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Ganda Guide quality issues?

Original Post
Schalk · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 15

Was wondering if anybody else out there in Internet land have had issues with Ganda Guides falling apart long before they should?

I have a pair that, while 3 or 4 years old, have maybe 250 miles on them. I did have them resoled with dot rubber, as I didn't like the original soles on them. After the resole they became the perfect shoes for easy ADK slabs and scrambles.

Then they started falling apart. The leather upper part of the shoe completely delaminated from the sole. Interestingly it happened to both shoes within days of each other. And of course this happened while I was on a road trip and meant I got to spend my evenings trying to glue things together with shoe goo in the hope that I would make it through the next day.

I e-mailed La Sportiva customer service about the problem, asking if they have any idea why this happened and if they think it is worth trying to fix, but all I got back was a generic "send it in for warranty evaluation" e-mail.

So before I go to the trouble and expense of sending my shoes to La Sportiva, I was wondering if anybody else has had any issues like this? Is it even worth trying to fix them? Or should I just chalk this up to shitty quality at La Sportiva and go find myself another pair of approach shoes?

Ganda Guide falling apart

Kirk Miller · · Catalina, AZ and Ilwaco, WA · Joined May 2003 · Points: 1,824

I had some ski boots delaminate exactly like that after I stored them in the roof box on a road trip. They got too hot up there and the glue went south.
I'd take 'em to a good cobbler. Rock & Resole is our local shop if you can find their number...

My Ganda's top lace loops blew out within the first couple weeks of use. Rather than wait for a warranty replacement or repair, I had an eyelet added at a local cobbler. Cost about ten bucks a boot to modify.

I've been told the Ganda was produced with a particularly well designed last that was subsequently stolen! You may have better luck getting yours repaired than finding a replacement.

Schalk · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 15
Kirk Miller wrote:I had some ski boots delaminate exactly like that after I stored them in the roof box on a road trip. They got too hot up there and the glue went south. I'd take 'em to a good cobbler. Rock & Resole is our local shop if you can find their number... My Ganda's top lace loops blew out within the first couple weeks of use. Rather than wait for a warranty replacement or repair, I had an eyelet added at a local cobbler. Cost about ten bucks a boot to modify. I've been told the Ganda was produced with a particularly well designed last that was subsequently stolen! You may have better luck getting yours repaired than finding a replacement.
I did ask the Mark at Plattsburgh Shoe Hospital (who did an excellent job on resoling these - use him if you need a resole!) about fixing these, and he said that he'd have to essentially rebuild the boot. So not an easy (or cheap) fix.

As for the sole delaminating due to being left in the car, that was my first thought as well. The reason I don't think it is the case this time is that it hasn't happened to any of my climbing shoes, and they get a lot more use and spend a lot more time in my car. Plus the glue around the toe caps of the Gandas seem to be holding just fine. It is just the join between the boot and sole that has delaminated.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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