Works great! Fit my size 11 wide shoes with room to spare. Works great! I needed to belt sand off the heavy lugs of the original shoes to get a flat glueable surface, Then to get a good bond, I primed and roughed up (150 grit sandpaper) the glue surface of the new Vibram sole. Then I traced the correct shoe position on to the new soles - once the surfaces touch there was no going back! I bought the Barge original (smelly) contact cement and primer followed the directions, letting the glue dry for a while before joining the two surfaces. Use a mask with organic vapor filter or at least do this step out of doors. Other adhesives may work, but through experimentation I found the roughing up and priming made a big difference because the Vibram surface was a bit slick as received.

Great sole. glued on well with Barge cement. Only complaint is that it is a little spendy. Half sole plus the heel sole was $25 for the two, which is 1/5 of the way to the cost of new boots.

This product has very misleading advertising. A sole is NOT .4" thick, but both soles placed together are .4" thick including the lugs. The thickness of the sole itself between lugs is .08", paper thin. So OK for a office shoe but for none other. You decide if it is waste of money.

Cobbler skills abound. Gonna need to trim, gonna need to grind old boot, gonna need good glue and patience in adhering. About a quarter inch thick made of good rubber. If your boots are stitched I'd take somewhere that can do a pro job. But if you want some more life out of a comfortable old boot that you love, have fun with learning some cobbling skills.

Not what i expected. For the overall size i would have expected them to be for a boot,which would require a deep tread, these are very shallow.I would not order again.

I used it to convert my boss formal oxfords from leather to rubber and to add some thickness so they can be more comfortable. Got it done professionally from. Minutes Dubai and they did a good job.