Heel tip replace query - when?

[fastfreddy2]

Until recently [last 3 months] I've not had to worry about heel tip replacement because I've previously only worn heels inside buildings. I now spend most of my 'heeling' time on asphalt, which is having a quite destructive effect on the tips of my shoes.

I'm beginning to understand I need a different thickness/shaped heel, but I'm way too late to buy them this season, I have to wait until Autumn for new stock to arrive in the shops for Winter 2008/2009.

The plastic tips originally fitted to my ankle boots lasted about a week, as did the plastic replacements. The replacement metal ones have lasted much longer, but I've noticed they are making more noise than they were. When I had the plastic tips, the increase in the noise level when walking indicated the tips needed replacing, as the plastic had worn through to the metal shank of the tip. An easy indicator.

Metal wearing through to a different metal has been a bit more subtle. I think I may have worn the tips for too long without replacing them, possibly damaging the heel permanently. While this is disappointing, the lesson hasn't been prohibitively expensive. Boots at £20, two sets of tips (fitted) total just under £30 all in. And they're likely to last another month yet, if I replace the tips ASAP. [Possibly this afternoon. ]

But how do I know when to replace the tips before the wear becomes debilitating to the heel of the shoe? I've attached some pictures (of mixed quality) for review.

I don't want to make this mistake again .......

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[jmc]

I don't think you have done any permanent damage yet because there is still some of the heel tip left. It definitely shows some wear though -- you are putting some mileage on those heels! Just watch the wear on the heel tips -- when they start getting too thin to do their job or if they start getting loose, it's time to replace them.

[Thighboots2]

FF2, Certainly you have done some distance on those heels, but I believe there is still plenty of distance in them yet. The heel tip is made in two parts, pin and plate. Most metal tips the plate is softer than the pin as they are not made of steel where the pin is, hence the wear pattern you are seeing I would not let the plate thickness get below 1.5mm as it will start to bend and ruin the heel covering and also make it difficult to grip to remove at replacement time. This happens with the plastic variety when you wear them down to the pin only the platic then deforms and pulls the heel covering off. TB2

[fastfreddy2]

Thanks for the inputs guys. And yes, those boots do see some miles. About 5 a week when the weather allows.

Just to confirm, repairs completed and the boots seem fine.

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[Thighboots2]

Neat job done in retipping. If you do about 5 miles per week, how long did the old tips last? What sort of surfaces are you mainly walking on as the wear to the plate was fairly even around the hard centre pin.

[fastfreddy2]

Plastic tips, less than a week.

Metal tips, 2-3 weeks. But hard to know for sure, as I sometimes wear my wedges. If I'm going somewhere local, I tend to wear the wedges because discretion is needed, the stiletto's when I want to listen to the clip-clop of the heels and don't have to worry about being seen. These walks currently take place after dark, though this is already becoming increasingly difficult.

I usually walk on asphalt footpaths. Last week I gave paved footpaths a go, and damaged the heel covering on a pair of heels with them continuously getting caught in the cracks or gaps between the slabs.

Asphalt is as we know, designed to provide grip to vehicle tyres. It's not smooth, and on footpaths, it's certainly not even. [Tree root growth being the main problem, with Sky cable laying being almost as bad.] The asphalt attracts fewer sudden changes in height than paving slab finishes, so it also attracts fewer claims from people who suffer falls and trips. No surprise then, it's the covering of choice where I live.

I'd love to find some way of walking around carpeted or wood floors, a mile each night. [Treadmill?]

Block-heeled boots seem a less expensive solution, but I'm shopping at the wrong time of year. So eBay is getting a lot more attention from me, than it should be getting. Hey-ho, roll on Autumn.

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