I'm facing a challenge with my non-verbal autistic son who loves to ride his scooter. He's pretty tough on his shoes, using them as brakes, and ends up wearing out a new pair every week, costing us around $100 a month. I've tried using crack filler to reinforce the soles, but it only lasts a couple of days. I'm looking for suggestions for a foam or pliable material that I could apply to his shoes to make them more durable. Anything like thin layers of rubber or other ideas would be appreciated. I'm willing to try pretty much anything, so links to products or DIY solutions would be super helpful. Thanks!
4 Answers
Have you considered getting vibram soles? They’re quite durable. If you invest in a few pairs, you could have them rotated through a cobbler for resoling when they wear out. That way, you'd have a steady supply of sturdy shoes without breaking the bank too much.
A friend of mine made custom skate shoes by gluing plastic chopping boards to the soles. It could be a fun DIY project, and you can shape them to fit his shoes! Might be worth a try.
You might want to look into products used by the longboarding community. They have some sole replacement options, like tire rubber that you can glue to the bottom of the shoes. Try searching for "foot brake soles" or "longboard brake soles"; you should find something useful there.
You could also check out Shoe Goo specifically made for shoe repairs. It might help reinforce the areas that he grinds through faster. Plus, if you can find shoes that naturally wear down slower, that would help too!
Great idea about the Shoe Goo! I've heard it works wonders for shoe repairs if applied right.
Yeah! I’ve had luck with cobblers before, and it's pretty cool how they can bring shoes back to life. Just make sure they're good at it!