Repairing ZipFit liners

[Wade]

I have almost 5 seasons in my Zipfits. They still ski great, and remain the best money I’ve spent on my skiing.

They're currently in my Salomon XMax boots, and the process of putting the ZipFits into and taking them out of the boots every time I ski has taken a toll on the liners.

I’ve been using some thin fabric tape to cover these areas of the liners, but the friction of getting into and out of the boots mean that doesn’t last long and the adhesive from the worn through tape makes things sticky.

I’ve decided to abandon the tape on the liners, and put a small amount of tape over the inside of the nuts holding the spine bolts to try to smooth things out - those are the primarily culprits in tearing up the liners.

Hopefully that works, but I still need to repair the liners so that this doesn’t get worse. Any thoughts on what might work? My initial thought was Seam Grip, but not sure how that will hold up.

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[Lorenzzo]

Don't have a fix but curious...how many days would you estimate you've been in them?

 

[Wade]

Don't have a fix but curious...how many days would you estimate you've been in them?

150-ish. They're way more beat up than I would have expected them to be at this point, but it's mostly a function of the edges of the nuts on the inside of the boot spine so I can't really fault ZipFit for the wear.

 

[Lorenzzo]

150-ish. They're way more beat up than I would have expected them to be at this point, but it's mostly a function of the edges of the nuts on the inside of the boot spine so I can't really fault ZipFit for the wear.

@Noodler is the expert as to all things Zipft. In the past he's made suggestions on dealing with bolts/nuts and/or friction. Maybe he'll have a fix for you.

 

[Jersey Skier]

I keep wear points covered with duct tape and change it when it's wearing through. Use some food grade silicone spray in the shells once and a while and everything slides in much easier.

 

[Noodler]

I keep wear points covered with duct tape and change it when it's wearing through. Use some food grade silicone spray in the shells once and a while and everything slides in much easier.

Yes, this is the right approach to avoid this kind of wear in the first place. I actually use gaffer's tape down the spine of my boots + the silicone spray. Also critical is to smooth the areas of the interior shell that may cause friction or tears of the liner. So liberal use of sandpaper is the right play.

As to a repair that may last on the wear areas of these liners... I have never tried this myself, but I have some leather repair "bonder" that I've used on furniture that seems to be incredibly durable. I'm thinking that liberal use of this coupled with a heavy dose of silicone may do the trick. The repair must be flexible and strong. I can see why tape wouldn't survive on the liner in these spots. I have gaffer's tape up the back of my liners to cover my heater cables, but that's not a high wear area. The heel would probably be too difficult for tape to work.

 

[oldfashoned]

Shop did this on day 0. Silicon spray also.

 

[Utahski]

My zipfits also caught on the boot and wore / cracked in the same place. The liners are fixed with JB weld, I worked it in then smoothed it carefully with file and sandpaper. You just don't want the pieces flapping around to catch on anything. This fix has held for many years but I can't really remember how many. The boots got Gorilla tape, strongest duct tape I could find, covering the whole spine from top right down to the base. That gets sprayed with silicone and wiped down every so often. Also up into the instep area of the boot. They're on and off with no effort, just slickety-poo, it's unbelievable......... These are Fischer vacuum pro boots, the yellow ones.

 

[Wade]

Thanks everyone. I have a few things to try from this. I found a JB Weld product specifically for leather and vinyl, I have some tape that should work well on the spine, and I have some food grade silicon spray I can use.

I’ll report back once I’ve finished up the repair and skied them a bit.

 

[cantunamunch]

You can also ease and smooth the edges of the bolts themselves.

 

[jmills115]

I’ve been in my zip fits for about 12 days now and was changing the gaffe tape on the heel covering the warmer cable planning to smooth the inside of my boot as mentioned in this thread.
Seeing the length of the cut that was made is discouraging since it was done by the shop I purchased them at.
Other than smoothing, tape, and silicone spray, any advice on leaving them as is or trying something else?

 

[markojp]

I’ve been in my zip fits for about 12 days now and was changing the gaffe tape on the heel covering the warmer cable planning to smooth the inside of my boot as mentioned in this thread.
Seeing the length of the cut that was made is discouraging since it was done by the shop I purchased them at.
Other than smoothing, tape, and silicone spray, any advice on leaving them as is or trying something else?

The cut has to be a bit longer (though this does look a wee big) than the cable is wide as the plug is considerably bigger. It's no big deal. Do what other's have suggested above and it'll be fine.

 

[James]

You could always ho to a shoemaker and see what they have to glue on.

For the inside spine, definitely cover the screws. I had a Fischer boot with a spoiler held on by two screws. The bottom could move, and if you didn't tape it, often getting out with the liner on, the spoiler dug in an caught it. Then you're actually stuck in the boot. Even taping it it would tear and cause the prob.

I've always wanted to try something like this ptfe tape on the inside spine for low friction. Expensive.
https://www.mcmaster.com/ptfe-fastening-tape

 

[jmills115]

The cut has to be a bit longer (though this does look a wee big) than the cable is wide as the plug is considerably bigger. It's no big deal. Do what other's have suggested above and it'll be fine.

I’m sure they will be fine with the fixes above. Since I’ve had them 3 weeks tomorrow I’m bothered by what seems a messy job. Would the shop I purchased them from consider it to be messy or not?

 

[jmills115]

You could always ho to a shoemaker and see what they have to glue on.

For the inside spine, definitely cover the screws. I had a Fischer boot with a spoiler held on by two screws. The bottom could move, and if you didn't tape it, often getting out with the liner on, the spoiler dug in an caught it. Then you're actually stuck in the boot. Even taping it it would tear and cause the prob.

I've always wanted to try something like this ptfe tape on the inside spine for low friction. Expensive.
https://www.mcmaster.com/ptfe-fastening-tape

I have some dense foam I used to help hold heel in old liner. I’ve started to cover the screws and will use gaffe and gorilla duct tape over that

 

[Noodler]

I’ve been in my zip fits for about 12 days now and was changing the gaffe tape on the heel covering the warmer cable planning to smooth the inside of my boot as mentioned in this thread.
Seeing the length of the cut that was made is discouraging since it was done by the shop I purchased them at.
Other than smoothing, tape, and silicone spray, any advice on leaving them as is or trying something else?

View attachment 72271

You didn't include a shot of the plug at the end of the cable, but that cut does look to be overly long. Also, at each end of the cut they should have used a small punch to stop the cut from accidentally growing (similar to what it is done to prevent shell cracks from spreading).

 

[jmills115]

 

[Noodler]

View attachment 72318 View attachment 72319 View attachment 72320

You've gptta be kidding me. It's like they went out of their way to NOT use the correct spot to cut the slit and pass through the cable.



If these were my liners I would be raising hell with the shop and demanding replacement liners.

 

[jmills115]

You've gptta be kidding me. It's like they went out of their way to NOT use the correct spot to cut the slit and pass through the cable.



If these were my liners I would be raising hell with the shop and demanding replacement liners.

That is my plan and thank you for responding.
I even tipped the tech $20 (hopefully he puts it towards a smaller hatchet).

 

[markojp]

That's quite high and long. The hotronics plug is sort of clunky big, but not that large. Does the exit point kink or fold the cable at all at or just above the heel of your footbed ? Does it cause any discomfort?