When To Resole Work Boots And When To Rebuild

You should resole work boots before they become dangerous, and you should rebuild work boots when they begin to show any structural wear. How long that will take, of course, depends on a whole lot on your boots and the abuse they take. That said, let's go over that in a bit more detail.

When To Resole Work Boots

When to resole work boots depends on the wear on two vital areas of the entire sole: the welting and the tread.

Welting is how the sole is attached to the rest of the boot. Good quality work boots are double-welted, with an outer sole stitched to a midsole and then stitched to the rest of the boot. This double layers of stitching ensure a waterproof seal around the sole as well as tough construction that will stand up better to hard wear.

When a boot is resoled, the outsole is removed and restitched to the midsole. The exact method depends on how the boot is constructed of course, but that's the basic version.

The tread is the bottom of the boot, the nooks, crannies, textures and contours and so on that give your boot the requisite traction you need to do the work that you do.

When the former shows signs of wear, fraying and is definitely starting to come apart, it's time to book an appointment for a resole. If you notice water or moisture getting in through the sole when you didn't use to, then it's definitely time to resole work boots.

As to the tread, a little wear is normal. However, if you notice that you lose any traction or if the way your foot falls has changed, then it's time to get your work boots resoled.

Think of tread on your shoes like the tread on your tires. At a certain point, you begin to lose traction and it can eventually become dangerous - indeed, even illegal - to keep driving on them. Likewise, you should resole your boots once the tread is wearing down to the point that you're losing traction.

When To Rebuild Work Boots

To rebuild work boots, on the other hand, is much more involved. In a rebuild, the boot is gone over bit by bit and inspected. Anything that needs to be replaced will be, including parts of the leather upper of the boot, eyelets, insoles, midsoles, outsoles, shanks, essentially any part of the boot at all.

Rebuilding boots can involve just swapping out a few parts, or it can involve tearing the boot down to the stitches and replacing almost every single piece from the ground up, depending on the needs of the rebuild in question.

When should you rebuild work boots?

When your boot is beginning to come apart, and it's apparent that much more than just new laces and a resole is in order, that's a good time to get work boots rebuilt.

In other words, if you're starting to have thoughts about new boots, that's when you need to have your work boots rebuilt.

Resole Boots Or Rebuild Boots To Extend Life For Pennies

Compared to simply buying a new pair, choosing to resole work boots or rebuild work boots can extend the lifetime of your boots for pennies on the dollar compared to purchasing a new pair.

Resoling work boots are the least expensive of the two options, of course, but even rebuilding work boots can be vastly cheaper than buying a new pair of quality work boots. Often it's half the cost of a quality pair of boots or less.

In either case, work boot repair can extend the life of your boots for much less than it would cost to replace them. Work boots from a good maker can be rebuilt several times without issue, guaranteeing a long service life. If you've found a great pair of work boots that you love, then there's no reason you'll ever have to part with them.

Remember, a good pair of work boots is an investment, both in the equipment you need to do your job but also in your own comfort and health. Your feet will feel better, your back will feel better, and your quality of life will improve as you won't feel as completely dog tired at the end of the day as a result.