So I heard back from the manufacturer. They use heat to bond the gels to the knit ankle sleeve. They do keep records of who buys what and checking back, the rep whom I spoke with pointed out that I'd purchased my last pair back in March of last year, so more than a year ago. She said they sell to NHL players and those guys are lucky to get a few months out of a boot bumper! Anyway, she offered me a discount on my next pair and so I placed an order. Meanwhile, I plan to experiment with the old ones. I'll turn them right side out and slip a piece of waxed paper between the Achilles gel pad and the lace bite pad so that the two pads won't (hopefully) bond together while I run a medium hot iron over the knit sleeves in the areas where the edges of the Achilles gel pads are coming loose. If I ruin the old pair then I haven't lost much and if I get lucky maybe I'll be able to squeeze a few more months of use out of them. I guess the bottom line is to expect about a year's use from these items (depending on how often you skate; I skate 3 to 4 times a week) and plan to buy new ones at the start of each skating season. The happiness of my feet is worth it!