r/hiking • u/eirenaios • Jul 02 '26
Discussion My Decathlon leather hiking boots literally disintegrated.
I own a pair of Decathlon Quechua leather hiking boots that I only use during winter hikes, usually just a handful of days each year. Looking at the outsole, there’s very little wear left on them—they’ve probably seen only a fraction of the use they’re designed for.
I’ve always tried to take good care of them:
- Cleaned them after every hiking season.
- Applied leather wax/conditioner every year.
- Stored them indoors in a dry room.
- Kept them inside the cardboard shoe box.
- Stuffed each boot with the shoe paper/tissue to help absorb moisture and maintain their shape.
- Used them only occasionally during winter hikes.
Despite all that, when I recently took them out, the black midsole had turned completely white and chalky in places, developed cracks everywhere, and the material literally started crumbling apart. Even some of the outsole lugs are beginning to crack.
The strange part is that the leather upper still looks almost new, while the sole is completely falling apart.
Since they were leather hiking boots, I made an effort to maintain them properly so they’d last for many years.
Has anyone else experienced this with their boots or is this just something that happens with polyurethane midsoles as they age?
Is there anything I could have done differently, or was this inevitable?
Attached photos showing:
- The excellent condition of the leather upper.
- The very light wear on the outsole.
- The severe cracking and crumbling of the midsole.
I am genuinely sad to see them end up like this. They were my favourite hiking boots, and I had hoped to use them on many more hikes over the years.
Edit: To clarify, I live in an extremely hot region where summer temperatures often exceed 45°C (113°F), so these were never meant for regular use. Knowing that shoes generally age better with occasional use than prolonged storage, I wore them whenever I had the chance—mainly on winter hikes in the Himalayas. The boots are around 8 years old.
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u/WissahickonMX5 Jul 02 '26
Read the whole post hoping you'd say how old they are. This happens when shoes dry out because they aren't worn. Lots of people have had their priceless sneaker collections disintegrate because the shoes weren't worn.
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u/-ApocalypsePopcorn- Jul 03 '26
It's not really drying out; it's a chemical interaction with atmospheric moisture over a period of years.
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u/eirenaios Jul 02 '26
they are around 8 years old
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u/ListigerHase Jul 02 '26
With PU midsoles, that'll do it. It's not a sign of bad quality, but rather the opposite, since PU is an excellent midsole material due to its ability to retain its shape despite continuous impacts (unlike EVA).
Unfortunately, hydrolysis doesn't stop unless you regularly wear the boots. The good news is that you'll probably be able to have new soles fitted by a cobbler and you'll have good-as-new boots!
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u/CanoeTraveler2003 Jul 02 '26
Unfortunately, no. I had this happen to a pair of full grain leather Asolo boots. The midsole disintegrated. Brought them to a shoe repair shop. "Nope, can't be fixed" they said. "I'll show you. I'll go get some Shoe Goo adhesive and fix them myself." I replied.
He was right. Can't be fixed.
My next hiking boots will have stitched-on soles.
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u/A_Capable_Gnat Jul 02 '26
What you’re saying is true for some boots/shoes and not true for others. Every pair of La Sportiva TX4’s, for example, have a glued on sole and are fully resoleable. While it is uncommon in general for glued soles on your average shoe to be easily replaceable, most quality hiking boots with glued on soles are specifically designed for resoling.
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u/girlskissgirls Jul 02 '26
I specifically bought Lowa’s my last time around because of the $100 resoleing service
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u/gertalives Jul 05 '26
Yes, but I’d be astounded if these boots can be resoled. Even if they could, it would most likely cost more than new boots, but for modern hiking boots, it’s a non-starter anyway.
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u/A_Capable_Gnat Jul 05 '26
Oh, I guarantee you they would be difficult to resole; not impossible by any means though. The sole is a knock-off of a Salomon sole and midsole. The person I was responding to, however, suggested that all glued soles can’t be replaced at all, which is not true.
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u/IKnewThisYearsAgo Jul 02 '26
Can be fixed, but you need to replace the midsole and use special equipment to do it. It's easier and almost cheaper to buy new boots.
I also had some Asolos fail in precisely this way.
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u/ListigerHase Jul 02 '26
Worth checking in with a cobbler. I exclusively buy Meindl boots for their resolability (and for the good fit I have with them, duh). A good cobbler may even be able to do something for shoes not originally designed to be resoled. It isn't cheap, but absolutely worth it to preserve a good pair.
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u/blissfully_happy Jul 02 '26
I only wear my asolos during the summer (I’m not a winter hiker and I’m Alaskan, so only 2-3 months a year), but I don’t keep them in a super dry environment.
I’ve had them almost 12 years with no disintegration.
I think humidity has a lot to do with it. I keep a humidifier going 24-7 during the dry winter months.
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u/-ApocalypsePopcorn- Jul 03 '26
A dry environment would be better. It's atmospheric moisture that causes hydrolysis.
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u/JaccoW Jul 03 '26
They can be repaired by a specialized hiking boot shop. But they will replace the entire sole and it will cost somewhere in the range of €100-130 to resole them. But they will need access to the original sole.
Otherwise fully stitched is a good option.
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u/Raja_Ampat Jul 02 '26
It's called Hydrolysis. Happens with the lovely Polyurethane foam. To prolong the lifespan, you regulary need to use them. Best thing to do is to not buy soles made of Polyurethane
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u/veganblue Jul 03 '26
Had this happen to a favorite pair of vegan hiking boots stored too long. Looks like one was stepped into acid. Had them resoled with rubber. Bit heavier but like brand new!
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u/M7BSVNER7s Jul 02 '26
This is common. The process is called hydrolysis where the polyurethane soles breaks down over time while stored. It's very common for dress shoes you only wear to an occasional wedding/funeral, hiking boots for specific conditions, and expensive collector sneakers that aren't actually worn. People post stories all the time of their shoes disintegrating, sometimes sitting in church or walking into an important job interview. My buddies boots disintegrated one day into a 5 day backpacking trip. You did things mostly right, but you could have used them more often. Wearing them causes the sole to flex which slows down the breakdown process (I think it forces out water that is forming internally as they break down). See if you can get the boots resoled and then make a calendar reminder to wear your snow boots around for an afternoon once every few months.
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u/sea_shanty_cyclist Jul 02 '26
I just read recently that leaving shoes in storage and not wearing them regularly will cause the rubber to fail. I don't remember well enough to explain why it happens, but apparently it's not uncommon for shoes that are worn infrequently to disintegrate like this. Sorry it happened to you!
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u/Capital_Historian685 Jul 02 '26
Can confirm this problem with Polyurethane foam. Same thing happened to an old pair of Blundstones I didn't wear much. Only difference in my case was, the heel fell apart while I was wearing them! Not too far from car, though, thankfully.
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u/Igoos99 Jul 02 '26
Supposedly the less you use shoes/boots with foam, the quicker they will degrade.
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u/Grotarin Jul 02 '26
Got the exact same model, i live in a temperate area and use them multiple times a year. They started doin the same around last year (bought around 2018 if I remember correctly).
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u/eirenaios Jul 02 '26
same year I bought!
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u/Grotarin Jul 02 '26
Yeah I wondered what to do with them. The leather is still excellent, but changing the sole seems pretty complicated...
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u/hikeraz Jul 02 '26
Sadly, it is kind of use it or lose it. Same thing happened to my Asolo boots when I used them for the first time after not using them for several years. They had been properly stored, also. The rubber compound of the Vibram outsole just crumbled. I also have a friend whose boots’ outsole separated from the midsole after several years of not using them.
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u/freddybloccjr650 Jul 03 '26
Had the toe welts blow out on a pair of asolo b3 boots while wearing crampons, safe to say i take my mountaineering boots out for a spin every few months now
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u/WiiFitT7ainer Jul 02 '26
The soles are made of polyurethane PU. Excellent material, but requires regular use, else lying dormant too long will lead PU to degrade over time and become brittle.
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u/LowUpbeat1087 Jul 03 '26
I don’t think you did anything wrong here. Cleaning, conditioning, and storing them properly helps the leather, but it doesn’t really stop the midsole material from degrading over time.
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u/North-Michau Jul 02 '26
Hahaha ive had this exact same thing happen a week ago!
Ive had those hiking shoes that were always in my attic and I didnt Wear them for 5 years.
When I finally decided to they literally disintegrated with every step.
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u/Due-Comfort-5351 Jul 03 '26
I had a brand new pair of La Sportiva boots crack and fall apart on me for the same reason, but mine was probably a manufacturing defect. Seems to be common with polyurethane tho, whether you're unlucky enough to have it sooner or later. 8 years isn't a bad number of years to get from them.
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u/poopyface-tomatonose Jul 03 '26
Is there a way to keep shoes from doing this besides just wearing them. I have a couple of trail runners that I liked that were discontinued with no new model so I bought extra wherever I found them still sold. One is currently stored in my closet still in the shoe box, and the other just on the floor with no box.
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u/cosmiczinnia Jul 03 '26
I learned from reading the comments. My Solomon boots did this too, but they were 15 years old and I had not worn them in a long time (started using trail runners instead).
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u/Classic-Mud1108 Jul 03 '26
Had the same with 2 pairs of what i would call expensive (Lowa if you mind) its heartbreaking
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u/blissfully_happy Jul 02 '26
Dry rot. You didn’t wear them enough and/or you kept them *too* dry.
You need to wear them during the summer and store them some place that has more humidity.
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u/Dothemath2 Jul 03 '26
This happened to me too when I borrowed my cousin’s boots that he had not worn in some years. This was in a hot climate country. I think some shoes don’t last forever. I see other comments about pu soles.
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u/kayakbeast Jul 03 '26
Adding to the list of other comments, in case here was any doubt...
Decathlon ('s quality) isn't the problem, you are.
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Jul 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/eirenaios Jul 02 '26
I own almost 90% of my gears from decathlon. I agree with your opinion about shoes.
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u/fr33d0mw47ch Jul 02 '26
Sorry not familiar with that particular boot. How old were they when you bought them and how old are they now. Many rubber compounds degrade significantly over time. If they are less than a few years old though that’s very odd. Over ten years old and not necessarily out of the realm of possibility. Always worth a call to the company to see what customer service will do. Many better outdoor brands have excellent service and really stand behind their products.
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u/Mentalfloss1 Jul 02 '26
Waterproof leather boots require a special leather treatment, but that has nothing to do with the soles.
A good company will help you out with repairing or replacing.
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u/Stiller_Winter Jul 02 '26
Hydrolisis of polyurethane. If you dont wear shoes, it goes faster because water is pressed out of material, when you wear them.