Sole disintegrated

[MikeLA]

Hi All,
What causes Brit Army boots Soles to disintegrated. During a clear out found a new pair of Mk1 Desert Army boots today. Fantastic comfort when I put them on and after a full day out walking with the kids I had no heels left. Funny but did like them. Spend most of the walk picking up the rubber so I did not leave a mess.

 

[ozzy1977]

There was a problem with a few batches, when I dug out my last pair earlier this year the same thing happened to mine, ended up with a pair of altberg defenders far superior to the old issue boots.

 

[tiger stacker]

Same reason the CaB boots flaked away. Shelf life is five years, add in its more a plastic sole than rubber. I tried four pairs of desert boots, only comfy pair were my originals from 2004, the rest were twonk.

 

[MikeLA]

Did find them comfortable though and first day they were worn (late 1990's style) also the 8 hole style suited the way I liked to lace boots

 

[woof]

My son was issued the haix ones prior to going to Afghanistan last year, he says they are the best boots he's ever worn.

Rob

 

[Will_]

I've had that happen to pairs of old issue boots I've broken in then stored. Cheap rubbish.

 

[Goatboy]

A lot of boots will degrade if either not stored correctly or what tends to be worse just left doing nothing. Have seen it when folks buy a boot they like in bulk when it's going out of production, they squirrel them away 'till the pair they're using wears out. When they haul the new/old boots out they just fall apart, especially bad with EVA compounds; they need use to keep them supple. If left the material "sets" and becomes brittle, just falling apart on the feet.

 

[santaman2000]

A lot of boots will degrade if either not stored correctly or what tends to be worse just left doing nothing. Have seen it when folks buy a boot they like in bulk when it's going out of production, they squirrel them away 'till the pair they're using wears out. When they haul the new/old boots out they just fall apart, especially bad with EVA compounds; they need use to keep them supple. If left the material "sets" and becomes brittle, just falling apart on the feet.

This was what we experienced in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. As we pulled boots, vehicles, and other equipment out of prepositioned storage we discovered much of it unusable or in need of repairs before use. The boots and uniforms had what we loosely called "dry rot" as did all the tires, hoses, and rubber/plastic ducts on the vehicles. Mind you, these vehicles were "brand new" unused 1980s era vehicles that had been placed in storage aboard ships prepositioned in the Middle East for over a decade.

 

[Angry Pirate]

A lot of plastics contain plasticisers which are chemicals which cause the plastic to become flexible and soften it. After a while the plasticisers evaporate out and the plastics harden or become brittle. It is one of the reasons manufacturers recommend that you don't refill and reuse drinks bottles. You can see it if you go to a scrap yard: old cars always seem to have condensation on the inside of the windows. That's usually not water, it's the evaporated plasticisers leaching out of the dashboard, seats etc.
Odds are that's why the soles are crumbling.