Any shoe wears out over time - sometimes it is worth throwing it away, but sometimes it’s enough just to change the heels. And a pair of excellent shoes or boots is again ready to take a place in the ranks.
Locks in any workshop will change quite quickly. In this case, most often shoe makers put on polyurethane heels and only occasionally metal ones or from durable, thick rubber. But how strong, convenient and durable is this material?
Polyurethane: material properties
Polyurethane is a unique synthetic polymer. It was first obtained in 1937, and already in 1944, production of polyurethane on an industrial scale was established. The main component for its production is crude oil, from which isocyanate and polyol are first obtained. Then they are mixed in a liquid state in the presence of auxiliary substances and converted into polyurethane. Depending on the specific formulation, polyurethanes can be obtained liquid, soft or solid. This makes this product universal, suitable for any need, including for the manufacture of heels.
Advantages of Polyurethane Pads
All world leaders in the shoe market use polyurethane. It is used as the sole material, and shoes or whole shoes can also be made from it. And even if the shoes are made of genuine leather or suede, then they still put on polyurethane heels. The main advantages of the material are as follows:
- high wear resistance - low percentage of abrasion in contact with the surface;
- greater resistance to bending;
- softness and elasticity in comparison with metal heels;
- light weight shoes;
- good thermal insulation;
- excellent moisture insulation;
- low electrical conductivity, which allows the use of this material for the production of work boots for various types of industries.
Based on these characteristics, it can be concluded that the polyurethane heels on the heels will last a long time and significantly extend the life of the shoe pair.
Minuses
Many people complain that heels of this beautiful material fall apart within one week. And sometimes in 1-2 days. What is the matter?
This does not mean that the polyurethane heels are bad or of poor quality. Of course, in terms of wear resistance and strength, they are inferior to eternal metal plates. But polyurethane heels are not so loud and do not leave holes and scratches on relatively soft floor coverings (wood, cork, laminate , etc.).
They quickly fail because unscrupulous shoe makers instead of polyurethane put heels made of hard shoe rubber. And she just has a tendency to paint in a matter of days.
Resource
It depends on the material and type of heel. On stiletto heels, the pads wear out quite quickly - from 2 weeks to a couple of months - due to high loads on a small area, while on massive large heels they will last a very long time.
On a medium-sized heel, a domestic-made polyurethane heel will serve a solid season, that is, winter / autumn or summer / spring. For imported analogues, the resource is usually 2-3 times higher.
Price
Polyurethane at the production stage is very plastic, which allows you to create heels of any shape and size. Also on sale are products of different colors. If anywhere it is impossible to find the matching color or shape of the heel, then polyurethane sheet will come to the rescue. Every good shoemaker has not only a large assortment of overlays, different in color and shape, but also sheet material for cutting, for non-standard products.
Product prices depend on many factors, but the approximate variation is as follows:
- Polyurethane heels with a Sekunda pin - 175-385 rubles.
- Heels molded from Russian-made polyurethane, medium size - 60-70 rubles.
- Collection polyurethane heels on a pin, 7 mm - 35 rubles.
- Inexpensive domestic-made heels on a pin of 10 different sizes - 10-15 rubles. for a couple.
So the cost may vary by an order, depending on the manufacturer and the characteristics of the goods.