Leather Soles on Ice.

[ironthinker]

I love, collect and wear quality dress shoes. Most i buy on Ebay estate sales. I have two pair that have rubber soles and the rest have leather soles. I live in northern MN so the problem is walking with leather soles on ice, during our long Winters. The older I get the less i like the idea of shoe skiing. Any ideas out there?

 

[Dinerman]

Rubber overshoes.

 

[Edward]

I tend to have the cobbler stick a thin rubber layer over my leather soles, which makes a big difference.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Minnesota resident here: +1 for rubber overshoe and rubber sole protectors. The light snow last night and the wet snow yesterday has me wearing rubber overshoes this morning during my commute.

Eric -

 

[Feraud]

Dress for the environment. If you're dealing with ice and long winters skip the dress shoe. Get a thick gummy soled boot!

 

[Retromoto]

I'm over 60 and even with a rubber overlay on my boot's soles, I tend to skate more than I really want to. While I'm pretty agile for my age, I'm thinking a pair of those elastic gizmos that stretch over the sole and bite into ice/snow will be the ticket for next winter.
Retromoto

 

[robrinay]

Yaktrax - great product but just remember to wash and dry them before storing or the elastic a will perish. Ps take them off before walking on hard floors such as supermarket floors - feels just like leather soles in ice.

 

[Retromoto]

Yaktrax - great product but just remember to wash and dry them before storing or the elastic a will perish. Ps take them off before walking on hard floors such as supermarket floors - feels just like leather soles in ice.

Thanks for the input,
My local Postal route employees are wearing something similar as are Fireman where my son lives.
Retromoto

 

[Mathematicus]

I wonder what kind of shoes did people wear in Golden Age. I mean, what the average clerk in 30s would have worn going from home to the office in a long, icy winter?

 

[ironthinker]

I have lived in ND and MN all my life. In the 1950 and almost everyone wore some kind of rubber shoe covering. Today I would guess it's less than 20%. This Winter I saw one older gentleman wear rubber streach overshoes, ( the kind that only cover the bottom half of an oxford), and a little girl had never seen them acted like they were a novelty from Mars.

 

[LuvMyMan]

I love, collect and wear quality dress shoes. Most i buy on Ebay estate sales. I have two pair that have rubber soles and the rest have leather soles. I live in northern MN so the problem is walking with leather soles on ice, during our long Winters. The older I get the less i like the idea of shoe skiing. Any ideas out there?

One of the products I install on shoes is glued with Barge Cement (the product is already adhesive but not good enough to really stay without the Barge. It is a film that is both gummy and has some very good grip for walking in snow, ice, or rain. This is not like what some call, a Topy sole or sole protector, much more flexible, gummy, and more grip!

 

[GHT]

We don't get the heavy snow in winter like we used to, but I remember when wearing leather shoes, and walking in snow, would ruin the upper part of the shoe, leaving a white stain through the leather. Shoe polish could hide it, but once there, it never really disappeared. Once I had my drivers licence, and my first car, the problem was solved, but I kept a strong pair of Wellington boots in the car, for emergencies.