Glue and vapor permeability

[Eelco]

Ive been wanting to make my own indoor leather minimal shoe for a while, really optimizing for breathability.

Ive noticed that the leather boots I have vary a lot in breathability. Some of that makes sense; thicknesses and leather types; but in part its a bit of a mystery to me. Especially lined leather can be a real disappointment in breathability; even when the total thickness isnt that much. Im inclined to explain this in terms of shoe cement used. If you look at the chemistry of the most popular shoe cements, they are not vapor permeable at all. Infact they often prize themselves on their ability to block water. But that goes both ways.

The construction im currently considering is an upper sticheddown to the insole, and then a glue only leather outsole. This being a barefoot indoors design, I want to keep the total sole thickness minimal. And ideally, the outsole should be easily replacable.

What im hoping is that the right use of PVAc glue will serve me for these indoor soling purposes. What im hoping is:

* the glue I find wont make my sole fall off all the time

* if I want to replace the outsole, it should be easy to get off by soaking in warm water / maybe acetone?

* the thin leather sole plus water permable glue will noticeably contribute to overall breathability

* I can find a PVAc sufficient flexible for this purpose in the first place (adding 15%wt PEG400 should help with that?)

 

Does this sound at all like a reasonable experiment, or should I save myself the time? Im having a hard time finding shoe cements explicitly advertizing themselves as breathable.

If it sounds like this is unlikely to work, perhaps a good option would be thin rim of a stronger cement, with the bulk interior of the sole being PVAc?

[RockyAussie]

If it is for indoor use a couple of eyelet holes put into the instep area just above toe sole will allow air to be move in and out as you walk which might be a lot easier option. I do this even on outdoor wear shoes which is only a problem when I step in water. Keeps the shoes from getting smelly as well.

 

[Eelco]

True; or I could make a sandal instead . My interest here is somewhat theoretical though, to figure out how much glue matters to vapor permeability in practice.