The dangers of buying older unused Lavers

mc · Post by mc » 30 Jun 2012 17:07

I'll keep this short and sweet.

Some friends of mine have noticed an unfortunate phenomenon with older Lavers that have been sitting around in storage for a while:

Even if they're in brand new condition, the sole begins to split and crumble with very, very little use.

I just had this happen with a pair of twill Lavers from, I'd guess 2002-2003. Those are my favorite shoes for freestyle, so, that was a sad day for me, because that means that there's a good chance that any other new-condition twill Lavers I get will have the same thing happen to them, as they haven't been made since the early 2000's. It also means that I've got a pair of shoes that look awesome, but are now useless.

So, as tempting as it can be to score some Lavers in a sweet discontinued color for an awesome price, you might find yourself regretting it.

I'm not sure if it's certain storage conditions, certain batches of Lavers, or what.

All I can say is, stick to newer Lavers.

richardabshire · Post by **richardabshire** » 30 Jun 2012 19:32

Lavers have a timed rubber. That means the rubber has a life span and will degrade after a couple of years even if they are brand new. Sad but true.

mahhkohh · Post by **mahhkohh** » 05 Jul 2012 15:00

take your lavers to a shoemaker and have him replace the sole. or at least grind down the top layer of the sole and replace that. i did that to a few pairs of quantums and it was no problem (reason there was the non-grip problem) and if you score a good price for the shoe the shoemaker shouldnt set you back too much. i think anssi had a thread about his quantum mods with a pic of his new soles somewere on modified

i think thats the best bet if you want rare discontinued lavers