# LL Bean / Bean Boots Re-Soling Report



## jeffsols (Dec 7, 2010)

For the good of the order, I share my praise for Bean in resoling my very old Bean Boots. I thought I'd pass on the compliments for those interested.

I have the 6 inch Bean Boot for rain duty, yard work and my train/walk commute in snow and rain. I've had then for 15 years and they've been good shoes. Recently, I sent them to Bean HQ for re-soling and they delivered them back to me in great shape in less than half the promised time.

My boots were very well loved. The soles were worn totally flat, the leather uppers had been nicked by a chainsaw at one point and all other manner of yard crap over the years. I point this out because in two places the folks at Bean used new, small pieces of leather to "patch" the nicks in the upper. Unasked, they just repaired them in top notch fashion.

What's more, they replaced the insoles and laces without being asked. I'd call this a true re-crafting, not just a re-sole.

I have my gripes with Bean for abandoning the better part of what used to be a strong U.S.-based manufacturing operation, but the service in this case was exemplary, and worthy of a good report. Plus, we all appreciate good **** that is well built and lasts a long time.

So if you have some old Hunting Shoes or Bean Boots, send them back to Freeport and you'll be surprised how "like new" they will be. This service cost me $45 bucks including return shipping. Not bad at all.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks for the report. I've got an old pair of 8" MHS that I bought at a thrift store for $4.00 that have a nickel-sized chunk of sole missing from one of the bottoms, but the uppers are in good shape. I've been meaning to send them in but didn't know what the cost was or what the recrafting involved. Do you (or anyone else) know if the uppers can take a different size bottom? I think I'd fit better in an 8W versus the 9N I have now and I imagine they're close enough in size to be interchangeable.


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## dwebber18 (Jun 5, 2008)

That's great to know, I picked up a pair of used Bean Boots on ebay a couple of months back and they have been great for all this adverse weather we have gotten this year. I think they probably have another winter or 2 in them and then they will be off for a resole. Nice to know they still do it right in some aspects.


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## Speas (Mar 11, 2004)

Did they give you a choice of the bottom rubber - i.e., softer Maine Hunting Shoe or harder Bean Boot? I prefer the soft older bottoms which are more like what they put on the MHS now. I'd like to get the MHS bottoms on an old pair of the shoes I have.


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

That is a startling low price for quality work. I'm a true believer in vintage HS Trask American made bison leather shoes. Their recrafting is $70 plus.


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## Redsrover (Mar 23, 2009)

I spoke to LLBean not long ago and they can go up or down one size (including widths) when resoling, just tell them the size you want.

Also, I thought the difference between the BB and MHS is the MHS has a steel shank and the BB not...otherwise identical rubber compound.

Red


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Redsrover said:


> I spoke to LLBean not long ago and they can go up or down one size (including widths) when resoling, just tell them the size you want.
> 
> Also, I thought the difference between the BB and MHS is the MHS has a steel shank and the BB not...otherwise identical rubber compound.
> 
> Red


 Thanks for that info about sizing up or down. Regarding the difference between the MHS and BB, the rubber compound is softer on the MHS and has a more matte appearance than the BB. Both have a steel shank, AFAIK.


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## HistoryDoc (Dec 14, 2006)

Do you have any pictures?


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Oh, yes--pictures please! And this is very good news, too.


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## jeffsols (Dec 7, 2010)

Wanted to add some add'l comments. The "re-soling" is basically just saving your uppers and attaching them, with a very sturdy triple stitch, to new lowers. I had at first thought just the distinctive light tan color chain-link pattern sole would be re-dipped in fresh rubber. But the entire lower is new-sole and rubber boot portion between sole and upper. In my photos, the dark brown rubber and tan rubber sole are both new.

To give some sense of durability, these boots were a gift (if I'd have purchased, would have gone for "taller" but hey, the price was right!) and i rec'd them in 95 or 96. A dozen DC winters and countless weekends of yard work (year round) plus wintry commutes.

a note on the photos: they came back wtih new laces, but for photos i didn't show them so as not to obscure the visuals.

Thanks for the comments. A few photos follow, apologies for poor quality, had to use the droid.

Photos can be viewed here.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
...and now you have them to enjoy for the next dozen years or so. Outstanding re crafting results!


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

The boots came out great. I like the closeup of the leather repair. Did they redo anything else on the upper? New stitching or anything like that?


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## jeffsols (Dec 7, 2010)

Hardline - the re-did only the stitching that attaches the leather uppers to the rubber base/sole unit. It's a triple stitch, three rows of very sturdy stuff.

Basically, it looks to me that the only part of the boot that's original is the leather, which is fine because it's only begun to be broken in after this long!

No other stitching was required/performed.

Thanks for all the questions/comments.

Note to Bean marketing: should be dubbed re-crafting. it's more than a re-sole!


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## zbix (Dec 12, 2010)

Thanks for the pictures. This convinces me that I might be able to send mine back to get some more years out of them.

Does anyone know if they'll work on any of the other stitching? Mine has an issue on the seam running up the heal, the little triangle part is coming loose on mine. It is partly where they attach to the rubber, but also a little bit of the vertical seam above it. I think I may just end up taking a picture and trying to send it to them to see if they'd fix it. The leather seems to be fine. I just wore out the thread, so I think restitching might be an option. I just wasn't sure if they'd do it.


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## DoubleDDownUnder (Apr 19, 2013)

Found this old post while doing some research.

I have a pair of Maine Hunting Shoes that I bought at the Freeport HQ back when I was a SMU sophomore in the early 1990s. I now live in Australia and I'd love to get them resoled all these years (and miles) later.

Any advice is appreciated.

Drew


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

I think you're stuck with sending them back to LL Bean.


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## FJW (Jan 25, 2012)

The soles come in narrow, medium and wide widths so when having them resoled, you can up or down one width size. Which was good in my case since for some reason, the older I get the wider my foot gets.

I have two pairs, one from the mid 1970's and the other from the late 1980's that have been resoled many times.


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## ROI (Aug 1, 2004)

Great news. Mine date from the 1970s and are the narrow width. The chain tread is completely gone. I figured that, since the new ducks aren't offered in the narrow width, they probably also wouldn't restore the narrow width. Of course, I never bothered to fact-check my own surmise.


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## xcubbies (Jul 31, 2005)

Given the cost of postage from Australia, and the fact that the return postage will cost you, why not just order a new pair ?


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## richard warren (Dec 10, 2015)

I thought it was resole for life for free? Did I imagine it?


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## ouinon (Jun 28, 2015)

richard warren said:


> I thought it was resole for life for free? Did I imagine it?


I'm not sure if they had that policy in the past, but it is not their policy today. Their website says "for a reasonable fee".

After around 8 years the stitching securing the leather to the rubber lower part of my right boot has come undone (likely from my kicking it off with my left boot). I will be sending them off for a repair/refresh soon and will report back on the process.


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## MikeF (Feb 26, 2010)

richard warren said:


> I thought it was resole for life for free? Did I imagine it?


It never has been free but the price has gone up over the years. Still well worth it though.


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## ouinon (Jun 28, 2015)

I guess I misspoke in March when I said I'd be sending my boots off "soon", oops.

I spent Victoria Day weekend in Maine and took my boots with me to Bean's flagship store in Freeport. Spent a bit of time getting the paperwork in order at the customer service desk. I was given the option to modify the size and width of the boots as part of the resole service if I wished, but didn't need to.

My boots arrived back home last Friday (almost four weeks after dropping them off) with new rubber bottoms, new insoles, and new laces. The cost was about $42 USD ($57 CAD). Shipping was free, as usual.


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## xcubbies (Jul 31, 2005)

ouinon said:


> I guess I misspoke in March when I said I'd be sending my boots off "soon", oops.
> 
> I spent Victoria Day weekend in Maine and took my boots with me to Bean's flagship store in Freeport. Spent a bit of time getting the paperwork in order at the customer service desk. I was given the option to modify the size and width of the boots as part of the resole service if I wished, but didn't need to.
> 
> My boots arrived back home last Friday (almost four weeks after dropping them off) with new rubber bottoms, new insoles, and new laces. The cost was about $42 USD ($57 CAD). Shipping was free, as usual.


Beans seems to be having a bottleneck in the facility that manufactures and repairs the Maine Hunting Boots. It has been in the local news. They're struggling to find people to do the repairs. But a one-month turn around isn't all that bad, considering postage to a foreign land (just over the border).


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## ouinon (Jun 28, 2015)

Yes and I purposely had them repaired at a time when I have no need for them. If I'd been waiting a month in the fall I might've gotten a bit annoyed, but this turnaround had no impact on me at all.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^Indeed, a life lesson to be remembered and repeated:
The six "P's" of success...
"Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance!"


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## greyflannel (Dec 24, 2015)

I just had a pair resoled by bean- $39 all in. New bottoms, new laces, and they threw in new insoles. Total time was 3 weeks and 5 days from shipment out to receipt. 
Here are the instructions from the online chat for anyone contemplating having them done.

"_there is a fee for resoling, unless you feel the repair should be covered by our Guarantee. The cost of replacing is $39.00 for non-insulated boots, $43.00 for insulated. Costs to resole other style Bean Boots may vary.

To send your boots for repair, please clean them if necessary, and include a note with the following information:

Your name, address, daytime telephone number and email address
Your billing address and shipping address if you prefer that we ship to another address
You can include a check or a credit card number with expiration date. Verify the name as it appears on the credit card.
If you would like an estimate for the cost of repair first, or feel this service should be covered by our Guarantee.

For UPS or any other delivery service, use our street address:
L.L.Bean, Inc
Attn: Repairs Department
3 Campus Drive
Freeport, ME 04034

For shipping by US Postal Service, the address is:

L.L.Bean Repairs Department
PO Box 1000
Freeport, ME 04032

The repair time is currently 4-6 weeks."
_


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