Barge Cement

[Grumpy Old Man]

In March when I was in Orlando for a convention/trade show I blew out my favorite pair of flip flops. Pulled the toe thingy out of the right one. So I went to the hotel gift shop and got a dandy pair of $6 flip flops for only $17! Well, I brought my favorite pair back home re-inserted the toe thingy but couldn't keep it in. I recalled that in my salad days as a young exploration geologist, we used Barge Cement for field expedient hiking boot repairs, but I hadn't seen it in years.

An online search revealed that they still make it and I found a tube at the local Ace Hardware. I followed directions and lo and behold I now have two working pairs of flip flops. Then I recalled that my old Vasque Alpha boots are having separation of the tread part of the sole and the cushiony part of the sole. It worked well there as well.

It is fairly simple to use: clean and dry both surfaces, apply cement to each one, let set for 10-15 minutes then press together and let cure for 24 hours before using. BTW, the Alphas are 16 years old.

Barge® Glue Cement (DA081) - All-Purpose Glue - Ace Hardware (http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1390196)

[bacpacker]

I used to carry a small tube of that when I ws doing long distance hiking. Never used it once, but talked to a lot of folks that had and they swore by it.

[Sniper-T]

That's not a brand we get up here, but it looks like a 'standard' contact cement... and I agree, that is an extremely important repair tool. I used to use it all the time to patch holes in my neoprene drysuit.