Friday, 16 December 2016

These Zamberlan boots were made to fall apart


I don't know what it is about modern materials, but they ain't like they used to be.
A few months ago, my leather Zamberlan boots fell apart. The sole just fell off, revealing a crumbling inner core.  It turns out the sole/core is polyurethane/EVA and the cheaper the boots, the worse the life. Whilst I could get the leather parts removed and a new sole glued on, I've just decided to change brands. Annoyingly, the summer boots I bought in the USA for about €10 over 15 years ago have also failed on the sole. They just sell junk there (in case you are an American reading this, that bit is ironic. Just that bit you understand)
I've gone for a synthetic mountain high boot, 4 hour water proof, semi flexible. Quechua (own) brand for €69.  The branded ones wanted twice the money and then more if I wanted the convenience of dry feet. Didn't see any leather boots. Prices went to €180.
Whilst taking off my trainers (well, light hiking shoes) I noticed the heal is coming away from the outer.  I really splashed out on the cheapest pair of similar shoes for a staggering €13.

Thursday, 1 December 2016

LS2 FF396 bike helmet visor repair

On the bottom of the lid, there is a control to drop the sun visor down and up.  There are 2 bits. A substantial red semi-circle and a crappy little black lever on a T stem about 2mm x 2mm. Put the lid on a shelf (who doesn't) and eventually you catch this little lever and it snaps off. You then can't retract the sun visor without forcing it.

The mechanism is easy to remove - 2 screws on the outside of the lid behind a rubber trim.
In the pic above, you can just see where the lever has sheared off - look for the arrow.
I found a bit of small pvc tubing, heated it up and pushed over the remaining stub. Then I hot glued it and put a cross pin in for good measure.
The next time it's caught I think that it will destroy the rest of the flimsy mechanism.

It's a real shame on otherwise a very comfy lid. I bought this April 2016. I notice 7 months later the control for the sun visor is up by your ear.