Advice please on Vibram soles - mine are extremely slippy

ToneControl · November 2018

I buy Merrell Moccasins, which I find very good for casual wear
Trouble is, when it's wet, they are lethal
On holiday in Rome the other week, it was rainy, I nearly fell over about 10 times, once someone had to catch me as I nearly fell down stairs. Everyone around me had no trouble

Basically on some stone, all tiles and all metal hatch covers in the street, they have the same grip as if walking on ice
My kids had no trouble on the same surfaces with various cheap and expensive trainers, I had no trouble with my normal Clarks boots

Why are these viibram soles so poor at gripping? I assume they are a hard compound that has a shiny surface
Can I improve them by using sandpaper on them?

Legionreturns · November 2018

I find they work great on mountainous rocky and muddy ground, not so much on smooth stuff.

I stopped buying Merrels a while ago though, as they wear out stupidly quick considering the price tag.

My main approach shoes are Berghaus Hedgehogs now and they're great.

For actual mountains / scrambling / climbing I have North Face boots and a pair of Scarpa B3 boots for when it gets sketchy enough to need crampons or actual climbing on near vertical rock.

Genuinely don't know why you'd buy trekking footwear for casual wear though. The compounds used wear very quickly on pavement. They're designed for a mix of wet and dry uneven ground.

RobDavies · November 2018

I had the exact same problem with a pair of New Balance trainers, and a pair of Adidas. Neither were cheap - both over seventy quid iirc.

I tried the sandpaper thing and it made no difference. I would imagine there's something that companies used to add to rubber to make it grip, which has now been banned?

bluechargeboy · November 2018

I used to do* freerunning many years ago and Merrells with Vibram soles were considered the must-have shoe. No idea why as they were slidey as hell! So I would concur with this, Vibram soles are no bloody good on smooth wet surfaces.

Having said that I have some Merrell "barefoot" Vibram trainers and I don't seem to have any problem with those. Maybe the thinner sole gives your brain more info to make adjustments.

*(attempt badly)

Gagaryn · November 2018

Nothing you can do. Roughing them up won't help as those micro scratches will soon disappear. I think the problem is with Vibram soles on hard surfaces you are walking on a very small contact area - effectively the points of the stars and only on the very small proportion of the sole area that your weight is on. So there is a very small contact point and hence little friction.

Redwing have recently switched from an excellent completely flat rubber nitrile and cork compound sole to a vibram sole and when I was buying a pair recently I deliberately sought out a shop that still had the old flat sole varieties and they are great in town - plenty grip even on the wet leaves on paving slabs I walk through every morning.

From this

to this

Image: https://embed.widencdn.net/img/redwing/vhngyoup5h/550x400px/RW08111C_MUL_N1_0418.jpeg?position=s&crop=no&color=ffffffff&u=lkbof4

The first sole is better for concrete, slabs, tarmac etc, the second will be better on grass, mud, etc.

In other words you are wearing a countryside sole in an urban environment that it is not designed for.

peteri · November 2018

Up until a few years ago, I did pretty full on white water kayaking - that means you need a shoe you can swim in, rock climb in and has a low profile so you don't get trapped in your boat with it.

From that time, Merrells were always meh - Tevas are expensive but just work. Merrells have always had that problem - the sole is hardwearing but as others have said you end up with a small surface area which is like walking on an icerink.

One of my first pairs of shoes, binned them - a fundamental function of any shoe is that it allows you to be upright.

joneve · November 2018

I find Contigrip soles better than Vibram for all terrains. I know Salomon use these, and there's a few other brands that do too.

ICBM · November 2018

Take them outside, spray some WD-40 on the soles, then apply a lit match.

You can decide if you want to put them out before the rest of the shoe catches fire afterwards

.

I had something similar a few years ago - can't remember the make. They were great on soft ground or in snow, but absolutely lethal on wet smooth surfaces. To my shame I gave them to a charity shop instead of binning them, so I'm probably responsible for some other poor sod breaking his neck.

Matt_McG · November 2018

I've had the same issue with an expensive pair of winter boots that had Vibram soles. Completely lethal on smooth, icy or wet surfaces.

Sporky · November 2018

Legionreturns said:

I stopped buying Merrels a while ago though, as they wear out stupidly quick considering the price tag.

There's a trick for that - lease them.

I'm on my fourth pair of Merrel walking boots - the waterproofing generally fails at about 10-11 months old, so I return them and get another pair. That makes the price per pair about £25 - pay for the first ones, the rest are free. If they start making them last longer then that's still fine.

As others have said, Vibrams are best on soft stuff. My work shoes have them too and are fine except on really smooth wet surfaces.

ThePrettyDamned · November 2018

Sporky said:

Legionreturns said:

I stopped buying Merrels a while ago though, as they wear out stupidly quick considering the price tag.

There's a trick for that - lease them.

I'm on my fourth pair of Merrel walking boots - the waterproofing generally fails at about 10-11 months old, so I return them and get another pair. That makes the price per pair about £25 - pay for the first ones, the rest are free. If they start making them last longer then that's still fine.

As others have said, Vibrams are best on soft stuff. My work shoes have them too and are fine except on really smooth wet surfaces.

Absolutely agree, these are shoes that are made for specific purpose - grassy, rocky, mossy, uneven stuff and vibram is mega tough and grippy on that. For tarmac they wear fast and for smooth surfaces they slip.

Lovely well made shoes though.

Sporky · November 2018

Also they are exactly the right shape for my feet, and they seem to be totally consistent in terms of fit.

The work ones have slippery toes for some reason - just the very tip, the rest of the sole grips pretty well.

jonnyburgo · November 2018

Whilst at the top of Ben Nevis a few years ago I went into the llittle survival cabin at the top and found one brand new top end Scarpa boot. What a mean trick

Guitar_Slinger · November 2018

Are Merrell Moccasins the male equivalent of Hotter shoes?

I've just Googled them, found this page https://www.merrell.com/en/mens-slip-on-shoes/ and remember most of the blokes were wearing them at an Aynsley Lister guitar weekend a few years ago.

Everyone was mid-40s to mid-60s and half of them had an SVL guitar, so I assumed a memo had gone around the Matt Schofield WhatsApp on what shoes and guitar to bring.

Sporky · November 2018

Guitar_Slinger said:

Are Merrell Moccasins the male equivalent of Hotter shoes?

I have some Hotter shoes as well. With velcro.

Guitar_Slinger · November 2018

Seriously, over 20 people and almost everybody in the room was wearing grey or brown slip-on trainers. For a minute, I wondered if they were included the weekend and a pair had been left in our hotel rooms.

Sporky · November 2018

Mine are green.

Most of my Merrels are brown, but that's just the mud.

munckee · November 2018

Guitar_Slinger said:

Seriously, over 20 people and almost everybody in the room was wearing grey or brown slip-on trainers. For a minute, I wondered if they were part of the weekend and had been left in our hotel rooms.

I'm 43 and don't look forward to bending down to tie shoe laces, I can see the attraction, April to October I only wear flip flops except for work.

ThePrettyDamned · November 2018

Guitar_Slinger said:

Are Merrell Moccasins the male equivalent of Hotter shoes?

I've just Googled them, found this page https://www.merrell.com/en/mens-slip-on-shoes/ and remember most of the blokes were wearing them at an Aynsley Lister guitar weekend a few years ago.

Everyone was mid-40s to mid-60s and half of them had an SVL guitar, so I assumed a memo had gone around the Matt Schofield WhatsApp on what shoes and guitar to bring.

I like hotter shoes, they're comfy and pretty well made, but the mens range is a bit small.

I'm 28 and my mates think it's hilarious, but they only know they're Hotter when I tell them...

My girlfriend got a complement on her shoes at work and told her colleague they were Hotters and they winced! Mad what a brand means to some folk ..

Octafish · November 2018

Guitar_Slinger said:

Are Merrell Moccasins the male equivalent of Hotter shoes?

I've just Googled them, found this page https://www.merrell.com/en/mens-slip-on-shoes/ and remember most of the blokes were wearing them at an Aynsley Lister guitar weekend a few years ago.

Everyone was mid-40s to mid-60s and half of them had an SVL guitar, so I assumed a memo had gone around the Matt Schofield WhatsApp on what shoes and guitar to bring.

Fuck me, those shoes are vile, do you have to wear them with beige cargo trousers? Think I'll be contacting Dignitas if I ever end wearing them

Gagaryn · November 2018

munckee said:

I'm 43 and don't look forward to bending down to tie shoe laces, I can see the attraction, April to October I only wear flip flops except for work.

Are you in prison?

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Advice please on Vibram soles - mine are extremely slippy

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