This page is always under development. .....
Do you own a treasured old sleeping bag or pack that needs a broken zipper fixed, a tear mended, or just some overall refurbishing? .....Places that specialize in quality repairs of the outdoor gear we love are remarkably hard to find. One of the best is now closed (Mountain Mend in Boulder, CO).
1. Seattle's Rainy Pass Repair was recommended in a 1996 article in Outside Magazine and is still in business. Here's a quote from the article:"...Outdoor specialists such as Boulder, Colorado's Mountain Mend(303-443-1925) and Seattle's Rainy Pass Repair (800-733-4340) fix tents,packs, sleeping bags, and outdoor clothing at a surprisingly reasonable cost. Patching a tear runs about $15; replacing a zipper, $30. And for $8 an ounce they'll supplement matted loft with fresh goose down." (My note: these were 1996 prices, and surely are much higher now)..."
2. from John Rutkowski (Formerly a Holubar employee, 1976 onward....John says, "FYI, I am the founder of Mountain Mend. I started it back in ''79 and sold the business in '83 to Kevin Furnary. It has gone through many hands since then. I don't think it's still in existence. The web site is no more." Update: a recent confirmed email tells us that there is now a "Boulder Mountain Repair" in Boulder, run by "Ron," and welcoming old gear: Boulder Mountain Repair’s phone number is 303-499-3634. They’re in the Table Mesa shopping center, near Neptune Mountaineering in south Boulder.
3. from Joe Erhlich,
I usually recommend Specialty Outdoors to my consumers.Contact
person is Penny S. at 509-448-0346....
http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/
I hope that this helps.
Best regards,
Joe Ehrlich
Consumer Relations, Mountain Hardwear
4. Hi Bruce,
Here's the place to go in the Twin Cities. Thrifty Outfitters is located above Midwest Mountaineering http://www.midwestmtn.com/
in Minneapolis. Thrifty does good quality repairs at bargain prices.
I've mostly used them to fix broken zippers on tents. Thrifty
and Midwest are by far the best outfitters in this area. I think
they got written up in Backpacker some time ago.
Best regards,
Alan Wenker..
I entitle the image to the left "Filthy Collar Syndrome." Here's an otherwise fine vintage Sierra Designs down parka, but the collar area is very heavily stained with what I like to call "neck oil." A shop like Rainy Pass Repair can deal with this issue for you. Or you can laboriously use a toothbrush and some "Shout" laundry spot remover and get most of it removed at home!
5. Bob
Howe, tent designer
suggests: "...Hi Bruce, first people should check to see
if the company that made the gear is still in business. Most offered
lifetime warranties and should honor them. Also, there is a pretty
good repair shop called Narains in Berkeley, next door to REI.
Of course there's always REI itself for many repairs."
Narain's Outdoor Sewing
& Fabric
1275 San Pablo AveAlbany, CA 94706
(510) 527-2509
6. Finally, John H. in Portland, Oregon reports that
Fink's did a great zipper repairon his old Holubar Ultimate
expedition bag, and also would have outright replaced the entire
zipper if needed!
Fink's Luggage & Repair Co.
517 SW 12th Ave.
Portland, OR
503 222-6086
Please Note: All Material on this page, and in all my "History of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com.
