Not a tale of epic survival. Just a minor event in which I failed (half way) to prepare.

Yesterday was the first not too cold not raining Saturday in a long while. Mrs. T and I went for a walk in an arboretum near home. A very pleasant outdoor environment in a seemingly endless suburbia.

I wore my 15 year old high quality hiking boots. In their early days they faithfully took me through numerous Boy Scout hikes and high adventures with my two sons, including 150ish miles in Camp Philmont, the BS jewel in NE New Mexico.

When we were about halfway through the intended hike (farthest from the car) the right sole suddenly came almost entirely off. Only a small portion at the toe remained attached. No problem, I will simply pull out the duck tape that I keep in my back pants pocket and....wait....where is my duck tape!!! I left it in my other pants at home!!! Grrrrrr

Alternate plan, tie it on with paracord. That was still in my vest, as always. That worked sufficiently well to get me to the car.

Somehow I simply cannot remember to check every pocket when I change clothes. All the thinking and preparing that I try to do and when I needed an item it was not there.

Maybe a 2 is 1, 1 is none situation?

Mr Thompson, maybe you need a small shoulder bag? No need to shift stuff from pocket to pocket, just grab the bag.

Good job working the problem.

And the timely reminder that I need to replace my boots is welcome.

I wear a multi-pocket vest. That is where the paracord is carried. For some reason I never put duck tape there. From now on there will be.

As I've said many times, experience is the best teacher. I second the EDC bag, something I always carry; I recognize that is not for everybody.

Until experience proves me wrong, my EDC bag is at the right balance between too much and too little.

My weekender bag, the next level up, is still being beta tested.

Jeanette Isabelle

Wow, a seemingly simple thing like that could ruin your day. As I think about it, I would not have anything on my person to fix something like that. I guess I'd have to take out the shoelace and make that into an improvised sole binding/shoelace for the walk back home.

I'm surprised that a sole would be glued (rather than stitched) on to a hiking boot (assuming yours were glued - I can't imagine a stitched sole just falling off). I remember way back when as I bought a pair of hiking boots for backpacking, the salesman was telling me all about the "Norwegian welt" that held the sole on and how robust that was. But that was back in the day when a "hiking boot" was more like what we might call a "mountaineering boot" today. Those old Vasque (or was it Raichle?) brand leather boots were super tough, super thick, and super heavy. I remember having to do a significant amount of break-in to get the boots ready for the trail. Modern hiking boots are probably a lot lighter and higher tech. I haven't bought a new pair in decades. I guess I should go look into some. But I'll have to remember to carry some duct tape or paracord for emergencies. Thanks for the heads up ... I never would have thought of this problem.

You felt nothing irregular prior to failure? I’ve never had a catastrophic failure with boots, always a gradual warning of doom — graceful degradation.

Vests are great. Lots of pockets — enough that a regular inventory is necessary. I’ve had some items seemingly lost that turn up in my vest pocket with a change in weather.

Since those bygone days, which I remember well, "hiking" boots have grown lighter, and much easier to break in (often you can go right from the store to the trail), concurrent with the shift from stitched to glued soles. Glued soles seem to be about as reliable as stitched - I have experienced stitched soles separating, even with those famed Norwegian welts.

Today's hikers generally wear out as a unit - when the sole is shot, so is the rest of the shoe, and it is time for a new pair.

A small roll of duct tape is a good thing to carry in your essentials bag. I used some recently to repair a companion's shoe whose sole had separated. Good for lots of other sticky situations.

The sole seemed like it was cracked and crumbling. I do not wear these shoes often. They probably have a lot fewer miles on them than many of you folk would put on them. I did not feel the damage before this last use but surely it was happening. I would have thought it would take longer than 15 years to degrade the sole material.

To carry the duck tape I pull about 3-4 feet off a roll then re-roll it into a 5 inch long flat. Fits into the back pants pocket nicely, almost unnoticed.

I had the same thing happen with a pair of Nikes some time back.

On someone's recommendation I had a couple of feet of duct tape tucked in a vest pocket. I carry it wrapped around an old credit card. Makes a pretty flat package and stiff enough to peel easily.