shoes 2-060
Nike Wrestling Shoes from 1988, crumbling
Yet another pair of disintegrating Nikes. The soles, or what is left of them, have become brittle and are cracking. In fact a good sized piece which had been patched with shoe goo fell off when I put them on for these pictures.
I bought these about 1988 in my unending quest for lightweight shoes with no artificial support and good ground feel. They were pretty inexpensive, and the place I got them from only had this one pair, they said they were discontinued. I don't even remember what size they really are, possibly 8 or 8 1/2, but very comfortable.
The first issue came when I hiked on lava fields in Hawaii in 1989. The sharp lava cut slits right through the thin sole in several places. I am glad it didn't cut slits in my feet! Some of the slits were quite long, but the shoes still stayed on my feet for the rest of my travels.
When I got home, I eventually glued the slits with crazy glue, which more-or less worked. I had to re-glue them from time to time.
A few months later, the heels wore through. Then the soles in the toe and ball of my foot area. I patched them with shoe goo a few times until the holes got too big, and merged with the slits from the lava. At that point I wore them with the holes.
That winter, I tried an experiment that worked well. I took the soles from an old pair of flip-flops and stuffed them in the bottom inside of the wrestling shoes. That worked very well, they stayed dry and warm, even when walking in snow or puddles.
The next year, the holes got so large that my toes tended to pop out the bottom when I walked, and I sort of "retired" them. I did still use them when bike riding some times.
I bought another pair of wrestling shoes, a different make as these were no longer made, and wore them some, but they were never as comfortable as the Nikes.
shoes 2-060
Nike Wrestling Shoes from 1988, crumbling
Yet another pair of disintegrating Nikes. The soles, or what is left of them, have become brittle and are cracking. In fact a good sized piece which had been patched with shoe goo fell off when I put them on for these pictures.
I bought these about 1988 in my unending quest for lightweight shoes with no artificial support and good ground feel. They were pretty inexpensive, and the place I got them from only had this one pair, they said they were discontinued. I don't even remember what size they really are, possibly 8 or 8 1/2, but very comfortable.
The first issue came when I hiked on lava fields in Hawaii in 1989. The sharp lava cut slits right through the thin sole in several places. I am glad it didn't cut slits in my feet! Some of the slits were quite long, but the shoes still stayed on my feet for the rest of my travels.
When I got home, I eventually glued the slits with crazy glue, which more-or less worked. I had to re-glue them from time to time.
A few months later, the heels wore through. Then the soles in the toe and ball of my foot area. I patched them with shoe goo a few times until the holes got too big, and merged with the slits from the lava. At that point I wore them with the holes.
That winter, I tried an experiment that worked well. I took the soles from an old pair of flip-flops and stuffed them in the bottom inside of the wrestling shoes. That worked very well, they stayed dry and warm, even when walking in snow or puddles.
The next year, the holes got so large that my toes tended to pop out the bottom when I walked, and I sort of "retired" them. I did still use them when bike riding some times.
I bought another pair of wrestling shoes, a different make as these were no longer made, and wore them some, but they were never as comfortable as the Nikes.